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Amen, all right, so you're there in Romans chapter nine. Romans chapter nine, so I actually rewrote this sermon at least once, kind of more than once, because we're gonna have to get doctrinal again tonight, I hate to do that to you, but I really want to make sure that I explain this chapter to you. So I could sit here and I could make the most entertaining sermon possible and I could rabbit trail this thing and we could just go off in all different directions. You know, that's kind of how a lot of my sermons end up as I write them. But I really want to make sure that we stick to the verses here and I explain to you the, because there's two or three main points in this chapter that I want to get across to you. And hopefully if you understand Romans nine by the time I'm done tonight, you know, I've done my job. So we're gonna kind of stay doctrinal. I want to make sure that we just preach, I preach to you what the Bible is saying here in Romans chapter nine, okay? Because it can be confusing as you read it at face value, especially if you've only read it, you know, once or twice. So let's start out in verse number nine and we see that Paul is, he's sad about something here. So in Romans chapter nine in verse number one, the Bible says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. So Paul here is sad and then he explains to us in verse number three why he has that sorrow. And he says that I wish myself could be accursed from Christ for my brethren. And then he says who the brethren that he is talking about is. And it says my kinsmen, what? According to the flesh. So Paul has sorrow in his heart because of the Jews. Paul was a Jew, he is a Jew physically. According to the flesh, Paul used to be a Pharisee. He was chiefest among the Pharisees. Paul used to persecute the Christians. So Paul is a Jew and he's upset, he's sorrowful because of the current condition of his fellow Jews according to the flesh, okay? So it's very important that we remember that according to the flesh. Turn back to Romans chapter one in verse number three. And we see this phrase according to the flesh used again. And in Romans chapter one, just a couple chapters back in verse number three the Bible says concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord which was made of the seed of David, what, according to the flesh. So Jesus Christ was born out of the line of David, out of that physical heritage of David. That was the promise made to the Jews, okay? That was one of the promises. Now let's go back to Romans chapter nine in verse four. So Paul is, he's upset. He said I almost wish that I could be myself accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Why is he upset? Why is he sorrowful for his brethren? Verse number four, the Bible reads who are Israelites? To whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises. Whose are the fathers, verse number five, and whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. That's the promise I wanna focus on in verse, in chapter number nine tonight. The promise of Christ coming from the flesh of the Jews, okay? Now turn back to, I think it's Romans chapter three. Let's just look at it. Romans chapter three in verse number one. You see here it says, whose fathers are those whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all God blessed forever. And above that in verse number four it says, they pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law. And in Romans three one we see, what advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Because Paul was saying that there was no profit in being a physical Jew and he's saying, well what advantage, you know, the Gentiles have been brought in and it's all about faith and Christ, so what advantage is it being a physical Jew? And Paul explains it for the first time in Romans. In Romans three in verse number two he says, much every way chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God. They had the word of God. And here again in Romans nine four we see that they had the covenants and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises. And one of those promises was the Christ, the messianic promise coming from the Jewish line, the seed of Abraham as it's called in the Bible. Now, this is where it gets confusing. Let's go into verse number six. Not as though the word of God had taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. What in the world? So here Paul goes into this treatise about, he's gonna go into, he's gonna talk a little bit about Isaac, but he's really gonna talk about Jacob the most, okay? So I'm gonna read it to you then I'm gonna explain it when I get done reading it to you. In verse number seven you see, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. Just that matches verse six perfectly because he said the word of God had taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. So not everyone that says they're of Israel is of Israel. Not everyone that is of the seed of Abraham is really of the seed of Abraham. And then he brings up Isaac right away, okay? And then in verse number eight, he says that is they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. Verse number nine, for this is the word of promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. Now, he's talking about the promise, in verse number eight he's talking about the promise of the Messiah, and then he talks about Sarah's promise of having a child, okay, the promise of a Messiah. So Abraham, when you think about the seed of Abraham, Abraham had two sons, right? Before Isaac he had another son, but there was not Sarah's son. So God gave the promise of a child to Abraham from Sarah. But not from Hagar, the maidservant, where Abraham took things into his own hands, Abraham and Sarah, they got impatient with God. So you see a split, and the promise of the Messiah did not go down the line of Ishmael, but it went down and followed the line of Isaac, as God promised. Okay, so we see the first fork of the promise. So they are not all, that's what the verse means when it says in verse number seven, neither because they are the seed of Abraham nor are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. The seed that Christ will come from follows the line of Isaac, not Ishmael, okay? Now, let's continue reading. Verse number 10, he takes it even further, and he even says that, he says, and not only this, but when Rebekah had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, and now this is Rebekah, and this is Isaac's wife. For the children being not yet born, she was pregnant with twins, neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God, according to the election, might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. And then in verse number 13, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now, I'll explain these verses, I wanna attack verse number 13 first and explain what that means. It says, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. A lot of people will take that verse and use it for Calvinist doctrine and things like that. See, God picked Jacob, and he didn't pick Esau for salvation or whatever. That's not what that's saying at all. I'm gonna explain that to you. Turn to Genesis chapter five, Genesis chapter 25. But one thing you have to understand, what he's referencing is prophecy here. And one thing you have to understand about prophecy is God is omniscient, God knows the ending. And with prophecy, what we see with prophecy is God opening up a window for us and showing us that he knows that ending and he's showing us little pieces. That's what prophecy in the Bible is. What we're seeing here is some prophecy. And in Genesis chapter 25, look down at verse number 21, and we see, well, let's look at Isaac and Jacob. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her. They were twins. And she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger. Now, for sake of time here, you remember that Esau was born right before Jacob, and Jacob came out and grabbed his foot when he was born. So the elder is Esau, the younger is Jacob. Okay, now turn over to Genesis 33. In Genesis 33, we see after the men are grown up, Jacob is married to Rebekah, or not Rebekah, I'm sorry. Jacob is married to his two wives, and he's coming back. He's already kind of, he's tricked Esau twice, and he's gotten his birthright from him, and then he got the blessing from his father as well. So Jacob was playing some tricks on his brother, and he was fearing that his brother wanted to kill him, which he did, so Jacob went and he served Laban for many years, and this is Jacob in Genesis 33, verse number one, Jacob is coming back. He's coming back, he's got many flocks now, he's got his own family, and he's got his wives and his children with him, and he's got Leah and Rachel with her, his two wives from Laban, and he's got them with him, and he's worried that Esau's gonna still be mad at him. So this is when they meet, okay, and in verse number one, let's just read, they're coming to meet, and Jacob has put all the women and children in the back, and he's done all these, you know, because he sees Esau coming with all these horsemen and all these men, and he's like, you know, they're probably just gonna kill me. He doesn't know, okay? And in Genesis 33, verse one, the Bible reads, and Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau came with him 400 men, and he divided the children unto Leah and unto Rachel and unto the two handmaids, and he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after and Rachel and Joseph hindermost, and he passed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother, and Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept, and he lifted up his eyes and he saw the women and the children and said, who are those with thee? And he said, the children which God have graciously given thy servant. So here you have Jacob, he's meeting Esau. So the prophecy was, you know, that the elder will serve the younger, that's the prophecy, okay? But in the prophecy it said two nations are in thy womb and the elder will serve the younger. Does it sound like Jacob is serving Esau here? He's bowing down to him, he's giving him all these gifts, and then he calls himself, he says to Esau, I am thy servant, he says, I am your servant. So he's, Esau, what I'm trying to get you to understand is Esau never served Jacob in his life, ever. So this prophecy was not about the men. It was about, in verse number 23 that you read before in Genesis 25, it was about the two nations that were in her womb. So as you see, I mean, look, let's go to Genesis 26. Let's look at the two nations. Esau made some choices in his life. And in Genesis 26, just a couple chapters back from where you were, the Bible says in verse number 34, and Esau was 40 years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Barry the Hittite, and Bashamath the daughter of Elan the Hittite, which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. So Esau went and married into the Canaanites. He married into the people that lived in the land of Canaan that God told the children of Israel not to do. And it was a terrible vexation to his parents. And you see how this ended up in Genesis 36. Look at verse number one. Just 10 chapters over, look at verse number one. We give the generations of Esau. It tells you the nation that came from Esau. And in Genesis 36, verse number one, the Bible says this. Now these are the generations of Esau. Now this is very interesting, these three words right here. Who is Edom? So Esau is Edom. Once again proving that the prophecies concerning Esau are about the nation that came from Esau. Now what did Jacob's name become? We'll get to that in a minute. Turn to First Chronicles chapter 18. So Edom, what is Edom? The Bible says that the elder will serve the younger. What is Edom? Let's look at where Edom shows itself in the Bible. First Chronicles chapter 18. In First Chronicles chapter 18 we are talking about King David. This is 400 years later. 14 generations it's called in Matthew chapter one. You know, roughly 450 years or 430 years, however you want to measure it. But look at First Chronicles 18, verse number 11. Them also King David dedicated unto the Lord with silver and gold that he brought. Now what line did David come from by the way? David came from the line of Isaac. So you can trace him all the way back to Isaac. And all the way back to Jacob, not Esau. See? So we have another split, is what I'm trying to get you to understand. Let's look at the prophecy and see if it came true. Them also King David dedicated unto the Lord with silver and gold that he brought from all these nations. From Edom and from Moab and from the children of Ammon and from the Philistines and from Amalek. The silver and gold that he brought from these nations. How do you think he got that silver and gold from those nations? Because he conquered them. That's how. Moreover, Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt 18,000. And he put garrisons in Edom. And all the Edomites became David's servants. That's the prophecy coming true right there. 400 plus years later. Esau never served Jacob. So that blows away, I just want to explain verse number 13, okay? That in Esau, Esau have I hated, in verse number 13, where is that again? Let's read that exactly. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Edom became a wicked nation that was at war with the children of Israel throughout the Old Testament. And they became the servants of David. They became the servants of the children of Israel. So in that way, the elder did serve the younger. That's how it was prophesied. And that's what it means when it says, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Okay, now, let me just read for you 2 Chronicles 21, eight. In his days, the Edomites revolted from on the dominion of Judah and made themselves a king. Now go to Genesis 35 and let's look over at Jacob. So we see that Esau was Edom, okay? In Genesis 35 and verse number nine, let's see what happened to Jacob. Genesis 35 and verse number nine. And the Bible says, and God appeared unto Jacob again when he came out of Padaneram and blessed him. And God said unto him, thy name is Jacob. Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him, and Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon, and Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. Now go back to verse number, Romans nine, verse 13. Let's just drive this one home a little bit more. Let's turn to Malachi, Malachi chapter one. Put a finger in Romans nine. And turn to Malachi chapter one in verse number one. And the Bible reads, Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. So if you find Matthew, just turn one book back and you'll find Malachi. In Malachi chapter one, the Bible says, the burden of the word of the Lord is to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet you say wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith the Lord, yet I love Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Where is Edom, saith? You see how he just used Esau and Edom in conjunction with each other there? Where as Edom saith, we are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, they shall build, but I will throw down. And they shall call them the border of wickedness and the people against whom the Lord hath inked a nation forever. Edom became a wicked nation that worshiped false gods, and God said, I hate them. And if they build again, I'm just gonna destroy them again. That's what he said. All right, so we see here that this is talking, Paul is talking about the nation of Israel and the nation of Edom, okay? But what he's really getting at, I didn't wanna rabbit trail that thing too much. I did wanna explain that verse because a lot of people use that verse to say that God just picks people. It's stupid. It's much deeper than that. It's much deeper than some verse that just says God picked Bob and not Joe. I mean, that's silly. So I wanted to show that to you. But really, to summarize verses one through 13, what Paul is talking about is how they're not all of Israel who call themselves Israel. What he's talking about is the splits in the promise. What he's talking about is they're not all the seed of Abraham because Isaac, see? Because there was a split. The promise of the Messiah, and we just read a little bit about the promise of the land. We're not even gonna talk about that tonight. But the promise of the Messiah went with Isaac, not with Ishmael. The promise of the Messiah, of the seed that was to come out of the children of Israel, went with Jacob. And he's the one that had the 12 sons that became the 12 tribes of Israel. That's the path of the promise. So there was another fracture. So that's the remnant, as Paul would call it. So there was a remnant in Isaac. There was a remnant in Jacob. And then there was a remnant as it kept going through David. David was the remnant. And then that's why, with the children of Judah, when even the nation of Israel split, that's another split. You can just look at all these different splits. The nation of Israel split into the northern kingdom and then the southern kingdom of Judah. And that's why, if you look at the lineage of the kings of Judah versus the lineage of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, God promised that the Messiah would come from David's seed and that your seed would rule forever. Through Christ is what it meant. And if you look at the lineage of those kings, it is always father, son, father, son, father, son, father, son. Throughout all the turmoil of Judah, it's a miracle that God kept it going for that long. I mean, there was a lot of war and a lot of treachery and all these things. You look at the northern kingdom of Israel and every few years, there's a new dynasty taking over. One guy wipes out the whole family and everybody that's related to him, all his friends and even the family dog, and then he takes over. The house of Jehoshaphat got it, the house of Ahab got it. Several others got it. Then Jehu came and wiped everybody out. Jehu was the most successful. He got a promise for four generations, Jehu did. But then after that, it was chaos again. It was just more turmoil. But Judah, God kept the promise because God promised that the seed of the Messiah would come from David, from Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, through David, through all the kings, to Christ. Now what Romans 9 is talking about, what Paul is talking about is just as those splits, there's been another split. And this split is because there's those that did not believe on Christ. But there's a remnant of the Jews, of the flesh, that did believe on Christ. Because God said he would always leave a remnant. Okay, so that's what verse one through 13 is talking about. It's just talking about how all these splits happened, but God kept his promise, and he's sad. He's sad because they're not all of Israel who say they're of Israel. Because who's of Israel is those that believe on Christ. Okay, now let's continue in verse number 14. Now there's a lot of people that just takes, you cannot read Romans and take a verse and run with it. You gotta understand, you gotta be saved, and you gotta read what the Bible is saying, and you gotta know what the Old Testament says. Because I mean, this is some deep stuff here. Paul, it's amazing to me that how well these men knew the word of God, the Old Testament. All right, verse number 14. Romans nine, verse 14, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So he's kind of switching gears a little bit here. He's talking about how maybe all these unbelievers are not, they're not the remnant. Only the remnant that believed, and he'll get into that, is gonna be saved, but he's saying, is that fair? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Verse 16, so then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Look, it's up to God who he is merciful to and who he is not, is what he's saying. For the scripture saith 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 through all the earth. He uses an example of Pharaoh here. So God said in Exodus chapter seven, let's just go there, we'll just read a couple verses. Let's just look at Pharaoh real quick. So God's, he's saying it's up to God who he has mercy on. Look at Exodus seven, look at verse number, let's just start reading in verse number one. And the Lord said unto Moses, see I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. He's saying you're gonna go to Pharaoh. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee, and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth mine armies and my people of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them. This is before it even happened. This is before any of the plagues even happened. And then we see that Moses goes to Pharaoh and there's the 10 plagues. And then you see all these things like, you know, at the beginning, you know, Pharaoh hardened his heart and he wouldn't let the people go. And then you start seeing more of the language towards the end plagues, you know, like in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth plagues, you start to see the word that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. God said he was gonna do it right here. So look, just because God knows the end doesn't mean that the game is set. You see what I'm saying? God knows the ending, this is prophecy again. He's telling Moses exactly how it's gonna go down, okay? Now, why did he do it? Now, when exactly Pharaoh, you know, became reprobate, I, you know, I don't know. I'll ask God when I get to heaven. But God decided, when he hardened his heart, God decided, now I'm gonna make an example of you. He's gonna use him as an example, okay? Look at Exodus 10 and verse number 20. I'll just read it for you. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the children of Israel go. Just because God knew the outcome doesn't mean that Pharaoh didn't have a chance. Pharaoh had a chance at some point before that, or, you know, there was 10 plagues, he had 10 chances. But as soon as God starts hardening your heart, you're pretty much done, okay? Now look down at Romans nine and verse number 18. And we'll continue this thought. Therefore, he hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will hardeneth. So it's up to God whose heart he will harden. And then in verse number 19, thou wilt say unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For, and then we see the answer here, for who hath resisted his will? So what is God's will? What is God's will? We've already looked at this, but let's look at it again. So it's implying here that these people that God have hardened have resisted his will. And that's why he's hardening them. Look at first Timothy chapter two. First Timothy chapter two. What is his will? This is why it's super important that verse number 18 and verse number 19 go together. You can't just read one of them and then run with some Calvinist doctrine. In verse, in first Timothy chapter two, in verse number four the Bible says, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. So what is his will? It's his will that all men are saved. But if you resist that will, then it's just up to God. Okay, so I'm afraid for you if you resist that will. Because it's up to God. Because in Paul's saying, he'll harden who he's gonna harden, and he'll have mercy on who he's gonna have mercy on. It's up to him, okay? But this is the consequence of God not creating a bunch of robots on this earth. Many people will resist his will. And many people do resist his will. And God is gonna make an example of some of them. That's what he did with Pharaoh. And that's what he did with Sodom and Gomorrah in second Peter chapter two. You will not in second, but second Peter chapter two says that Sodom and Gomorrah was made as an example for us. So God, he's like, hey, they're resisting my will. I'm gonna harden their heart. And one of the reasons, you know, this is reprobate doctrine in Romans chapter nine right here. But one of the reasons for this, there's many reasons that God has this doctrine in the Bible, but one reason is for a warning for other people that aren't saved. You don't have infinite chances out there. So God doesn't choose certain people for salvation, but he can and will at times harden those who resist him. That's what the Bible is teaching here. You know, look, a general rule of thumb, and the more you go soul winning, the more you're gonna know this. The older people get, the harder they are to get saved. That's just a rule of thumb. Now, you know, of course there's your one offs. You know, some 85 year old guy gets saved. But you don't see that that often. You know what you see a lot? A 14 year old kid getting saved. A 16 year old kid getting saved. I've often made the joke that you might as well preach to a rock than preach to a 70 year old Catholic lady or man or whatever. Because they're hardened, they're hardened. And it's not for me to say that they're a reprobate or whatever, we just keep giving them the gospel and giving them the gospel and giving them the gospel. But here's the thing, I mean, it's true. The older people get, and the more they resist, and you'll know the ones that God has hardened their heart. You'll know them, you'll know them. But if they've hardened their own heart, what difference does it make if they die unsaved? Right? But you never know when God's gonna say enough. So, I mean, this is a good sermon for unsaved people. I know most of you are all saved today, but hopefully all of you. But I think of that soul winning a lot. When I go out soul winning and you meet somebody and they're just like, I'm making a cheese sandwich or something, I can't listen right now. Or whatever, you know? And you're just like, I wonder, I think about that all the time, especially people whose heart you know isn't hardened. You know, like the guy Brother Frank and I met the other day where you're just like, man, you just would really, I'd like to see everybody get saved, but just some guy that you know is a soft hearted, he's open to listening, but just, no, you know, whatever, I'm cooking noodles or whatever. You know, just doesn't see the urgency, doesn't know the urgency. I always wonder, you know, is that his last chance? I always think that. And it may be. You know, so think about that when you're out soul winning. I mean, this is, you know, this is, you know, people, God will eventually harden some people. And he's right to do it. Romans chapter nine, down at verse 20. Nay, but oh man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why has thou made me thus? Hath not the powder power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? 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? Look, verse 21 and verse 22 have to go together too. Because hath not the powder power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and the other unto dishonor? See, God creates some people to be, should be damned. But first of all, that doesn't fit anything else in the Bible, including verse 21. You just read one more verse. What if God willing to show his wrath, what if God is willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering? These people that were unto dishonor, he's already put up with them. He's been long suffering. The Bible says God is more long suffering than we could ever be. I mean, think about the most patient, long suffering person you've ever met. God's way more long suffering than that. And when you see the things going on in this world and how God just doesn't end it right now, that just shows me that he's extremely long suffering. Think of the wicked things that are happening, even in our own neighborhoods. How God doesn't just drop the hammer right now. And it's not new stuff. It's the same thing again and again. It's like you keep telling your kid, don't do that, and they just keep doing it over and over and over again. So we see that he's long suffering, but some vessels just become fitted to destruction. That's a consequence of us not being a bunch of robots. We have free will. We can take whatever path of life we want. We don't have to follow the Bible. We don't have to listen to the gospel. We don't have to change our lives after we get saved. We don't have to do those things. But the Bible says that a lot of vessels are fitted to destruction. That's what we see today. But God's been long suffering. So when he shows his wrath, it's not unfair. That's what I'm trying to get you to understand. Verse number 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. Now he switches gears a little bit more. He talks about bringing the Gentiles in. As he said also in Osea, I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. Turn to Hosea 2, verse 23. Osea is referring to one of the minor prophets, Hosea, in the Old Testament. And in Hosea, chapter two, in verse number 23, there's the back of the Old Testament, those minor prophets, Hosea. The Bible says, and I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon her that have not obtained mercy. And I will say to them, which were not my people, thou art my people, and they shall say, thou art my God. That's a prophecy of Christ and the Gentiles that believed on Christ being brought in to be God's people. Becoming Israel is basically what's going on here. So they're not all of Israel. There's a split that are called Israel, and more people are getting grafted in to God's calling of his people now. If they believe on Christ. You see how this all fits together? Look at verse number 26, Romans 9, 26. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall be called the children of the living God. Esaias also cried concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. Those that believe is that remnant. For he will finish the work and cut its short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth hath left us a seed, we had been as Sodomah and had been made like unto Gomorrah. So he's saying, you know, is there even, this is proof that there's always gonna be a remnant, and he's referencing Isaiah 1.9, I'll just read it to you. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. So God always left a remnant to fulfill his promise of both the Messiah and also of, you know, the Jews that believed were called that remnant, okay? So, the summary of the whole point. As the messianic promise was fulfilled through Jacob's descendants and not Esau, so is the promise of Christ fulfilled in those who believe on Christ, okay? That's what he's getting at here in Romans chapter 26. They are no longer all Israel who are called Israel. So now you have a situation, Paul says, where you have a bunch of people that are calling themselves Israel that don't believe on Christ, and they're not Israel. It's pretty clear, all right? And he's gonna develop this further in Romans, okay, in the coming chapters, but it starts here. We've kind of already gotten a little bit of it, but it starts here really in Romans chapter nine. Look at verse number 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness? Even the Gentiles? Even the righteousness which is of faith? But Israel which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness. So he's saying that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained righteousness. Because the righteousness is of faith. That's how they did it. And then you look at the Israel which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Well, why? Why have they not attained to it? Wherefore, that means why not? Wherefore, 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 and sigh on a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. That they stumbled at the stumbling stone of the law. And boy, isn't that true even today? Isn't that true today? I mean, what is everybody out here hung up on? They're hung up on works. I mean, if they're not just total reprobate, just rejected of God, they're just hung up on works. Every single person we meet, in one way or the other, they're stumbling at this stumbling stone, just like the Jews did. The stumbling stone of the law. Turn to Romans 11, six, just a couple chapters over. Let me turn there myself. Romans 11, six. And I know you all know this, but let's read it again. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be works, then it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work. It can't even be a little bit of works. So you get these people, they're 50% works, they're all works. It's all works. It's either all works or all Christ. That's it. And that's what everybody's hung up on. So it's the same stumbling stone. So here's an interesting point on this. Those that believe the law for salvation, and I have found this, turn to John chapter five. This is just a side note. But here's an interesting point, because I found this to be true today as well. John chapter five. Look at verse number 43. Here's an interesting thing that you'll see about people that believe the law for salvation, that believe in works for salvation in one way or the other. In John chapter five and verse number 43, the Bible says, I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. The Jews are persecuting Jesus, they're turning against Jesus, and he's rebuking them here, okay? It says, I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. That's gonna happen, by the way. Somebody's gonna come, and the Jews and the Muslims and whoever, they're all gonna receive him. How can ye believe which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. Isn't that interesting? What do you mean, Moses? What's he talking about? For if ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my word? So here's the irony of the Jews back then. The Jews that didn't believe in Christ, and didn't accept Christ as the Messiah, they didn't believe the Bible. They didn't really believe it. And the Jews today, they don't believe the Bible. I grew up thinking, oh, the only difference between the Jews is Jesus, and you know, the New Testament. They're wrong. They don't believe it. Jesus just said it. You can argue with Jesus. But here's the thing. If you find people that believe in works, Catholics, whatever, pick whatever type of Christian works-based religion that you'll find, they don't believe the Bible either. They don't believe it. And you will find that again, and again, and again. Because you know what? If they would believe Moses, they would believe on Christ. And if they believed the Bible, you know there was never a time in my life, there was never a time in my life, even as an unsaved man, where you could have come up to me and said, is the Bible true? And I would have said it's not true. I always believed that it was true. I always believed that it was perfect. I always believed that there was no errors in it. I just didn't really know what it said. Until somebody explained it to me. But if you don't believe the Bible, you cannot get saved. And you will find this again, and again, and again. And you know what? The more you become a soul winner, the wiser you will become. He that win his souls is wise. Because you will learn so much about people, and the Bible will just prove itself to you over, and over, and over again. That's right. I mean, you will find somebody that doesn't believe the Bible, and you will preach them the gospel, and there will be something, because wouldn't that be weird if you found somebody who didn't believe, they believed in evolution, they didn't really believe God created the earth, but then you preached them the gospel, and they're like, yeah, I believe that. Wouldn't that be weird? Wouldn't that be like a logical, weird place to be? It'll never happen. You will find that person that doesn't believe the Bible. They don't believe Moses. You'll preach them the gospel, and there will be some part of the gospel that they will not accept. Every time. Guaranteed. It's amazing, because if they would have believed Moses, they would have believed me. So when they believe the Bible, and you preach them the gospel, they're gonna accept it. It's funny how what Jesus said is true. That's just an interesting little side note there. But it's the same thing today. They don't even believe the law of the Bible. Not that that matters. I shouldn't even get into that. You would think that if you're trying to get to heaven by works, you would at least try to do some works. I'm not saying there's not people that aren't trying to do works, but looking at the whole general picture, you ever been to a Catholic wedding? Yeah, you know. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. It's not by works. So here's a little bit of application. Let's wrap it up. You know, there's an inverted stumbling stone for the believer out there. Don't think that because you're saved, let me just bring this up. Don't think that because you're saved that the law just doesn't matter. So let me just flip it on you there. You still need to work on yourself. You still need to use the law. Don't make this law something that you just don't care about, that you just don't even notice. It's not a stumbling stone to you. You just don't even know anything about it and don't even know it's there at all. You're just walking all over everything. Just something to think about for yourself. You need to work on yourself. You need to study the law. You need to understand what it is for you. It has nothing to do with your salvation, nothing to do with you going to heaven, but you still need to work on yourself. Your works matter. Your works matter for other people. Your works matter for your children, for your wife, for your husband. Your works matter in your life. You know, I was just talking about this the other night with one of you guys. You know, unfortunately, because of this fact that this law is not even paid attention to by a lot of saved people, you know, unfortunately being saved is just no, it's no guarantee of character at all. It should be because we should get saved and we should understand what Christ did for us and we should wanna, you know, love him and keep his commandments. If we have character, we will do that, okay? Now, here's the real application from Romans chapter nine. Let me just apply this with the whole Jacob and Esau and Israel and Edom thing. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter six. One just like small application I wanna make here is just something for you to think about is that, you know, there are generational consequences for your life. Think about that. You think that, you know, I just talked about, you know, the law's important to our life and we should be living according to the Bible, but look, this is not just going to affect you. There is generational consequences. It's not just gonna affect your wife. It's not just gonna affect your husband. There's generational consequences to this. Look at what happened to Esau. Look at the nation that came from him because he, I mean, in his case, it's who he married. You know, in his case, it's the ramifications of marrying the wrong person. You know, I mean, marrying the wrong person can split families, it can change generations and that's what Esau did. It's important as a saved person, as a saved single person, that you marry somebody that the Bible would call is equally yoked to you. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter six and verse number 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness? When you marry, the person you marry matters for your children and future generations. It's a big deal. Esau literally split, you know, a nation by who he married, you know, and by what he did, of course. But you know what, in the summary of Romans chapter nine is that they are not all Israel who call themselves Israel. Just like there were physical splits during Isaac's generation, Jacob's generation, there's now a split because of unbelief or belief in Christ. That's the split now. That's really the only split that exists right now is those who believe and those who do not, okay? So it's just, it's a really great message. Romans chapter nine is a really great message for, you know, unbelievers. Because, you know, you do not have infinite chances out there. There's this liberal teaching that oh, you know, you can just get saved on, this is like maybe one of the most wicked things, by the way. Because once again, becoming a soul winner will show you this. Because you understand that, you know, I'm gonna get saved on my death bed, or I hope to get that person saved on their death bed when they're 80, 90 years old. You know what? You know how many times I've walked up to a door and some, I'll see a ramp at this point, like an older person's wheelchair ramp, and I'll just be like, ugh. I mean, you know, I still knock the door, but I'm just like, they're older, they're not gonna be receptive. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's one-offs. But in general, that's how it goes. I mean, I have met a lady who's like, I swear, she was almost on her last breath. Oxygen mask, had cancer, she told me, the whole thing. Hey men, can I show you how you can, get out of here, I don't wanna hear that. I'm like, really? I mean, you know, you're not guaranteed another breath, it might be yours in like five minutes. I mean, that's where it was at. And you know, I'm sure a lot of you have seen the same type of situation. But this idea that you have until your deathbed, no, I mean, you just get stuck in your ways. The Bible calls you, your heart hardens. Your heart hardens. You get those seers in your heart, and it hardens towards the Lord, and maybe God has hardened you at that point. So, I mean, look, you do not have infinite chances, and you know what, if God gives some people five chances, and he gives some people 20, that's up to him. You know, the Bible says, my ways are higher than your ways. So you don't know. You know, I've heard people get in the gospel 30 times, and then they get saved. And I've heard people get in the gospel twice, and they just, or once. And I am sure that there's many people that will hear the gospel one time. And that's their chance. And they're gonna see that time, I believe. You know, God's gonna be able to say to them, you know what, I sent you somebody. And whatever God, you don't know, look, folks, watching on the internet, whatever, you don't know how many chances are left. And whatever God does is right. Romans chapter nine, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for Romans chapter nine. We thank you for this deep doctrine that you've given us, Lord, and we thank you for the gospel. Lord, we just pray that, you know, people out there that we love and that are in our lives, maybe, that are hardened towards the gospel, Lord, we pray that you would just continue giving them a chance, Lord, and soften those hearts. Lord, that a soul winner or us or somebody could get to them and give them the gospel. Lord, we pray that when we go out Saturday and Sunday, that you just soften the hearts ahead of us, Lord. Don't harden those hearts. If there's hearts that are on the edge, we ask that you just soften those hearts, Lord, so we can give them the gospel. They can believe and they can become, you know, part of this Israel, Lord, that Paul's talking about. Lord, we love you and thank you for your word. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.