Morning Musing: Romans 9:30-33

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“What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law. Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written, ‘Look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and the one who believes on him will not be put to shame.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the dangers of successfully creating a church where everyone feels welcome is that anyone starts to come. And, when anyone starts coming, you never know who might be there. They might generally fit the mold, or they might shatter it, leaving the group trying to figure out hours to successfully integrate someone new. But what happens when so many new people who don’t fit the mold start to come that the entire mold starts to be remolded? Well, usually a church split. But sometimes all the new people connect because they’ve bought into the vision at about the same time that the old people have moved on from it. That’s the story of the church from the beginning. Let’s talk about it as we wrap up chapter 9 today.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 9:22-29

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“And what if God, wanting to display his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? And what if he did this to make known the riches of his glory on objects of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory—on us, the ones he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As it also says in Hosea, ‘I will call Not My People, My People, and she who is Unloved, Beloved. And it will be in the place where they were told, you are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God.’ But Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved; since the Lord will execute his sentence completely and decisively on the earth.’ And just as Isaiah predicted: ‘If the Lord of Armies had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

So, yesterday we started a really uncomfortable conversation about God’s sovereignty and our subjection to that sovereignty. We like to think of ourselves as truly and completely free individuals. We are autonomous beings. And then Paul asks something like, “On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?'” That hits hard. And the more you think about it, the harder it hits. In fact, it hits hard enough that whereas I was originally going to treat these verses in the same post as yesterday’s passage, there was enough here when I started writing that I had to break it up into two posts. Without further ado, then, let’s keep working through Paul’s exaltation of God’s sovereignty and what that means for us.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 9:19-21

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“You will say to me, therefore, ‘Why then does he still find fault? For who resists his will?’ On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor?” (CSB – Read the chapter)

You may have noticed I didn’t post anything at all last week. Then again, you may not have as well. Either way, my bride and I were able to get away for a week to celebrate our upcoming 20th anniversary. It was a wonderful trip in every way, but we are glad to be back home safe and sound and in our own bed again. Let’s get down to business.

Have you ever seen someone do something with their own stuff that you didn’t understand? Maybe you got all judgmental toward them about it. If you had sufficient self-control, you kept all those thoughts to yourself. If not…well…then you probably had some other issues to deal with. Here’s the thing, though: It wasn’t your stuff. You really didn’t have any place to register an opinion on what she did with her stuff. Your opinion doesn’t make a bit of difference. Again: it’s not your stuff. Well, when it comes to creation, that’s all God’s stuff. What He does with it is not something on which we get a vote. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 22:3

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“A sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever wanted something really badly, but couldn’t seem to get there for some reason? Maybe you didn’t have the resources to achieve it. Perhaps there was something physical holding you back. It could be that culture simply wasn’t allowing for it. Whatever the reason, you were feeling denied something you really wanted or even felt like should be yours by right. What did you do then? Did you give up and go in another direction, or did you keep right on going, pressing on until you got it no matter what the cost happened to be? The newest Marvel offering from Disney+ is about just such a character. She couldn’t get what she wanted on her own, so she just kept pushing until she got it. And that’s the problem. Let’s talk today about Ironheart.

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Morning Musing: Romans 9:14-18

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“What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For he tells Moses, ‘I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, ‘I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.’ So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the great theological debates within the church over the centuries is the question of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Where’s the line? How do those two things go together? Do they go together? Which one should get emphasized more and which one less? Can you emphasize both equally and still be intellectually consistent? The real challenge here is actually not the debate itself, but the fact that the Scriptures seem to hold both ideas in tension and they don’t resolve it. Some passages seem to point pretty clearly in one direction. Some passages point in the other direction. Here’s one that points toward the sovereignty side of the equation. Let’s take a few minutes to examine what Paul is saying and what he’s not saying.

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