Intro Story-My fathers house

Nobody in their right mind would ever say that my dad was unjust or unfair in this situation

He had every right to remove me

It was his house and his rules and I broke them

I convinced myself and anyone that would listen that my dad was wrong

I believed it in my heart

For years I was angry as if it was my dad that was the problem

How could he do that? Doesn’t he love me? Why did he reject me?

It wasn’t until after I gave my life to the Lord that I knew I was wrong

I was the reason I was removed

I rejected Him

I was guilty and he was just

Romans 9:14-29

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” ²⁰ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

²² What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

²⁵ As He says also in Hosea:

“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
²⁶ “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

²⁷ Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
²⁸ For ^[a]He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”

²⁹ And as Isaiah said before:

“Unless the Lord of ^[b]Sabaoth had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

In the beginning of this verse it asks if God is unrighteous? Other translations use unjust

Paul is answering the question boldly. Certainly Not

Romans chapters 9-11 are talking about Israel’s election, rejection of the gospel, and salvation

Even though God had made His covenant with Abraham, Gods chosen people ended up not being chosen only be lineage

but to faithfulness to God and the gospel of Jesus

Because Israel rejected the Gospel of Jesus it opened the door for gentiles to be saved

So the question. Is God unjust? Certainly not

Often times the reason people think that God is unjust or unfair is because they try to regulate God with their own morals

But this cant be done

We cant comprehend the holiness of God

He is perfect, pure, and righteous

Nobody could live up to that standard even if they consider themselves a good person

Because next to God nobody is Good

Luke 18:19

¹⁹ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Since some people truly cant grasp the holiness of God and their depravity

They tend to think that maybe God is the one who is unjust

But He isn’t

I have heard many reasons over the years of why God is unjust

What about innocent babies and children dying

If God was fair then there wouldn’t be disease and illness

People get abused how is that fair

Or someone I loved that followed Christ died and he didn’t save them

Story- band I like

This is more common thought of people than you would think

The problem is people want to find a scapegoat for things that happen in life

And sometimes they blame God

They think that eases the pain involved

God is not unjust

He has a plan and a will that only He fully knows

The bigger problem is that people live their life with what should be owed to us

If we work hard and live honorably doesn’t that mean we should live a good long life

That’s not how it works

We daily miss the mark in our lives

If we really got what we deserved from God it would be hell, for everyone

Instead, God had mercy on us and sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross

Instead

He took our place

He got what we deserved which was death, so you could find salvation through Him

Is God unjust? Certainly not

He is just and merciful

Story-back to the intro

Even after everything I had done my dad was willing to let me come back home

Having every reason to do what he did, he was still loving, forgiving, merciful

Just because I rejected his mercy didn’t change the fact that he is merciful

Deuteronomy 4:31

³¹ (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

If we look at the meaning of mercy

You can see just how merciful God is

At its most basic, mercy is not receiving what we deserve

Even though we deserve judgement God is willing to give mercy to us even though He knows our thoughts, actions, and intent of our heart

Knowing that we don’t measure up

Even when we make mistakes, He forgives

Throughout the whole bible God has shown us how merciful He is

But the main reason He shows mercy is because He desires to have a relationship with us

Without His mercy, there would be no relationship between us

Because at that point He would give us what we deserve

If He wasn’t merciful, He wouldn’t want that relationship

If you have ever had a relationship with someone that did you wrong so you broke off the relationship you could relate

God isn’t willing to do that, If you have accepted Christ and repent, He will have mercy

Psalm 86:15

¹⁵ But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

God’s mercy is rooted in His love for us

Since we are sinners and deserve punishment and God is righteous, He gives mercy

Because God is Holy there needs to be a penalty for sin, but because He is merciful

Jesus’ sacrifice took our place

And I praise God for what He did

I don’t want judgement and damnation

I want to live with His presence for eternity

I want my life on this earth to be spent with Him doing what He asks of me

Im glad He is merciful

Because God is sovereign He doesn’t have to do anything for us

He is the creator and we are the created

The overall theme in Romans 9:14-29 is the sovereignty of God

He will do what pleases Him

We should find comfort in His sovereignty because He controls all things

Story- beginning of quarantine

It was remembering the sovereignty of God that got us through

It was comforting to know that God was in control no matter what happened

Putting my trust in God because He will accomplish whatever He wills to do

He is allowed to do that, He is God, who am I to argue or question what His purpose is
And that is what the sovereignty of God is

That everything is under His control

Nothing happens without Gods permission or His direction

He works all things according to His will

Ephesians 1:11

¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Gods plan and purpose will be fulfilled and nothing takes Him by surprise

God has the power and the right to govern all things

He is not just sovereign in principle, He is sovereign in practice as well

There is nothing that happens in on this earth or universe that is outside of Gods control

He is the ruler of all things

Its His choice to do what He wants so His glory is shown

Lets look at some scripture and see what it says about Him

Revelation 21:6

⁶ And He said to me, “It^[a] is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

He is the beginning and the end. He created time He has always been

Colossians 1:16

¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or ^[a]principalities or ^[b]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

everything created was created by Him and through Him

God is omniscient – knowing everything

God is omnipotent – having unlimited power; able to do anything

God is omnipresent – widely or constantly encountered; common or widespread: a synonym would be present everywhere

Jeremiah 32:17

¹⁷ ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too ^[a]hard for You.

God is the authority of all things

Psalm 103:19

The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.

God has created everything and rules over everything

That should bring us all comfort and hope

Even though we cant control everything in our lives

God is sovereign and His plans will be accomplished

Even though we will never understand the complete sovereignty of Him

We must trust that He knows what is best, not only in your life but throughout all creation

I have and will continue to put my faith in Him because He is Just, Merciful, and Sovereign

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