Faith, Righteousness, the Prophets

Let's go back to verse 18. We're going to read down through verse 33 in Romans chapter 9. I'm sorry, we're going to start with verse 14 and read down through the end of the chapter 33. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

For he said to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I'll have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion. So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. For the Scripture said unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thou wilt say that unto me, Why doth he find fault? for who hath resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had before prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not as of the Jew only, but also of the Gentiles?

It's almost like Ephesians 1 there. As he said unto Hosea, I will call them my people who were not my people, and her beloved who was not my beloved. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall they be called the sons of the living God. Isaiah also cried out concerning Israel, ìThough the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved, for he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.î And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed, we had been a Sodom and had been like unto Gomorrah.

What shall we then say, that the Gentiles who followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith? But Israel who followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense. and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

Boy, is there any passage in the Word of God that shows us sovereignty any more than here? And yet, just to be perfectly honest with you, and I think Jim kind of represented the same position last week in particular, is who are we to question God anyway, right? I mean, there are some things that he's allowed us to understand, and man, there are some things that we really can't really get into his mind. I mean, someday his thoughts will be our thoughts and they should be as much as they can be today through the written word. But boy, there are some things that we can't pretend to have his wisdom and his foresight. So let's just accept God's sovereignty for what it's worth and see what we can learn today about the rest of Romans chapter 9.

So 9.25.26, this is the New International Version.

Quote, as he says in Hosea, I will call them my people who are not my people. And I will call her my loved one who is not my loved one. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, you are not my people, they will be called the sons of the living God. And here's the verse in Hosea that's quoted. And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy. And I will say to, parentheses, them which were not my people, thou now are my people. And they shall say, Thou art my God."

So those things in parentheses just help clarify the verse a little bit, and if you look at all the other versions, I kind of like the way the NIV did that. Now, Hosea here refers to the ten tribes, and Paul applies the principle stated, this principle that's stated in Hosea, to the Gentiles. Right or wrong? Now remember, Jim ended with verse 24 last week, and it seems to make perfect sense if we look back at 24, even us, whom he hath called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. But you know, when you look at context, And I really tracked through a number of commentaries. You go back to Hosea, it's tough to apply this to the Gentile.

I think Hosea 1.10, which we're going to look at here in a second, is nicely applied to the Gentile.

But I think you can go either way with this, but I don't want to look at Hosea 2.14 through 23 entirely, but it's tough to bring Gentiles out of that passage.

I mean, it's written entirely to the nation of Israel, which remember at that time were the ten tribes. the northern kingdom. The southern kingdom, which were the tribes of what? Benjamin and Judah, right? The southern tribe was not being denoted at this time of Hosea's writing as Israel. And the idea there in part is that maybe those southern kingdoms are going to be kind of brought back into unity with the northern kingdom.

Anyway, you can interpret this however you want to, but I think in context the Hosea passage is cited here by Paul in Romans 9.25 best pertains to the nation of Israel.

Let's do turn to 1 Peter 2.7-10. Who's Peter writing to? Right, these are the disseminated Jews who are believers and he's really comforting them, lifting them up, encouraging them and also pointing to the difficulties of the time in which they're living. So, Jim, go ahead and take that. Would you, 7 through 10, 1 Peter 2?

This precious value, then, is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve. The stone which the builder rejected, this became the very cornerstone. And a stone of stumbling block and a rock of a fence, for they stumble because they are this doom, they were also appointed. But You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that You may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called You out of darkness and into His marvelous light. For You once were not a people, but now You are the people of God and have not received mercy. You have not received mercy, but now Okay, verse 10, Jim, really I think points to the fact he's talking to the believing Jew, now one in Christ with the Gentile believers. And remember, stumbling stone and rock were directed entirely to Israel.

That's not an issue for the Gentile. So I'm trying to interpret this the best way possible, and even though verse 24 seems to set up the Gentile nations, I think this ultimately needs to be interpreted best to the unbelieving Jew. Now, again, you can do this however you want. The commentators I looked at, and I looked at quite a few, were mixed. And nobody really spends much time here. It's amazing when you go, I don't know, Roger, Jim, as you prepare for these lessons and you go to the commentators, let me tell you, nobody's got a crystal ball there in terms of knowing exactly the truth of the Word of God.

So I think there's some areas like this that we can interpret. focused in on the Jewish nation, or in context, set up by verse 24, maybe this is the Gentiles. But boy, going back to Hosea, you have a lot of trouble in this particular section of Hosea looking at the Gentiles as being brought forth. Now, let's go ahead and look at verse 26, because verse 26, I think, is more broadly applicable to the Gentiles as introduced by 24. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there shall they be called the sons of the living God."

Now this is Hosea 1.10. Quote, Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people." Now remember, God never said to the nation of Israel, you're not my people. Okay, so now we're opening up a new door to people who are not his people. Now even though Israel, you know, Jim covered nicely and I think we have to recognize that there were the people of Israel who were spiritual Israel. and then there's the worldly Israel. All of those are God's people in terms of the nation of Israel.

But now in Hosea 1.10 we're seeing that ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, ye are the sons of the living God. Now Paul knew what he was writing in referencing the Old Testament text and I don't think we need to get bogged down here. It's clear from verse 24 that although Paul is addressing chapter 9 largely to the Jewish nation, verse 24 opens up the door to the Gentile. And I think, again, as we look back at 9.24, we see that well supported.

I don't want to take time here, but Acts 15.17, Romans 1.16, Galatians 3.26.29, maybe it is worth turning to that section.

Let's go to Galatians 3.26.29. And Donna, can you get that if you could read that for us, please?

Neat thing about Romans 1.16, I'll take you back there for a second while Donna's looking that up.

Romans 1.16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, and to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. And it's kind of neat to reflect back on that, because again, the nation of Israel were God's people. And then by his great love and mercy and ultimate plan, the Gentile was opened up into the truth. Galatians 3, 26-29. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bar or priest, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed, for it is according to the promise.

Alright. Any questions at all about 2526? Okay, good. Let's go to 27 and 28. What I've done is, rather than go single verses, I've tried to group them together as they make sense and are more thematic. Verse 27, New King James Version, Isaiah also cried out concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved, or will be saved. For he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth." Alright, again back to the Old Testament. It's incredible how much reference we see to Old Testament passages in this section of Romans. Here we're quoting Isaiah 10 verses 22 and 23.

For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return. The consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. for the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption even determined in the midst of the land." Now the remnant presumably refers to the 144,000. I don't see any reason to believe that it's anything other than the preservation of that group.

Let's turn to Ezekiel 20.33-38. Bob, you want to read that when you get it, please? Ezekiel before Daniel, right? It's always fun to find these Old Testament books we don't spend as much time in.

As I live, sayeth the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and where it stretches And with a stretched out arm and with a fury poured out, will I rule over you. And I will bring you out from the people and will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the willness of the people and there I will plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will call you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bottom of the covenant. I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that trespass against me. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Kind of a purging process identified there.

How do we really reflect on overflow with righteousness? And I think that really reflects the promise that Ezekiel gives us in terms of what will occur with the remnant that will be preserved. And a number of verses, I think, point to this. And again, maybe time, we shouldn't really spend time with this. Although maybe we should. Let's go to Zechariah, since we're all looking back at Old Testament reflection as to how these verses should be interpreted. Zechariah 8, 6 through 12. OK, go ahead. Thanks, Carolyn.

Thus says the Lord of Hosts, if it is to be on the side of the remnant of his people in those days, will it also be too difficult in my sight to pledge the Lord of Hosts? God says, I am going to save my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west, and I will bring them back into the loop, into the loop of my people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness. God says, the Lord of hosts, let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days. to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of Hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.

For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal. For him who went out, a few men, there was no place because of his enemies. And like that, all men, one against another. And now I will not treat the end of those people as in the former days before the Lord of Hosts. But I will be ease for the trees, the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their due, and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all of it.

All right, so that's truly an overflowing with righteousness, is it not? I mean, the land, the people, the preservation, the truth of the word proclaimed at the end times. Consumption means complete destruction, annihilation. So look at the verse. It says, a remnant of them shall return. The consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. So Their passages, Isaiah 28, 22, Daniel 9, reflect kind of the destruction, the annihilation that's projected for the 70th week of Daniel. So the question I have for the class is why this sequence of events? It has to be a purging. Judgment. Yeah, judgment. Destruction has to happen. Who says? The Lord says. Anybody question that?

Well, you can turn to the next page. If you do, I'll give it away. Yeah, OK. So the theme that Jim really, I think, nicely brought forth and we'll support here again today are these verses sequentially and collectively continue the theme of the sovereignty of God.

Nobody has a right to answer that question with pure and truthful knowledge as to why things have to occur that way, but that's the way the Lord has planned it. But the world doesn't like that. Well, no, and I'll return to that in a few minutes in terms of the answer.

I think too, Bob, that I think Paul is wanting to explain the confusion in the minds of the Israelites. Because they're saying, hey, we're the Jews that started off this section. And they're saying, what's going on? So he's taking them back to the Old Testament and explaining to them things that they know. It's kind of reiterating what they should know to be true is going to happen.

Think about it, Jim, if you were a Jew and not particularly drawn by the vehicle of faith, how would you interpret all this stuff? Remember, we're all accountable, but if the response of accountability is not rendered in the vehicle of faith, we are nothing but confused. It's all about me and not about God's promises. And do we motivate people to understand the truth by fear or an intellectual argument?

Generally, no. And so how do we reach the lost world? And I think that's something that's really there for all of us to consider on a day-to-day basis. And I have a personal story, which I'll share in a few minutes. And it's not this all God's grace. I mean, the fact that God has laid out a plan that up until now has proven true, has it not? I mean, today we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason we have confidence in what that means is that we see the promises fulfilled through that birth, death, and crucifixion, ultimately resurrection, and the fact that we're called unto His favor by our recognizing who we are before God. We're nothing. were worthless. And it's by God's grace that he has a plan worked out, initiated with Adam in the garden that's been sustained through the nation of Israel, and then finally brought to the non-Jew for belief and understanding.

Let's skip ahead a bit here, still speaking to Israel. Here's Romans 11, 4 through 6, and I think, Roger, maybe this is in your domain here, I didn't look that far ahead, but Romans 11, 4 through 6, but what saith the answer of God unto him? Elijah was questioning God. We can go back and look at that, but I don't want to take time now to do that.

I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work."

So the reason I state this is even the principles applied to the Nation of Israel are all God's grace. I mean, he's telling Elijah, look, these are the rules of the game. You don't need to understand them, you just need to believe. And this is the principle of grace worked out. This is the plan. Believe it. Accept it. And by my great mercy, you have benefit. Just believe. So the principle's been the same from the garden on. All right. Romans 9, 29. Any comments further on verses 27 and 28? Yeah. I was just thinking about what you just said.

It is the reason that intellectuals or non-believers argue with the book of God because they, since they don't have grace, they're trying to question everything God does. And we accept that by faith. Grace is the dividing principle. If you think about grace and how misunderstood grace is, not that me, Jim, any of us here have perfect understanding of grace, goodness gracious, talk about being in God's domain, but yet we understand a little bit because we see the principles played out in our own individual lives. Grace is the stumbling stone, really, that fits the Jew and the Gentile. I'll share this in more detail in a second, but there's a story I want to reveal to you that builds on this principle and it fits in a little more nicely in a few slides, so we'll wait on that to establish that a little further.

So this is from Isaiah 1.9, the Lord of the Sabbath. What's that mean? What do you think of when you read in scripture, the Lord of Sabbath? Well, it also means the Lord of hoes. How many times do you see this in the New Testament? Not very many times.

It's in James 5.4, but I don't really see it anywhere else in the New Testament. So what's this mean?

Well, it kind of means, if you look up the term which I did, it means it can be of angels, it could mean of spiritual agencies, and generally it applies to the armies of heaven. So it's kind of like God's got his troops, and that's kind of what we recognize as the Lord of Hosts. And most often it refers to warfare and service. So kind of the principle of Ephesians 6, where you put on the armor of God, that's kind of a Lord of hosts or the Lord of the Sabbath really being portrayed in the life of a believer. Here, typically used when addressing things related to the nation of Israel. So I think another way to think about this would be the Lord All-Sovereign perhaps fits the description best. God and all his armies. The Lord of the Sabbath. So it's a strong, strong term. about the Lord God Jehovah.

So when you think of Sodom and Gomorrah, what do you think of here? I think of Las Vegas. I hate going to Las Vegas. I have medical meetings sometimes. Man at his finest. Oh boy. Iniquity and damnation is what are two good terms I think to summarize those two cities. Yuck. I could go into that in more detail anyway.

Okay, so kind of 2 Peter 2.6, Jude 1.7 kind of gets in into the aspects of Sodom and Gomorrah in more detail. We'll not look at that now. Yet we're told here in the verse that the remnant will be preserved and spared, kind of the environments that existed around Sodom and Gomorrah. Boy, if you think of the end times and you see the equation of what's expected to be equated to Sodom and Gomorrah, the end times are really going to be kind of nasty, right? Not only all the destruction, but just the environment that exists. Did anybody read the Left Behind series and the way the city of Jerusalem was being portrayed? characters here by Jerry Jenkinson. Also you might read the one that Jean was offering, Time of Jacob's Trouble.

Who wrote it? I don't remember his name. It's a friend of theirs, right? A friend of theirs, yeah. It's quite detailed. It's fiction, but it's... Your imagination can run wild, but I think the idea that the remnant is going to be preserved and spared from this environment that Sodom and Gomorrah like, kind of gives you an idea of what things are going to be going on. And I think this is more evidence of God's amazing sovereignty and grace. He's got this remnant selected, picked out, which will be preserved. And the question is, are these robots? Is God's will to the extent that the 144,000 are identified to be a special reflection of His mercy? Or in fact, is this foreknowledge? What is this? Does anybody know?

That's what makes him sovereign. That's the same thing that he referred to earlier with Jacob and Esau, where he picked Jacob before anything happened. Yeah, and do we understand it? We touch on the surface, don't we? But we really don't completely understand it.

But God said there's 144,000 that's going to make it through all this. Presumably, these are men of faith identified by His great sovereignty and grace to be sustaining the message through the tribulation. I was just wondering, when you were reading from Isaiah 10, It says, the remnant of them shall return. So I always thought they would be here, but they must be, the 144,000 must be coming back.

Well, I think coming back probably to the land, right? The idea of them being reestablished in the land. These are living souls. I don't see them being, you know, kind of recreated from eternity past. I think these are living souls who sustain the trials and tribulations of the tribulation. All right, so the Lord of Sabbath makes his point that ultimately he will oversee the sustenance of the remnant into the final periods before the millennium occurs. Verses 30 and 31, what shall we then say?

The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. How incredibly beautiful and consistent is this passage? The vehicle here is faith, not works. So what Paul is saying is he's asking the question, what about these Gentiles? I mean, let's go back and make sure we look at that again. That the Gentiles who weren't looking after righteousness have attained righteousnesses, but the vehicle is faith, right?

So they weren't looking for it, and what would you think, in context, is meant by they weren't looking for it? That means the Jew was looking for it? Well, the Jew had certainly knowledge of God. Whereas the Jew, Paul, their gods may have been taken gods or no gods at all. And so all of a sudden, here's the righteous God, and so they can't see it or feel it. They weren't given anything, so it was by faith that they chose to follow God. And the Jews, on the other hand, they were given all kinds of things.

And even the law. What was their response to what they had been given? Turn their back. And remember, it was intended to be so. I mean, if we just turn back to verse 26, that the Gentiles were put in a position ultimately to be extended this great grace so that they might respond through the vehicle of faith.

Religion gets you nowhere with God, right? I mean, the Jew has always been religious. I mean, religion is kind of this idea of a God that ultimately has a demanding agenda. And that if we follow a particular set of traditions, rules, guidelines, recommendations, it ultimately will be pleasing to God. And that effectively was what the nation of Israel was doing all those years.

Let's turn to Acts 13, 44 through 50, which is a very vivid representation of this type of behavior. Roger? And by the way, this is the opposition of the Jews to Paul, who at that time turned from the Jew to the Gentile. So go ahead, Roger. Now, verse 34.

And the next Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began convicting the things spoken by Paul. And Paul of Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, It is necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first, since you have created it. And judge yourselves, and you will live here to come alive. Behold, we are coming to your temples. The Lord has commanded us. I have placed you on the right, the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region, but the Jews aroused the devout enemy of the common man, and the leader of the men of the city, and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of the district. Remember the three biggies of 1 John 2? What are the three big sins that separate the believer from God, or potentially the unbeliever?

Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and The pride of life. And boy, that pride of life is something that really is represented by Israel. I suspect in each and every one of us as we kind of go about our daily business at times, fortunately we're accepted in the Beloved. And so nothing separates us from the love of God. But for the Jew, boy, that pride of life.

We're going to do it our way. This is the way we're going to do it. And forget all this other stuff. The Gospel message is meaningless to us. It goes against the religion, the traditions, the guidelines for our faith, quote-unquote. And I point out too, it's not just the same law of their members we see in us, this idea of just kind of the old man often is our driving force here, and we all fall into the same kind of trap. Again, the difference is we're fully accepted by His great grace and our faith. Again, grace is the process, faith is the vehicle.

Galatians 3.10.11, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them, but that no man is justified by the law on the side of God. It is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Praise the Lord for Martin Luther at least beginning to uncover the truth for the 13th or 14th century and beyond.

Could the Israelite have pursued after the righteousness under the legal system? What are your thoughts? Was God, in His sovereignty, really unreasonable in terms of what He'd asked the true spiritual Israel to do? I don't think so. I mean, God would not be unjust, first of all. But in His sovereignty, He would not ever declare a principle or a truth that ultimately could not be responded to by faith.

Galatians 3.8 says, "...and the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." So what's Abraham accounted for? So what did Abraham do that should have set the stage for all of the nation to follow?

He believed! And what about the animal sacrifice? You know, in the Jewish tradition, quote-unquote, I mean, what do you believe the animal sacrifice is all about by the high priest annually in the temple? Well, that's an atonement, is it not? The Jew was still asked to believe what God had revealed. And we see that throughout the Old Testament.

Hebrews 11.7, by faith, you know the whole chapter is on faith. By faith, Noah being warned of God of things not seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness." By the way, principle, vehicle, faith.

In a sense, is it harder to believe now than it was at the time of the Old Testament in terms of what God had revealed? It should be easier now, because we have this. Okay, the Word of God, we accept because we believe, right? Did you accept the Word of God before you were a believer?

Well, no, but I think because so many of these things have come true. The prophecies, I mean, the Word has been true from the beginning of time, and all you have to do, if you don't want to believe this either, you can look at historic facts. And these things have happened. So I would think, you know, we have this. Those guys, they really had to believe by faith because there was nothing except God speaking to them. Well, but the vehicle of faith was identical for them as us.

The question is how many of the world's people knew what God had revealed to Abraham? In other words, was this truth sufficiently paramount for somebody in China to have heard it and acknowledged it. Remember, and this is an opinion and you can shoot me down, but God reaches man in three ways, creation, conscience, and Christ. And God will deal justly with people who have not heard, but maybe have... Christ is still the vehicle. Nobody gets to heaven without the cross, but yet I'll leave it up to him to deal with people that have never heard. Christ still is the vehicle, but yet we're not quite sure his justice and how it's prevailed.

Romans 9, 32, 33. This would be kind of fun to wrap up Romans 9, at least from my perspective it will be. You may disagree. Okay, so the question is why? And this builds on the verses that preceded it. Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. That's why. for they stumbled at that stumbling stone."

Remember what we said about 1 Peter 2.7-10 is the stumbling stone really appealed to the nation of Israel. As is it written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense and whosoever believes on him will not be put to shame.

Again, the Old Testament, Isaiah 8.14, Isaiah 28.16, the Jew is stumbled, and there are multiple places in Scripture that that process is identified. So to stumble, proskopto is the Greek, literally means to strike against. This is aristactive, they're involved in being stumbling. God's not making them receive stumbling by a passive process. They're the ones who are stumbling themselves.

And So Isaiah 14, and he shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both of the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and many among them shall stumble and fall and be broken and be snared and be taken. And we looked at this already in 1 Peter 2, 7 and 8 about the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. And that really points to the Lord Jesus Christ, does it not?

To the Gentiles the cross is foolishness, remember, but we preach Christ crucified under the Jews a stumbling block and under the Greeks foolishness. Why is it foolishness under the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jew? I don't understand grace. Alright, that's true for both, is it not? But why do we think of Christ being a stumbling block to the Jews, but yet foolishness under the Greek?

It reflects, I think, kind of the personality of the two nations. Well, the Jews were religious. They were going to believe. They were believing in God. But then Christ, they couldn't believe in Christ. And he couldn't be part of their religious system. Because he didn't fit their projection, right, as to how their faith was. But as far as Gentiles, in a sense, their religion kind of everything, and they honor intellectualism more than religion.

And it just looks like a bunch of foolishness. Yeah. I think it's a great answer, Rachel. Thank you. I think, in a sense, the Jew's not dumb either. But the Jew as a nation, the nation of Israel, so dogmatically based on tradition, and having their own truth, that ultimately their intellectualism the stumbling is even to them thinking through what they're going through.

They've got it all worked out, so Christ is a stumbling block to what they've already worked out. Donna? Could you say that the Jews that are referred to there are perceiving God through their old man, through the sin nature? and it becomes a religion? Well, the law was there to bring us to Christ, right? And ultimately, the Jew who wakes up will realize that that animal sacrifice annually was the fact they ain't making it, right? I mean, something needs to be done before God to realize that the sin nature really is prevailing.

I think your comment's perfectly good. It strikes me that this manner of the animal, or the sacrifices of the Old Testament, were fulfilled on that good, that we call Good Friday, after six days or whatever it was. But, especially at this Easter time, that the sacrifices were fulfilled with the Lord himself, and the sacrifice where he gave his blood. and went to the tomb, but when the lady went to the tomb, he was not there. So the whole gospel really is wrapped up in the beginning of the flood, the sacrifice. All right. Thank you, Art. Particularly timely today, is it not? Now, I think John 11, 9 through 10 applies to both Jew and the Gentile. Let's just turn to that just briefly. I guess I have it here. I'm sorry.

I don't have a handout. But Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbles not, because he sees the light of the world. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because there's no light in him. I mean, I think that's broadly applicable. The truth is in the daylight, but if you walk in darkness, ultimately, you know, you're going to stumble because there's no light available.

So, in summary, the humble mind comes in faith, but this remains our responsibility. We must respond to the grace that God extends to each one of us. The natural mind ignores the sovereignty of God and works it all out on his or her terms. And that's effectively what the nation of Israel has represented. Now, keep in mind there are individuals in the nation of Israel and individuals within the Gentile domain that each of us are approached ultimately individually, and our own responsibility is to respond by faith.

So the word ashamed is used in verse 33 and Philippians tells us, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but with all the boldness as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death. The Jew was stumbled by Christ and the Gentile Christ was foolishness, but those who come into the relationship which God has called us into will not be ashamed.

And you stand confidently in that truth. As the President did this morning, Art, in his message, although I didn't hear it, you did. And that reflects his lack of being ashamed by the gospel. It's touched his own life. Alright, so in summary of what we've been through in Chapter 9, a brief review of God's sovereignty, and this is kind of just something I put together.

Number one, man was lost, guilty of in the world and not seeking God. God knew beforehand about man. So He didn't make Adam and Eve go the wrong way, but obviously He was well aware that that would happen. God chose to overcome the resistance. And he did by pointing out to every man his creation, applying a conscience, which ultimately could be prevailed to the nation of Israel through the legal system. And remember, the whole world has been put under some sort of a legal system. It may not be the Mosaic one, but it's under their own. And finally, the purpose of creation and conscience was to bring us to Christ, which was foreordained before the beginning of the world. extended His grace so that all might be saved. His election is not a process by which some are left out. His election is His perfect knowledge and will as played out in His own time, in His own way.

And I think if and when God reaches a point with Pharaoh or with Judas or anyone else that we might see in Scripture that seems to be in a position of being predestined to carry out the responsibility of God, that's His business. And we never look at an individual that walks this earth with this mindset of having God's direction and or intent. Everyone is called to be saved, and we look at no one with the wisdom of God. And I think Jim did a great job on this, and I must admit, we can only go so far with this, you know, Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have hated. but yet God has, by his own particular wisdom and understanding, declared it to be that way.

So, what I was going to share briefly was that, is under this, I had, it's funny, on Friday night, I was late getting here, so my wife and I walked in together, but she was a half hour late, It worked on Friday. I just hired a PhD postdoc who's kind of my lab manager from China. She's been in the States for a while and speaks pretty good English and I think kind of knows the Western ways enough to really be able to sense kind of what's going on around her. She came in and she asked me about the weekend. I said, well, I have a lot of work to do but also today's Good Friday and I'm going to church tonight and then I'll be teaching Sunday school on Sunday. She couldn't believe that I was doing these things.

So an hour later, I mean, the Chinese principle is first of all, nobody believes in God. I mean, Confucius, in their view, was kind of a narrow pathway that few accept in today's China. Nobody really goes there anymore. Remember that the religion of China historically is mostly Confucianism. But she said that that's kind of more historic and of interest to the student from abroad, but most people don't go that path because it's too narrow.

But each and every Chinese man or woman ultimately must find their own way, find their own peace, and create their own truth, and they deal with things based on their own ability. Man or woman is in control of their own life. There is no God. Now, she's not quite sure there's not a god. And she's seen her Chinese friends, some of them during periods of trial and tribulation, come to become Christians, so she says. But then she's puzzled by some of their behavior after that, and she really doesn't see any consistency. And so anyway, the long conversation about, from at least the Chinese perspective, which I don't think is much different from the Western perspective, is everybody works it out on his or her own terms.

And my brother just happens to believe that he's done a lot of good things. He was in education all his life. He's helped a lot of kids along the path of being better informed and making good career decisions. And so he's not a bad guy, and he doesn't need God. I mean, that's his view of the world. But yet, it's just interesting on Friday how this whole thing played out in terms of the sovereignty of God and the way he ultimately positions himself in front of all of mankind.

Anyway, her name is Hong, and she was asking questions, which I found kind of interesting, because if she doesn't believe in God, or at least doubts God, why is she continuing to ask me questions? So we'll see. And secondly, seeing me in science, she can't believe that someone who would be scientifically directed in his or her career would ultimately be turning to this kind of phantom faith, as I might paraphrase what she viewed. So pray for Hong if you think about that. Maybe another conversation will follow. there'd be an opportunity to bring the truth to her more. Clarity. Yeah, Roger.

Yeah, the first thing that always comes to mind is actually earlier in Romans, Romans 1.18, you know, that man suppresses the truth and unrighteousness. He sees there is truth, he sees the truth, and he has some contact with it, but he insists on suppressing it. And it's an incredible thing. The truth is out there, but he suppresses it. It breaks your heart.

I've come across people like that. Well, I tried to just share with her briefly about the problem that we all have is we look horizontal. I said, you know, as a believer, my responsibility is to the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, you know, that's where I need to be looking, not what Roger or Margaret are doing, right? But the issue is, she sees the hypocrisy, as most people do in the Christian faith, and I've let her know that that's why we're saved, is that the nature that we have demands a Savior. this seemed kind of foreign. I mean pretty difficult for her. Remember, grew up in a Chinese culture. I mean there's no God anywhere in China. So even Confucius is a philosophy. It's really not truly a God-based religion.

Let's close in prayer. Father, it's been wonderful to join our thoughts and our perceptions of your word the day together on a day that we recognize represents the foundation of our faith, and that's the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We turn to no other truth in terms of founding our acceptance with you, and we're thankful for your great grace that extends to each one of us that we might believe in faith. Thankful for what we've learned in Romans 9, and we look forward to continuing this study a week from now as Roger leads us in more truth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.