GOD IS SOVEREIGN; GOD IS MERCIFUL

Passage: Romans 9:19-29

Key verse: 20

NIV

19 One of you will say to me:(A) “Then why does God still blame us?(B) For who is able to resist his will?”(C) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(D) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(E) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[a](F) 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?(G)

22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(H) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(I) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(J) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(K)— 24 even us, whom he also called,(L) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(M) 25 As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”[b](N)

26 and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
    ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”[c](O)

27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,(P)
    only the remnant will be saved.(Q)
28 For the Lord will carry out
    his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”[d](R)

29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty(S)
    had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.”[e](T)

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Footnotes
  1. Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9
  2. Romans 9:25 Hosea 2:23
  3. Romans 9:26 Hosea 1:10
  4. Romans 9:28 Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)
  5. Romans 9:29 Isaiah 1:9
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For (A)who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, (B)to answer back to God? (C)Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 (D)Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump (E)one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience (F)vessels of wrath (G)prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known (H)the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he (I)has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he (J)has called, (K)not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

(L)“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26 (M)“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called (N)‘sons of the living God.’”

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: (O)“Though the number of the sons of Israel[a] be as the sand of the sea, (P)only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

(Q)(R)“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
    (S)we would have been like Sodom
    and become like Gomorrah.”

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Footnotes
  1. Romans 9:27 Or children of Israel
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. God calls all believers 'my people' (19-26)

God is the Sovereign Creator. He makes each person for a purpose. But he is not bound fatalistically to any plan. He is free to use his sovereignty for his own purpose, and his purpose is world redemption. The Gentile world was destined for destruction because of their sins--idolatry and unbelief. But when God, in his mercy, called Gentiles to himself, some responded in faith and became his people.

2. A remnant will be saved (27-29)

Israel should have rejoiced to see the riches of God's mercy. But they rejected the Messiah and God's love and became objects of his wrath, like the unbelieving world. There is no promise that anybody will be saved because of past privilege. Throughout history God has spared and worked through a remnant of faithful people. So Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled.

Prayer: Sovereign Lord, I have no claim on your mercy, but by your grace and mercy make me one of your remnant.

One Word: A remnant saved by God's grace