Week 40 - Free Weekend Program For Street & Vulnerable Children

Romans 9 : 14 - 20

Theme : God’s Sovereign Mercy & Justice

Verse 14 -15 “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

We closed last week with God’s unconditional election regarding Jacob and Esau, He loved Jacob but hated Esau. We also saw that His decision and choice is not based on anything they have done or have failed to do. He made His choice before they were born, so there was no record of good or bad on their account before God chose to love one and hate the other.

Today, verse 14 starts with a question, “what then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all.

Why? The whole thing seem unjust and unfair.

We see the answer in - verse 15 “ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

God is not under obligation to anyone, He owes no one mercy, He is at liberty to extend mercy to who ever He pleases. Every one has sinned, we all deserve eternal damnation, Jacob and Esau inclusive; both were sinners, none of them was seen as righteous “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10. “Everyone (like the clay)is corrupt through Adam.

Judgment is what we all deserve, but God chose to extend his mercy to some. For example, we all fell into a pit toilet, God chose to pull some out, and wash them clean with His own blood, but for some, He left them. He didn’t cause anyone to fall in, we all fell on our own accord, but God decided to help some out and left others.

What did Jacob do to receive God’s help, His mercy for the forgiveness of his sins? Nothing! What did Esau do to deserve judgement? Sin, both his inherent sin from Adam and his personal and continual sins.

There is a movie, titanic, a huge ship cruising on the high sea; when the ship began to sink due to one man’s error (poor navigation due to sinful distraction), signaling death for all on board, a rescue boat was sent to take people to safety. The boat came for the rich- those on the first class, it didn’t come for everyone; as a result, those left behind, many of them drowned - died.

But Christ, like the rescue boat didn’t come to rescue the rich or the poor, He came to rescue those God has chosen before they were born, it is called predestination and election. He rescues them by the Gospel, by the hearing of Faith. It doesn’t depend on who they are, what they have done or will do, no! It depends on God’s free choice, His sovereign will according to election.

God’s love for His people are unconditional, there are no standards or pre-qualification requirements, God chooses because He is God, He does as He pleases. Man’s love and acceptance are conditioned on varying standards and circumstances; thank God if your rejection is only by mere men (Associates, family & friends) because it means nothing! It’s less than dust, but If God has chosen you, by loving you like Jacob, you are honoured eternally beyond measure. Therefore, if you are in Christ, rejoice in your short comings and your weaknesses, praise God for your limitations, they have no bearing before Him; instead, they only serve to glorify God, bringing honour and praise to His name.

Our acceptance by God does not depend on any inherent or acquired standard or circumstances but on God’s free choice and sovereign will.

Verse 16 “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

Many people argue about free will, they boast about their “noble” desire, effort and firm decision to “give their lives to Christ” some are quick at narrating how they came to a decision for Christ, went to a particular altar and “dedicated” themselves to God, but the scripture says salvation does not depend on human desire or effort.

Nothing in us past, present or future endeared God to show us mercy and grant us salvation; He did it out of His own sovereign will. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, He died for the ungodly.

Our will does exist but it is subjective, God’s will is sovereign and absolute; none can resist Him. Jonah couldn’t, Jonah 1-2 , neither could Jeremiah, Jeremiah 20:9. In 2 Cor. 8:16, the Bible says, Titus went with eagerness out of his OWN INITIATIVE, which meant that he decided willingly on his own, but right before then, we saw that it was God who put it in his heart and Paul gave God thanks for that.

First, God visits us with Mercy, giving us the desire and willingness we need to come to Christ Philippians 2:13, so it is not our desire, our willingness or self determination, no! it is God’s mercy from start to finish, we add nothing to it. We have no part in it, it was completed before we were born. The work was finished before the foundation of the earth. Hebrews 4:3

Verse 17 “For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Going further to verse 17, we see that God raised up Pharaoh to show His own power, so the whole earth will proclaim His name. Pharaoh seemed so powerful, many knew his might, which was enormous, from chariots to horses, etc great might, but God is supreme in position and absolute in power; through Pharaoh He revealed His greatness, so people will fear and proclaim His name.

Due to pharaoh’s stubbornness, God showed His power, He dried up the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptian in it afterwards, their chariots, horses everything. He finished them, then, people began to talk about God and His power, some joined God’s family, they came to faith in Christ. Joshua 2:10.

Verse 18 “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”

God made pharaoh’s heart stubborn for His own glory, the praise and fear of His name. If Pharaoh was obedient to Moses, God will not have displayed his power; no one will see or hear of all the plagues in Egypt, nothing will be heard or known of God’s miraculous deeds. “God hardens people by giving them the truth but not the power to repent, they never seek after God, they perish rebelling against light. They die as people who have been told.” Heshimu Colar

Unlike Jacob, who God made to wrestle with Him in prayer and He in turn changed his name to Israel - gave him a new nature; same with Jabez, both got a new nature(transformation), its the same same as being born again, which comes with power over sin by the Holy Spirit, so we have no reason to be proud as if we have done anything.

God’s mercy has made us willing and obedient, giving us the Holy Spirit as our helper, but for others, their hearts remains hardened against the gospel, they have ears that cannot hear, eyes that cannot see. They hear the gospel loud and clear but they can’t repent because the power is not given Matthew 13:11-17. Only the Spirit can give life by making the gospel real in our hearts, leading to repentance.

Without God’s mercy, we are all worst than Pharoah, everyone of us. We are all rebellious and stubborn by nature, it is inherent in our fallen sinful nature; we studied this in Romans 3, but by Mercy, God took away the heart of stone, and gave us heart of flesh, He changed our hearts; for others like Pharaoh, Esau, Judas, He left them to themselves, in their natural rebellious state and they only grew worse. Romans 1:28

Verse 19 “One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?”

You may be thinking, why will God love some people, gave them power to repent but allows others to go to hell fire? He has power to change everybody, he has power to stop us all from sinning, who can resist His will and say no! The truth is, none can resist His will. It’s impossible. Jonah couldn’t resist God’s will, Jonah 1-2, Jeremiah couldn’t resist the call of God Jeremiah 20:9. Everything is as He has determined. Self determination is a farce, a complete lie. It doesn’t exist.

So, why does God still judge anyone for disobeying Him? This kind of question is rooted more in pride and arrogance. It’s like calling God to the carpet, questioning His rationale and placing yourself in a position to give verdict against Him. Is it good to ask God questions? Yes, but it depends on the kind of question. For example, God sent a word of promise to Zachariah through Angel Gabriel, Zachariah demanded a proof, an evidence to validate the promise (unbelief) , the angel said “ I am Gabriel”…. that’s enough prove, for doubting me, you will not speak again till it is done.

Mary asked the angel a question “How will this be since am a virgin” she didn’t doubt the promise, she wanted to know the plan and the Angel responded kindly by saying, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you…”

In Romans 9:19, we see a different attitude, which seeks to place God under judgment, questioning the rationale behind His decision in hope of rendering a verdict against God. “Why should he act like that? help one and leave the other, He shouldn’t, it’s not fair, He should help everyone, also why does he still blame us? Who has the power to stop him or say no! to His will?

Verse 20 “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?

God Almighty has decided what He wants, He is perfect in wisdom, knowledge, holiness and much more; we are not in a position to question or challenge God’s decisions or actions. We are created beings and God is the ultimate creator and authority.

In the book of Job, we see satan talking back to God out of envy. Let me paraphrase in Pigin English -

“God said to satan, where you dey come from?

Satan said “ I dey waka up and down”

God said “ you don see my servant Job, he dey faithful o!

Satan say “abeg, make I hear word! Why he no go dey faithful, see as you bless ‘em, give em money, pikin, wife, house, everything, people dey respect em, on top that one, you use army dey protect em. who no go follow you like mumu if you give them all these things. Make you comot all these things, see if he no go curse you, spit you throw away.

God said “ ok, go and do it, comot everything except his life, make we see.

We must not be like satan, envious, we must approach God with humility, trusting in His wisdom and sovereignty; acknowledging, respecting and submitting to His authority, ready to do His will. God owes us no explanation, no obligation, nothing! but judgment! He is not the author of evil, but Has decided to extend His Mercy to those He love, for others, He will show His justice. God being fair will mean sending everyone to eternal damnation, but praise God because for some of us, He has shown Mercy. Challenging or questioning God's fairness leads you no where but perdition, ultimately, God's sovereignty is beyond human comprehension, we don’t know it all. We know Esau’s sin brought about his fair judgment but why He showed mercy to Jacob, who is equally a sinner, we can’t explain, except to say, “He is God”. He does as He pleases. To one He shows His Mercy, to another, He shows His Justice.

Thank God that you have heard the Gospel and have put your faith in Christ, that is God’s Mercy towards you. Though, we were all born into Adam’s family and were inherently corrupt with sin, God choose to adopt some of us as His own Children, by buying us with a price, the precious blood of Christ; forgave our sins, gave us a new nature by His Spirit and a new name - Christian. We have enough reason to be thankful everyday of lives, He choose me for mercy not justice! He choose you for mercy not justice! if indeed you believe the gospel and i know you believe by His grace. .

Pray for many whose hearts are still temporarily hardened toward the gospel, pray that the mercy of God will visit them. Pray for your friends, pray for your family, Invite them to come and hear the gospel, so they can believe in Him and be married to Him who was raised from the dead.