This morning I’m so excited to be able to continue with you in our adventure through the books of Romans. So turn your Bibles. I think it will really be useful if you have your Bibles open before you because we are looking at some 10, 11 verses and we can’t put all 10, 11 verses on the screen at one shot. And having the Bible ahead or in front of you gives you a better appreciation of the context of individual verses we are considering. So turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Romans and chapter 9. And we are going to read verses 23 all the way to the end of the chapter. I’m going to read this slowly so that you have time to absorb and to hear what God has to say to you. Romans 9, verse 23: “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not 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 children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though 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. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” That ends the reading of the passage before us. 0:03:05.2

The last time we stopped, we were at verse 23, where it says, “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory.” We here realised and learned that our God is a God of mercy. Man because of his sin, deserved to be judged and punished for our sins. But God in His mercy, chose some to be vessels of mercy that He may demonstrate and manifest His goodness, His glory, His grace and His love. The question is who will God choose to be vessels of mercy? Out of the sea of fallen humanity, who will He choose? The Jews believed that it will be themselves. The people of Israel firmly believed that because Abraham is their father, they will be chosen, they will be saved, they will have absolute priority. That phrase reminds me of a very important piece of news released by the government this week. The Ministry of Education declared that Singaporeans will have absolute priority over permanent residents in… (Response from Congregation) Primary one registration. Wah… and citizens rejoice. Well, citizens now have absolute priority over permanent residents when they register their children for primary one. Regardless of the distance you stay, citizens first! And the Jews have these mindsets that because my father is Abraham, I am of the nation of Israel, I am a racial Jew. I have absolute priority and the people that God will choose, out of the sea of fallen humanity to be the vessels of mercy must be the Jews! But that is exactly what Paul argues against. Paul is saying, no, that is not what Scripture says. That is not the will of God. God will choose vessels of mercy but they are not necessarily going to be all Jews. And not all of Israel will be saved. The argument begins in Romans 9, in verse 6, remember? “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” He’s saying yes, God will choose some to be saved but they are the spiritual Israelites. 0:05:48.5 These are the men and women who have believed in Jesus. These are the men and women who are true Jews inwardly and not just outwardly. But the rest, but the rest, will not be saved because they have not believed in the Son of God. And to prove that point, Paul went on to say, just being a descendant of Abraham doesn’t save you. Look at Abraham, he had other children, but only Isaac is saved. And from Isaac, Esau is rejected but Jacob is loved. So it’s clear that simply being a Jew doesn’t give you automatic inclusion as a vessel of mercy. God says in Romans 9:18, for I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. It’s independent of man. What race he belongs to; what kind of a person he will be; how intelligent he is; what is his race. It’s independent of these things. It’s according to the sovereign electing grace of God. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

So the question now is: alright, it's not all going to be the Jews, who will then be the vessels of mercy? The verses we have read, verses 24 to 29 is going to reveal to you two shocking realities. They are shocking to the mind of a Jew. The two shocking realities are first of all, found in verses 24 to 26, where it says not only will the Jews be saved, but God is going also to save the Gentiles. That’s shocker number one to the Jews. Shocker number two is even more drastic and it is this: that even though Jews will be saved, they will be saved in small numbers. And I’m going to share with you how Paul reasons it out from Scripture. So the first realisation: who are those who will be saved? Paul says the Jews and also the Gentiles. The Gentiles will be included. And he says in verse 24, even us, that is the vessels of mercy, whom He has called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. This is a shocker to a Jew. The Jews have viewed Gentiles as people outside the grace of God. Because they are unclean; because they have not the law of God; because they worship other gods and Paul is saying something rather contradictory to what they have always learned. We are the chosen ones, they say. But God is saying no, the Gentiles will also now be chosen. It’s a shocker. But Paul is being very consistent, by the way. This is his message all the way. He’s saying this is the Gospel. The Gospel is not only to the Jews but it is also to the Gentiles. Remember way… right at the beginning, Romans 1:16. Paul says, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the… memory verse… it is the… power of God unto… salvation to… to… everyone who believeth… to the… I feel like a primary school teacher. Squeezing out lessons from people who have not studied. (Laughter from congregation) It’s the power of God unto Salvation to everyone who believeth to the… Jews first and also to the… Greeks. Not Gentiles, Greeks. (Laughter from congregation) So Paul is very consistent. 0:10:10.2 He opens the book of Romans by saying, the Gospel is indeed the power of God, unto salvation to everyone. The Jews first, but also to the Greeks. And as he journeys now to Romans 9, he’s saying this is true. The vessels of mercy that God will choose are not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. And he’s going to say, this has always been the will of God. 0:10:38.5 You say, Paul, how do you know it’s always been the will of God? Paul has a usual method, a method we will do well to learn. His method to prove it has always been the will of God is to go to… let me hear that word please… it’s to go to… (Response from congregation) go to the Scriptures. And this is what Paul says: I know that the Gospel is not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles, not because I imagine it to be but because God said so. You say where? Verses 25 and 26, which are based on Hosea chapters 2 and 1. “As he saith also here in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not 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 children of the living God.” So Paul says, here you go. It is the will of God to save not only the Jews but also the Gentiles because the prophet Hosea said it some eight hundred years ago. Now what I’m saying is nothing new. It’s a revelation that God has given eight hundred years ago. And this is a fascinating book, the book of Hosea. The book of Hosea is about the apostasy, the falling away, the rebellion of the children of Israel. Under the rule of wicked Jeroboam, they decided to commit idolatry. They turn their backs against God. And they were so bad, they were so fallen that God said you are now no more my people. That was how bad Northern Israel had become. And besides the preaching of God’s Word, God told Hosea to do something amazing. God told Hosea to marry a woman. Her name is… anyone knows the… Hosea’s wife’s name? (Response from congregation) Gomer, that’s right! And eh… by the way, don’t ever name your daughter Gomer. Because what Gomer turn out to be is that she became a harlot, a prostitute. She became adulterous. However, she gave birth to three children. Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi. You say, Pastor why you tell us these three names? Because these three names mean something. Jezreel means scattered. Lo-Ruhamah means not loved. Lo-Ammi, not Yum-ammi, Lo-Ammi means not my people. 0:13:32.1 And the message God is sending is a strong and powerful one. Hosea by his life, by his family is preaching to the entire nation of Israel. Israel, you are just like Gomer, you are adulterous, you have turn your back against me and now your children will be scattered, no more loved, not my people. That’s the message Hosea has to bring with his lips and with his life. But yet, in the book of Hosea, there is mercy, there is grace, there is forgiveness. Because in Hosea chapter 2 and chapter 1, Hosea says, God says via Hosea that I will call them now my people which were not my people. I will call them beloved when they were not beloved. And they will be my children once again. The book of Hosea tells of the amazing grace of God in the midst of an adulterous, wicked and evil generation. Those who are sharp will immediately realise that’s something difficult here. Why? Because when Hosea quotes this and writes this, he is referring first and foremost to the… Jews! But when Paul quotes Hosea, he is referring it to the… Gentiles. Of course, Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit would be right to do so. But the point is this you see, if God could restore a people that is so bad as the Israelites, that have turned their backs against God, God could restore and save the Gentiles today. So this is the point that Paul is making. God is going to save. He is going to choose vessels of mercy, not exclusively the Jews but also of the Gentiles. It has been prophesied. It has been stated eight hundred years ago via Hosea. You see our God is not just the God of the Jews. Our God is not just the God of the westerners or the Caucasians as some Asians, we will be tempted to think. Our God is a God of the entire world. He is a God of all nations. That’s why the great commission is given that we will go to all nations, all people groups. And that’s why in Acts 17, the Bible says, God now commends men, or commands men, everywhere to repent. Our God is a global God, universal God. And the desire to save, not just the Jews but also the Gentiles really is right throughout Scripture. Remember how God said to Abraham: “In thy seed shall all nations be blessed.” See, it’s nothing new! It’s nothing new. It says Israel don’t be shocked! The Jews will be saved. Yes, but the Gentiles will also be saved. It is already prophesied, declared, this is a clear plan and purpose of God. Point number one.

Point number two is this: now the Jews though they will be saved will be very few in numbers in comparison. Very few. Again, the question is, Paul how do you know the Jews will be saved in small numbers? What is Paul’s method again? Paul’s method is… Scripture. And so he goes back to Scripture and this time in verse 27, he’s going to quote from Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 10, where it says, “Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.” Six hundred over years, before Paul would write Romans Chapter 9, he says God has already declared that Israel, some of whom will be saved but the number will be small compared to the number that is like the sand of the seashore, a remnant only will be saved. You see one of the arguments the Jews have against the Gospel that Paul is preaching is this: how can the Gospel be true when only so few of us believed in it? Paul says, don’t be surprised, this is exactly the point. This is exactly the purpose and plan and the will of God stated for us back in Isaiah’s time. Don’t be shocked. In verse 27, we see the word “crieth”, it’s a word of deep… it’s a word that implies intensity. It’s a loud cry. It’s a deep cry. In fact they say this is taken from a word that refers to a bird screeching when it is under distress. I don’t know how to imitate it… eeeyaaaggggrrrr (Screeching sounds)… (Laughter from congregation) OK, it’s a screeching! It’s a cry, it’s an impassioned plea. And Isaiah in a sense when he says these words is expressing the shock, the amazement, the awe and the grief that is in his heart. That though Israel be so numerous in number, only a small portion of them will believe, only a small portion of them will be saved. It’s repeated again in verse 29. It says, “And as Isaiah said before”, this time taken from Isaiah 1:9. “Except the Lord of Sabaoth”, that means the Lord of the Armies, “the Lord of Hosts, had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been like unto Gomorrha.” Again, it’s a small number. It’s a small number. And this verse reminds us that if anyone of us is saved, it is purely the grace and the mercy of God. If not for God’s mercy, we would all be like Sodom and Gomorrah. And they were utterly and totally destroyed. That is what our sins deserved. This is what we should face but God in His mercy saved us. He leaves a seed in Israel, out of His mercy and His grace. If anybody is saved today, it is purely the mercy and grace of God. 0:20:19.9 So these are the two realities that are found in Scripture. Paul says number one, the Gentiles too will be saved. Number two, the Jews though they will be saved, will be few in number. It’s not because God’s Word has failed. It’s not because God is going to back away from His original promise with Abraham. This is exactly how God has determined it to be even before Paul was alive. This is the plan. And salvation is purely the grace and mercy of God.

So we face an irony, isn’t it? An irony that the Jews who are so greatly advantaged: they have the Word of God; they have the priesthood; they have the sacrifices; they have such a beautiful linage and heritage. They have all these advantages. And they have all these assumption that they are the chosen one. It ultimately turns out that few of them will be saved. And this is what Paul says, what shall we say then? This is… this is amazing. This is ironical. This is paradoxical. That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness; they’ve never really sought God; they’ve never really had the Word of God; they’ve never really been like the Jews; they have not followed after righteousness. However, they have attained to righteousness. They have seized and laid hold of righteousness. Even the righteousness which is of faith. On the other hand, the Jews, but Israel which followed, they pursued after the law of righteousness, have not attained to the law of righteousness. 0:22:04.5

I love soccer. And one of the great comebacks of soccer history to me is when eh… Liverpool fought back from 3 goals down to win the trophy. But that is no upset, there is no comeback that is the same. There is no upset that is the same like how the Gentiles attained to righteousness even though the Jews were way ahead of them in terms of advantage. This is the upset of all times. It reminds me somewhat like the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise and the rabbit. The rabbit is so advantaged, it has strong legs, it can run fast, it can jump far. You can do a lot of things. But eventually it seems like the tortoise won the race. Now let me just try to eliminate the idea that we can earn our salvation by works. The idea of race seems like you have to chase after it. Well, salvation is not what you chase. But if you take away the works mentality, maybe you can appreciate this. It is really like that isn’t it? The Jews were way ahead. They had the Word of God. They worship a monotheistic God, not a polytheistic religion. They have all these things and yet they did not arrive the same way the Gentiles arrived. You say why? Why such an irony when the Jews have all these advantages, they sort of stop short of where the Gentiles could go. That is the question Paul asks. He says, wherefore? Why? How come? “Apa ini?” (Malay words meaning what is this?) Why is this so? Wherefore? And I think some of us will say I know why Pastor. I’ve been listening to your sermons, I’ve been reading, I’ve been studying the passage of Romans and I tell you why Pastor. It’s because God did not choose them! God did not elect the nation of Israel and therefore it cannot be their fault. Therefore you cannot blame them. You see, Sovereignty, you say comes in here. It’s interesting to see what Paul says. He has been teaching sovereignty, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and whom I will, I harden. He has been teaching that but when it comes to this point. To explain why is it that Israel will not believe or why it is that Israel has not attained. This is what Paul responds: because they sought it not by faith. 0:24:47.0 You say Paul, you are such a conflicting person. You are such a confusing theologian. You are contradicting yourself Paul! You’ve been teaching us the sovereignty of God for a good 15 verses and then now at the end you are saying this is why they are not saved. They did not believe? You are not consistent! You should carry out that consistency all the way to say they are not saved because God did not choose them! But strange that Paul would change the way he approach this, isn’t it?

I see in Paul a man who is absolutely balanced in his theology and I pray that we would be balanced in theology as we hear his words. Paul is not saying I am… destroying everything I preached about sovereignty. He’s not obviously. But he is saying this, for any man to be saved, it is purely the sovereign grace of God. And for anybody not to be saved, it’s because they had not believed. The sovereignty of God is absolutely true. Paul believes it. And the responsibility of man is also equally true and that’s why he uses it to explain the falling away of the Jews. You see, there are some of us who cannot accept the tension on both sides. And we would say there is sovereignty of God and man has no choice. I see that God chooses but man also chooses. So to swing to one extreme, I don’t think it’s biblical. On the other hand, to say everything depends on our choice and God has no choice, it’s also unbiblical. God, sovereignly chooses, established. Man is accountable for his choice, it’s established. So let me say this to you again. If anybody is saved, he’s saved purely by the electing grace of God, otherwise we will be like Sodoma and Gomorrah. Except the Lord of Sabaoth leaves us a seed, we will be utterly destroyed. If any man he is saved, he is saved purely by the grace and the mercy of God. If anybody is lost, he’s lost because he did not believe. Both are true. So Paul says, they did not get saved, because they did not believe. And why is it that they did not believe? Paul says, it is because they sought it not by faith but as it were by the works of the Law. They wouldn’t believe in Jesus, the only Son of God because they sought to arrive and achieve and attain salvation by their works. One of the greatest hindrances to anyone getting saved is self-righteousness. To underestimate the depth of your sin, to underestimate the price that is needed to pay for your sins. You say I can do it! I can arrive! I can obey the Scriptures. I can do all that God commands me to do. It’s like the rich young ruler that says, “I’ve kept all these commandments since my youth, what else do I need?” Ahh… if you just offend in one point, you have offended in all the law. You have underestimated the depth of sin; the depth of your depravity; the depth of the price that is needed to pay for your sins. And the Jews, during Paul’s times were guilty of it. They felt that they could earn righteousness by the works of the law. And therefore they stumbled. And they did not come to Jesus. They felt that they did not need any Saviour. They did not need any saving. A great hindrance to salvation is self-righteousness. 0:28:59.7 And it’s a tragedy. It’s so sad when Paul thinks about it. He begins in Romans 9 with these tearing words, isn’t it? He says, I’m really speaking the truth in Christ, I’m not lying. My conscience is bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit and what is it that I have great heaviness and sorrow, continual sorrow in my heart that I could wish that myself were accursed for Christ, from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. He says I’m… I’m torn up on the inside, just thinking of how they did not seek Christ by faith. And if time permits, the next time we look at it, Romans 10:1, brethren my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Or he doesn’t say I’m not sure whether I am elect or non-elect, so let them be. Que Sera Sera, no he says that I am praying for them. That they might be saved. Because that they might be able to believe. So Paul here is giving us the irony of the invisible church of Jesus Christ. The vessels of mercy throughout the world today will be chosen from both the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews will be small in number and that is not because God failed. It’s not because He is going to renegade on His word. But because it is already prophesied in Scriptures some eight hundred years ago… six hundred years ago. And the reason is that because the people of Israel would not believe.

We come to the last verse in Romans 9 and it is verse 33. “As it is written”, again Paul is a man who regularly goes to Scripture. He says I am not saying anything that is new. I am not saying anything of myself. It is what Scripture, what God has already said. “As it is written, behold I lay in Sion a stumbling block and rock of offence: and whosoever believe on Him shall not be ashamed.” He’s saying all that I’ve said to you is written. It’s sure. It’s fast. It’s certain. Nothing has caught God by surprise. He is sovereign. This is His purpose, His plan. And He gives His Son Jesus, that whosoever believes in Him shall not be ashamed. And He gives Jesus first to the Jews. He lay in Zion, that is in Israel. He did not lay in Beijing. He did not lay in Copenhagen. He didn’t leave it in Buena Aires. He leaves it in Zion, for the Jews! Yet, Jesus who is supposed to be the Saviour has become their stumbling stone. Why? Because the Jews stumbled over Christ, over what you say? Several things I think. Over His birth. How can our Saviour be born in a manger? Over His position in life. How can He be a carpenter’s son? Over His station of life. He is not part of the Pharisees, he’s not part of a Sadducees. He’s a nobody! I think they stumbled over Him because Jesus died. How can our Saviour die? How can He die? He’s supposed to be the all conquering king but He died. But most of all, I think they stumbled because of the message of the cross. The message of the cross that declares you are hopeless and helpless in your sin. And you need to believe entirely in Jesus alone for Salvation. The Jews would not have it! And so when God gave Israel the Saviour, His own receive Him not. They stumbled over Christ because of His birth; because of His status of life; because He died and because of the message of the cross. 0:33:25.8 It caused them to deny themselves. It caused them to be humbled before God’s presence and they would not. And therefore they stumbled.

My friends, the most important question in life today is not whether you are a moral or immoral person. The most important question today is not whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. The most important question to you today is who is Jesus Christ to you? Is He a stumbling stone or is He the cornerstone? Is He the rock of salvation or is he the rock of rejection? That is the most important question. The vessels of mercy are not people who are racially Chinese or Jewish or Caucasian. The vessels of mercy are those who believe in Jesus Christ. That’s it! And whosoever, even if you are a guilty man, immoral man, sin-filled man, whosoever believes shall not be ashamed. All you have everlasting life. You have forgiveness. You have a relationship with the true and living God. You will be destined for glory forevermore. To who will these people be or these blessings be poured upon? The vessels of mercy. And who are these vessels of mercy? People who have been chosen by God. And who are these people chosen by God? These are the people who believe in Jesus Christ. That’s the most important question of life.

The Bible gives us a little story that encapsulates all these, I think very beautifully. It’s found in Acts, Chapter 13, and verses 45 to 48. The Bible here says that when the Jews saw the multitudes, that flocked to Paul, and to hear the preaching of the Gospel. Instead of being joyful, instead of celebrating that Salvation is nigh, the Bible says they were filled with envy and speak against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blasphemy. They cannot accept that Jesus is the Saviour. They would not have it. Look at Paul and Barnabas’ reply. They waxed bold. They were courageous and said, “It was necessary that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you.” The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jews first. That is the principle. So the Gospel was given to them. “But now seeing you put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, look, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. We turn to the Gentiles. For so has the Lord commanded us saying, I’ve set thee to be a light to the Gentiles that thou shouldst be for Salvation unto the ends of the earth, all nations, all people and when the Gentiles heard this, (like the tortoise that catches up) they were glad and glorified the Word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.” 0:36:59.6 Wow… this is wonderfully a picture of Romans Chapter 9. I close; I know we’ve gone through 10 verses, 11 verses in quick pace. But I want to close with some closing applications for all of us as we considered the way God is sovereignly working out His plan of Salvation.

Several thoughts. Number one… three thoughts to be precise. I want us today to be reminded of the priority of Scripture. Paul is a great example for us to follow. He deals with really difficult issues. I think all of us can appreciate that. Sovereignty, responsibility, how can it be… how can it match? And so on and so forth… He deals with really tough issues. He refrains from trying to give logical arguments. He goes to Scripture. And I say today, Christians, we do well if we follow the steps of Apostle Paul. If we heed the words of Jesus, that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Do you have a question in life? Search the Scriptures. Do you have a doubt you are grappling with? Search the Scriptures. What does God says? Paul, great example, herein. I want to also emphasize the importance of the Old Testament. I think many Christians today purely would like to read the New Testament. You say Old Testament too tough, too difficult, too complex. The Old Testament has stories that scared me. It’s thunder and lighting. It’s horror and gloom and doom. I want to study the New Testament but not the Old Testament. Well, Paul is not a man like that. Paul studied deeply the Old Testament, to him it is the buttress of faith. To him, he found the patience and comfort of Scripture. 0:39:14.5

It is my personal desire as a church that we will go through both the Old and New Testaments. That we will alternate between the New Testament and then we will go through a series in the Old Testament. Why? Because I believe the whole counsel of God’s Words is valuable. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Don’t despise the Old Testament. Study it. It gives you the buttress, the foundation for life and faith. Sometimes we think the Old Testament is very scary. It’s all thunder and lightning. It’s all about the terror of God. But do you realise as you look at Romans 9, that the grace of God is all throughout the Scripture? The grace to choose Abraham; the grace to say in thy seeds, shall all nations be blessed; the grace to choose Jacob. Jacob doesn’t even deserve to get saved. Neither does Isaac, neither does Moses. None of them deserved to be saved. All are saved by the grace and mercy of God. And grace is seen throughout the Bible.

So… point number one, as we reflect and review Romans 9, the primacy, the priority of the word of God. Number two, I know this is a thorny one but number two, understand, appreciate the sovereignty of God. Understand it. We may not be able to put our finger around, or put our hand around every mystery about divine sovereignty and human responsibility. But let not that strip you or rob you from the necessary understanding that God is sovereign in all things, including salvation. 0:41:01.7 Don’t say that salvation is purely based on man’s decision. Decisionism. No, the Bible clearly tells us, none of them will be saved if not for the mercy of God. We would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Unless the Lord leaves us a seed. If any man is saved, he’s saved because of the mercy and the grace of God. Some of us get very entangled with finding out who are the elect, who are the non-elect. Let me say this, you will know whether you are the elect or non-elect based on your response to Jesus Christ. The elects are the who-so-ever wills. The non-elects are the who-so-ever won’t. That’s it! The priority now for you are not to think am I chosen, am I not chosen? The question you need to answer is have I believe in Jesus Christ?

The sovereignty of God is not intended to rob you of your passion for souls. It’s not intended to rob you of your need to pray. Paul didn’t. Paul prays. Paul’s desires, heart’s burden, willingness to sacrifice his Salvation has no contradiction with the understanding that God is sovereign in His ways. None whatsoever. Now, what sovereignty of God does is that it takes away all pride, because if I’m saved today, there’s nothing in me, nothing in me that contributed to it. It was the pure electing grace of God. What it does today is it gives you a rock solid foundation for your faith and life. Because your salvation was not based on the decision you made some two years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago, but it was a decision God made before time. He foreknew you. Pre-destinate you and one day in the process of time, called you. But He loves you and knew you the day before He called you. Therefore He will justify you and glorify you. You are loved with an everlasting love. It’s a strong love that will never change. He loved you. He loves you. He will love you unto the end. Sovereignty gives me a strong foundation for Christian security. Therefore I know all things do work together for good to them that love God. I know that because I see that His salvation plan is eternal. Rooted in the eternal counsels of God. But if any man is not saved today, it’s because you have chosen not to believe. No contradiction.

Finally, I can’t leave without saying a few words about the salvation of God. 0:44:02.9 God’s salvation is amazing. Isn’t it? Think of the Israelites. Think of Hosea. I mean if you can’t think on God’s level, think of Hosea. He has a wife who is a prostitute, who is adulterous and Hosea is not to divorce his wife. And even though she bore him children that means scattered, not loved, not my people, God says, Hosea, continue to love your wife. Because that will be a picture of how I will love Israel and in a sense that is a picture of how I will love the Gentiles. The Gentiles who according to Romans 1 are abandoned to their sins. According to Romans 9, they did not seek God. They have no interest in me, yet I love them. I choose them. I will send my son to die for them. It doesn’t matter how rotten. It doesn’t matter how sinful they are. I love them! My friends, that’s why we preach the Gospel because even the most guilty of sinners today can be saved. The saving grace found in Jesus Christ. It is in the light of the Gospel that we understand grace. You see the Jews in Paul’s time did not understand grace. They feel they can earn salvation because they underestimate how sinful they really are! But it is in the Gospel my dear friends, that you see how evil and wicked we really are. And how glorious and amazing God’s grace is. It’s in the gospel that you realise how sinful you’ve never imagine yourself to be and how glorious God’s grace you’ve never seen it to be. It’s in the Gospel that you see these things. The saving grace of God. You say how can I be saved? The Philippian jailer asked, what must I do to be saved? Whosoever believes in Him shall not be ashamed. The question I want to leave you is: who is Jesus Christ to you? You may be in church for a long time. You’ve been a Christian or you’ve been a church-goer for a long time. You’ve been raised in a Christian family. The question I want to ask you today is: who is Jesus Christ to you? 0:46:51.2 The Bible says examine yourself and see if ye be in the faith. The Bible tells us to make your election and calling sure. My friends, the question you have to ask is, who is Jesus Christ to you? The Jews are deluded for a long time. For a long time. Friends, don’t continue in presumption and illusion. Is Jesus to you the rock of salvation? Or is he the rock of rejection? Is he the stumbling stone or is he the cornerstone? Who is Jesus Christ to you? Whosoever believes in Him shall not be ashamed. Let’s bow for a word of prayer.

I know this has been a tough time again because we have been going through 11 verses. But I want to draw us back to that conclusion, it’s all about Jesus. The question today you have to ask yourself is who is Jesus to me? Have I believe Him? Is he my Saviour? Who is Jesus Christ to you? My friends, if you have already believe in Jesus, would you see the beauty and glory of his grace and in the light of that be excited about His salvation for you? In the light of that realise His grace is greater than all your sin. You can drop all false pretences, you can drop all self-defence and self-denial. Come to Him. Freely He gives. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ greater than all our sin. So Father this morning we gather, extremely humbled before you. Because we realised if not for you, the Lord of Saboath, we would have been like Sodoma and Gomorrha. Thank you that before time, according to your mercy, according to your grace, you chose us to be the vessels of mercy. We thank you for your grace, the gift of salvation. Lord it is our prayer to you today, that we would appreciate your love, we would appreciate your strong love toward us. And it is our burden, our prayer too for those that are still outside the kingdom of God, that they would believe in your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, have mercy on their souls. Save, because you are able to save. We commit each one to you and we pray that all those who have heard your Word today will sit under the conviction, the moving of the Blessed Spirit of Christ. We thank you, we pray all these now in Jesus’ name, Amen.