August 21, 2020
The Sovereignty of God
Romans 9:19-33
Jenny Wilkins
Central Truth
God is sovereign over all things; therefore, we can rest in the assurance that He is our rock of stability when all else gives way.
Key Verse | Romans 9:20-21
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
Romans 9:19-33
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump 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 vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel 1 9:27 Or children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, 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,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
Israel's Unbelief
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness 2 9:31 Greek a law of righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Dive Deeper | Romans 9:19-33
As a continuation of Romans 9, Paul further explains God's sovereignty, providing two reasons for it. First, potters are wiser than the clay they are molding. In other words, it is foolish of us to criticize God's choices since our very existence depends on Him. Often, when things don't go my way, my first reaction is to question God's goodness, but these verses remind me that it is prideful to think this way! God doesn't work on my timeline (2 Peter 3:9). He is eternal, and His desire to do what brings Him glory far surpasses my own desires (Psalm 115:3).
The second reason is to display God's glory. I used to wrestle with why God chose to harden Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 9:12). This passage explains that it was to display God's power and wrath. John Piper explains, "God is right to unconditionally choose whom to love and whom to hate, whom to show mercy and whom to harden, whom to make a vessel for honor and whom to make a vessel for dishonor. The deepest reason this is right, Paul says, is that it displays most fully the glory of God, including his wrath against sin and his power in judgment, so that the vessels of mercy can know him most completely and worship him with the greatest intensity for all eternity."
Paul then reveals God's intentions: to bring Gentiles into His family after the Jews rejected His plan. He concludes that the Israelites' pursuit of the law caused them to stumble, whereas the Gentiles chose righteousness by faith. God doesn't want us to earn His favor by being good; He wants us to realize that we can never earn righteousness apart from Christ. Even though God is absolutely sovereign, it is still our responsibility to receive Christ (John 1:12) and to accept His free gift of grace (Ephesians 2:4-5).
We may never fully understand God's plans, but we can rest knowing we serve a God whose thoughts and ways are higher than our own (Isaiah 55:8-9) and that everything will work out for good (Romans 8:28).
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever questioned God's sovereignty? Do you have Christ-followers in your life whom you can go to when you wrestle with those questions? Visit this episode of Real Truth. Real Quick. if you're struggling with God's sovereignty versus our free will.
2. Similar to Israel, how have you used "good works" (e.g., attending church, being a decent person, tithing) as a justification for your faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)?
3. Have you stumbled over the "stumbling stone" (Romans 9:32), or have you chosen to build your life on Jesus? If you've recognized your need for Christ, how can you encourage others today with your faith?