For a Scripture reading tonight, I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9, where we will begin reading at verse 14. Read through the end of the chapter. It's on page 1202 in the Pew Bibles. Romans 9, starting at verse 14. And we'll be reading this portion of God's Word in connection with Article 16 of the Belgic Confession. And that is on page 170 in your Forms and Prayers book. So, Belgian Confession, Article 16 as well, page 170 in your Forms and Prayers book. But we will read first of all from God's Word, Romans chapter 9, starting at verse 14. This is the holy and infallible Word of the Lord our God. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? 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? 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, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He has called not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, those who are not my people I will call my people, and her who is not beloved I will call beloved. 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. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay. And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. What shall we say, then, that Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, but that Israel, who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness, did not succeed in reaching that law? Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith. but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 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." This ends our reading from God's Word. And again, we're looking at this in connection with Article 16 of the Belgian Confession, page 170 in the Forms and Prayers book. In Article 16, we confess that we believe that all Adam's descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man, God showed himself to be as he is, merciful and just. He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom He, in His eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by His pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. He is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. And the sons are reading from the Confession here tonight. congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, when it comes to the book of Romans, it doesn't seem like Romans chapter 9 is one that gets people very excited in our day and age. There are many other chapters that people will quickly turn to. Romans 4, and our being saved through faith and not by our own works. We love it. Romans 5 and Christ there as the last Adam who undoes and overcomes the failure and the sin of the first Adam. Wonderful. Romans 6 and we're set free from sin and able to live and should live righteous lives. What a great reminder for us to look at. Chapter 7 and its reminder of the painful reality of how that which we want to do, we do not do, that which we don't want to do, that we end up doing, and so on and so forth. The reality of our struggle with sin, humbling and a good reminder of our own sinful struggle. Chapter 8. Glorious words. No condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. God works all things to the good of those who love Him. We love this. We feed upon this. We rejoice in it. Awesome news for us to consider. Romans 9. God predestines people to salvation or condemnation. Can't we just skip that? Can't we just ignore that? Can't we just get beyond this and, as it were, even remove it from our Bibles and not talk about this kind of thing? It's maybe for that very reason Christians also do what they can to try to explain this chapter away. Many people find this chapter very offensive. They're offended by it. They don't like it. They don't like how it sounds, because what it sounds like, of course, is that God sovereignly determines the everlasting fate of every lost sinner. As we read in verse 18, God has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills. People read this. Christians read this. And they're offended. They don't like this. They don't like how it sounds. They don't like to consider what that seems to say. And so they do their best to explain it away and otherwise ignore this very chapter. But before we would follow in their footsteps, Children, let me ask you a question. Why do we believe in Jesus? Why do you believe in Jesus when many other people do not? Did you choose to believe in Jesus all by yourself? I think you know the answer. I know that many of you have memorized Ephesians 2 at one time or another. By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not by works that no one may boast. We believe that God gave us the gift of faith. We believe because God brought us to faith. God gave us faith. God brought us to see Jesus Christ and to believe in Jesus Christ for our salvation. And do you know what, children? That means that God at one time made a choice. God made a choice to save us and to give us faith that we might believe in this Jesus and come to find that salvation. God made a choice before He even created you to one day save you, giving you the gift of faith and uniting you with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what we're talking about tonight. that God made a choice, a choice to save certain people from their sins. and a choice to leave the rest in their sins. That's what we're talking about when it comes to predestination. God makes a choice. A choice to save some and a choice to leave others in their sins. As we look at this passage tonight, that's exactly what Paul is teaching us. He's teaching us that as our sovereign God, the Lord has the right, He has the authority to predestine lost mankind to either heaven or hell. God has the right, He has the authority to predestine lost mankind either to heaven, to salvation, or to hell, to condemnation. But as we look at this tonight, we want to consider then, first of all, the vital mindset we should have in talking about these things. The vital mindset that Paul himself encourages us, encourages here in this passage. And then secondly, to look at the vessels of wrath that he mentions, and then end by looking at the vessels of mercy that are also mentioned here. So we begin with the vital mindset Paul sets before us, and then we turn to the vessels of wrath, and then finally the vessels of mercy. Well, as I mentioned, there are a lot of people who don't like Romans 9, and they try to explain it away. But there are also many people, Christians included, who do not, you might say, treat this topic, this subject, this doctrine in the right way. And that is something that's very much acknowledged by Paul as well in this chapter. Paul writes about God having mercy on whomever he wills and hardening whomever he wills. And as Paul writes that, by the Holy Spirit, he understands, he knows that many people will be offended by this. Many people will not like how this sounds. And so Paul goes on to ask a question of us. He goes on to ask a question he knows many people will be drawn to ask themselves. How then can God blame us? How can God blame us and condemn us when we are unable to resist His will? If God hardens us, how can He fault us for unbelief? Paul recognizes that the human heart instinctively rebels against this teaching. Instinctively rebels against the idea that God hardens whomever He wills, and yet we are still held accountable for our own sin and ultimately condemned if we are an unbeliever. And in verse 20, then Paul addresses that, you might say, that response or that desire to respond in that way by himself saying, who are you, oh man, to answer back to God? Well, what does 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? See, what Paul's doing here is he's trying to cut off a certain mentality, a certain mindset, a certain attitude before it even begins to grow. Paul wants to cut it off at the very roots. And so he asks us this very central question, who are you, oh man, to answer back to God? Now that term, answer back, isn't so innocent, isn't as innocent as it might appear. In the Greek, this word of answering back has to do with the idea of contending with God, fighting with God. You might even say it's similar to the idea we speak of today in terms of talking back to God. Our children will at times talk back to us. And when our children talk back to us, they're not simply asking a question. They're not simply asking a question to clarify what's being said or what's been told us, but when they talk back to us, they're actually attacking us as their parents. They're attacking our words. Effectively, our children, in talking back to us, are putting themselves into the position of being our judge. And our children are sitting in judgment over us, their parents, as if they can determine what is right and what is wrong. And you see, that's what Paul is trying to cut off here. There are many people who, when they come to this subject, who come to this discussion of God's predestining people to heaven or hell, to salvation or to condemnation, who come to this sort of topic, come to this idea, and they immediately put themselves as judge over the Lord. And they say, how dare God act in this manner? How dare God not redeem certain people? How dare God not save all sinners? How dare God harden our hearts and then judge us and condemn us for our unbelief? There are many people who take offense to this doctrine, and their instinctive response is to sit in judgment over the Lord. And Paul says, you may never do that. You must never give in to this temptation to sit in judgment over God. Who do you think you are? And that's really what Paul stresses here. In the Greek it starts, Oh man, who do you think you are? Oh man, who do you think you are to question, to answer back, to talk back, to sit in judgment over God? See, it's that Creator-creature distinction we've talked about and heard about before. God is the Creator. He's infinitely greater than us. God is far beyond us. And we are dust. We are nothing. We are worms before the Lord our God. And how dare we open our mouths to question God, to question His goodness. and to sit in judgment over him. Think of what Paul pictures here in verse 11. Imagine you're a potter, you have before you a spinning wheel and this lump of clay, and as you spin it, as you put it together, you mold it, you fashion it, you make what you desire, and then imagine that suddenly you've finished your work, and now this piece of clay opens its mouth and begins to criticize you and to argue with you about how you fashioned it and how you made it. It's absurd. Absurd not just the prospect of a piece of clay suddenly talking to you, but the very idea of this clay taking it upon itself this supposed right to question its maker. It's ludicrous that this thing that we've molded, that we've shaped, should now turn around and question our right and our authority to do with it what we will. And Paul is saying that's the same thing when it comes to God. We have no right to question our Creator. We have no right to sit in judgment over Him. Now, he's not saying we can't ask questions. He's not saying we can't ask and seek to learn more and to understand, but Paul is saying that when we speak and when we hear these things and when we talk, we may not stand or put ourselves over God. No matter what we may think or how highly we may think of our ability to discern right from wrong, no matter how great we may think our modern sensibilities are, we have no right to judge the Lord. or to accuse him with wrongdoing. You see, Paul is stressing God has every right. God has every right to govern lost mankind as He pleases. God has every right to have mercy on whomever He wills and to harden whomever He wills. God does not have to answer to us. And so really, when it comes to the doctrine of predestination, when we talk about election, when we talk about reprobation, we talk about God's choice to save and God's choice to leave in sin, we need to be very careful, brothers and sisters, that we approach these things with a humble heart. These, you see, are matters where we have to tread lightly and carefully. It's like when God came to Moses and said, Moses, take the sandals off your feet because where you are standing is holy ground. This is not for you to pry into. This is not for you to sit in judgment over. This is not for you to ask your rebellious questions. This is not the place for you to accuse me with wrongdoing or to question my goodness. This is the place for you to quietly close your mouth and be in awe of the glory of your God and captivated with His authority, with His power, and with His right. This is holy ground, says Paul. We are dealing with matters too deep for our human minds to comprehend, and we must humbly bow before the Lord, confessing that He alone is God, and that He has every right to do with His creatures what He pleases. He does not have to answer us. And so we must be in this situation, in this place where we humbly acknowledge the glory of God, and where we humbly bow before His Word. We do not sit in judgment over His Word, but we humbly acknowledge what it says and teaches us. I know that a lot of us have a hard time understanding this. I know that a lot of us have a hard time accepting that God chooses not to save certain people. That God chooses not to save people whom we even dearly love. But we must never stand in judgment against God or His Word. We have no right. And as we'll go on to see, we need to be those who instead are amazed, amazed at the fact that God shows mercy at all. That's really where Paul is going to go. That we should not be those charging the Lord with wrong, but we should be those amazed, amazed by the goodness and mercy which He does display in deciding to even save anyone at all. And so what we read here in Romans 9 is God's Word. And when Paul talks about God loving Jacob and hating Esau, when he talks about God having mercy on whom He wills, heartening whomever He wills, we are to understand this is God's Word. This is God's Word about Himself. This is God's Word about His own power and authority. And if we disagree and if we fight and we argue with Paul, we're actually fighting and arguing with the Lord Himself. And that we may never do. We must humbly consider the word of the Lord. So we have then this humble mindset we're called to possess in talking about these things. But let's turn then to consider these vessels of wrath whom Paul mentions and describes here in this passage. We read in verse 21, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use, another for dishonorable use? 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? Here we have very clearly described for us vessels of wrath, those who have been prepared for destruction, those who are set apart to be destroyed. The meaning, of course, is that there are people whom God has chosen not to save, but whom he has chosen to leave in their sins and to ultimately be everlastingly destroyed and condemned for their sins. It's a very sobering thought, isn't there? There are some people in the world, right here, right now, who are destined to go to hell. The Belgic Confession speaks of it this way, all Adam's descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruined by the sin of the first man, God himself, or God showed himself to be as he is, merciful and just. He is just in leaving the others. Notice the active even, the active verb being used here. He leaves the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunge themselves. God leaves them in their sins. He leaves them in their ruin, ultimately to destroy and condemn them for all their sins unto everlasting torment and death in hell. Now, there are a few things I'd like to briefly point out to you about this statement. And the first is to notice the context in which this is said. To notice the context in which this article goes on to speak of God's electing to salvation or otherwise reprobating others unto eternal ruin. And that context, as you see here in the article, is the context of the fallen corruption of man. Now that may not seem very significant, but it is, because I think it at least helps us a little bit. to accept what is being said here about God predestining some to everlasting torment in hell. And you'll notice this same context, too, here in Romans 9. If you look there at what Paul writes, he says, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and the other for dishonorable use? The same lump of clay, says Paul. And what kind of lump of clay is that? Exactly what Article 16 talks about. Adam's corrupt descendants. That out of this lump of lost mankind, out of this lump of lost sinners, God chooses to save some and to leave others in their sins, preparing them for destruction. Out of this same lump of lost mankind, God chooses to save or God chooses to leave in their sins. And the point of that is that even when God hardens someone, as He speaks of here, He hardens whoever He wills. Even when God hardens someone, you see, God is hardening a sinner. By way of example, Paul mentions Pharaoh in this chapter. You think of the life of Pharaoh. You think of what the Bible tells us about Pharaoh. Back in Exodus 7, Moses triumphs in a contest with the Egyptian magicians, right? He throws down his staff and becomes a snake. The Egyptian magicians throw down their staffs. They become snakes. But then Moses' staff, his snake, eats theirs. Moses wins. And we're told that Pharaoh hardens his heart, refusing to listen to Moses. In chapter 8, we hear about the water turned into blood, and then Moses turning the blood back into water, and we read that Pharaoh again hardened his heart. The same thing happens after the gnats, and then the flies, and then the death of the livestock. And then you finally read this in Exodus 9, but the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them. You see, the Exodus shows us Pharaoh hardens his heart. Pharaoh hardens his heart. Pharaoh hardens his heart. He is set against the Lord. He rebels against the Word of the Lord. He doesn't want to listen to the Lord. Pharaoh was already wicked. Pharaoh was already a sinner. Pharaoh already hated the Lord. Pharaoh was already opposed to the Lord. And God, in judgment, then further hardened his heart. God removed some of the restraints upon Pharaoh and gave him up to greater and greater sin. Even like you read in Romans 1, God gave them up to their sin. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They bowed down to the work of their own hands. They gave themselves over to sin, and so God gave them up to greater sin. Which is to say, even though we talk here about God predestining some unto everlasting destruction, God does not make sinners. God doesn't make them sinners and then decide to destroy them as sinners. God doesn't make people sinners and then decide to send them to hell. No! Mankind having thus fallen. Mankind having plunged himself into sin. Mankind having decided to turn against the Lord and to give himself over to sin. Man making himself a sinner. God then shows Himself to be just by leaving them in the ruin and fall into which they plunge themselves. Is it God's fault that people go to hell? Are they condemned simply because God planned it? And the answer to the Scripture is no. Every single last sinner who ultimately perishes, perishes because of their own sin. because of their own sin. There is not a single person who when Christ returns and they stand before the throne of judgment can say, but God, you made me this way. No. No. They are a sinner. They gave themselves over to sin. They are condemned because of their own wickedness. They're a sinner. They love their sin. They cling to their sin. They harden their heart. They reject the salvation to be found in Jesus Christ, and they are therefore condemned to hell for their sins. Yes, God chooses to leave them in their sins as they deserve, but the fault is their own. There's another thing that Romans 9 makes clear as well. When Paul asks, what if God, desiring to show His wrath and make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath? Notice what Paul even indicates here. God has patience towards the wicked. God has patience even to those that He has predestined to hell, that patience that allows them to go on living, and that patience which truly does give them opportunity to repent. God gives them opportunity to hear about the gospel, to learn of Christ, to know Christ. God patiently endures them in this world. But even more, Paul says, what if God desiring to show His wrath and make known His power endures with much patience these vessels of mercy. And you see what Paul is also saying here is that when we think of this doctrine where God predestines some to everlasting judgment, choosing to leave them in their sins and to condemn them for their sins, what we also see in this is the glory of God. You know, people are offended by this doctrine. But Paul's saying we see in this the glory of God. We see the glory of His wrath. We see the glory of His power. You see, even the reprobate in their own way bring glory to God. Because as they're punished, it shows forth just the glory of the God whom we worship, that our God is just, that our God is holy, that our God is righteous. We see the glory, the true holiness and righteousness of His wrath and anger and hatred of sin. You know, think again of Pharaoh. Think of Pharaoh, what does Paul say there about Pharaoh? What does the scripture say about Pharaoh? For this very purpose I've raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Think again of Pharaoh, if he repented right away, if he let the Israelites go right away, none of the plagues would have happened. None of the signs and wonders that God performed would have taken place. The Lord's triumph over their supposed gods, if you look at the plagues actually, you'll see that those are attacks against the Egyptian gods in their own way. And that never would have been revealed if the plagues never took place. God's triumph over the Egyptian gods never would have been clear. And the inhabitants of Canaan, even the inhabitants of Canaan would never have been filled with fear and said, we have heard of the Lord and all that He did in Egypt. You see, exactly because God raised up Pharaoh and the Lord hardened His heart, God's glory, God's power, God's might, God's wrath was able to shine forth in a marvelous way. in a way that made the inhabitants of Canaan tremble in their boots, that made them fearful and scared of this God who was with Israel, His people. See, even this doctrine of reprobation, for as hard a time as we may have with it, it truly reveals the glory of our God. It reveals the glory of our God's justice. It reveals the glory of His holiness. It reveals the glory of His wrath. And so even though we may find this to be, even as Calvin said, a terrible decree, terrible not in the sense of being bad, but terrible in the sense of being awesome, even though we find it awesome and tremble, we must see within it the glory of our God, the glory of His holiness and wrath. So Paul speaks of these vessels of wrath that have been prepared for destruction. But we want to end then by considering these vessels of mercy. There's another reason why God has endured these vessels of wrath. And Paul says, it is in order that he might make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory. that although God has chosen to leave some in their sins and to condemn them for their sins, God has also chosen to save some of lost mankind. God has chosen to make for Himself these vessels, these creatures, these sinners into vessels of mercy. Those who will receive His mercy, those who will find salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And how awesome, how wondrous, and how amazing is this news? Again, what's amazing is not that God destined some for everlasting punishment in hell, but what is amazing is that God elects anyone to salvation. because that sinful lump of humanity deserves to all go to hell. That sinful, lost humanity deserves all to be everlastingly punished. And yet God wondrously chooses to act in His mercy, withdrawing and saving from perdition those whom He has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by His pure goodness without any consideration of their works. That's what Article 16 again speaks of. God displays His mercy by choosing to save some of lost mankind in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5, verse 8, God shows His love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Though we were sinners, God chose to lift us up out of the misery and death that we deserve. He chose us in Christ Jesus to be saved. He chose to deliver us and redeem us unto everlasting life, although we by nature hate God and our neighbor, although by nature we cannot turn to the Lord or do anything that pleases Him. although we have nothing to bring to God or offer to God. No way that we could ever do more than He requires. And mercy, God chooses to save us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Just think about that. As Article 16 tells us, this election in Christ is part of God's eternal and unchangeable counsel. The glory of our election. It's eternal. It's eternal. That means when it comes to our being chosen to salvation in Christ, there's no take-backs. There's no changing of God's mind. There's no reneging on His promise. There's no possibility that He won't follow through. But God's choice to save a lost people in Jesus Christ is an eternal choice. A choice that began in eternity past and whose effects endure for all eternity future. You might say that when we've been there 10,000 years or even 10 million billion years, there's not the slightest possibility we should ever be cast away because God's choice in Jesus Christ is an eternal choice. God eternally pledges Himself to save this lost people in the Lord Jesus Christ. An eternal salvation, an eternal choice with eternal effects that can never end. Meaning that our election in Christ is absolutely secure. At the same time, again, it's absolutely undeserved. God's choice of us is without any consideration of our works. It's not because of what we have done and not because of what we will do. It's not because of who we are or who we will be. God doesn't choose us for any reason to be found in ourselves. It's all of His own pleasure. You know, Paul speaks of Jacob in this chapter. Jacob I love, and you look at the life of Jacob, you see a deceiver, you see a jokester. You see a man who did everything he could to cheat his brother out of everything he had, and who did everything he could to cheat his uncle out of everything he possessed. Who didn't give himself to the Lord, who did not trust in the Lord, who tested God time and time again. Why would God ever choose a man like that? Why would God ever choose a man like Jacob? What could Jacob ever give him or bring him or do for him? And the answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing. And yet God says, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated, absolutely undeserved. We're part of the lost, sinful lump of humanity, and yet God chooses to save. And the point that really brings all this together is that we're chosen in Christ. You know, it's funny, I always have to remind my catechism students of that. It's interesting. I think there is an innate human temptation to divorce our election from Christ. And I think that's partly because we have this innate tendency to try to find some value in our own selves and in our own works. Why is it so easy to forget that we're elect in Christ? Because the point of election is that it's always and only in Christ, that God elects us only in Christ and who he is and what he would accomplish for us. The only reason God chooses us and can bring us to salvation is because of the work of Jesus Christ. We're chosen into salvation in regard to all that He would accomplish for us. We're chosen into salvation in view of the fact that Christ would take on our flesh, that Christ would enter this world, that Christ would fulfill the law of God for us, that Christ would go to the cross for us and be punished for us, that Christ would be forsaken by the Lord for us, that Christ would be buried in the ground for us, that Christ would be raised on the third day for our justification. See, when we speak of election being in Christ, we're saying that the only reason that we're elect is because of what Christ would accomplish for us and what God was sending His Son into the world to do. It's not because of what we've done. We're not elect because of what we have done. We are elect because of what Christ would do for us. Because Christ would accomplish everything necessary for our salvation. That's why, for instance, Calvin said that Christ is the mirror of our election. Christ is the mirror of our election. You see, when you read the Bible, and you read the Gospels, and you read about all that Jesus did, you read these stories about His miracles, His signs, His wonders, you read about His persecution, His humiliation, you read about His death, and so on, you read all that, Calvin says what you're seeing as you read that, as you look upon that, you are seeing God's election. of lost sinners. When you look at Christ, you are seeing election. God's choice to redeem lost sinners to glory. Election is always, always and only in Christ. And you see, that's why Paul can write that God's election, God's preparing vessels of mercy, shows us the riches of His glory. Paul writes that here in verse 23, in order to make known the riches of His glory. God has endured with much patience these vessels of wrath in order to make known the riches of His glory. Do you understand what election shows us? Again, many people are offended by election. Many people are offended by what it says about God and what it says about themselves. And they rebel against it, they hate it, and they fight against it. But you know what that shows? It shows just how blind they are to the glory of God because the glory of God shines most beautifully and wonderfully in the doctrine of election. What would you know of God's grace if it weren't for election? What would you know of God's love for you apart from election? What would you know of God's mercy were it not for the doctor of election? You would not know hardly anything. But when you look and you see who you are, this undeserving sinner who should receive everlasting death and destruction, and you see the God who has wrath, and the God who hates sin and sinners, and the God who is utterly opposed to wickedness, and you see that, and yet you see that God still chooses to save people. that He chooses to reach down and lay His hand upon these broken, corrupt sinners and to bring them up out of their death and their depravity. And how He chooses to save them in Christ by sending His only begotten Son into the world to take on our flesh and to go to the cross for us. How you see there in the doctrine God's commitment to save. You see His mercy. You see His grace like in no other way. You see the depths of the riches of His love as you do in no other way. You see just how much He is a God who does not delight in the death of the wicked, but rather they turn from their way and live. You gain a greater appreciation of just how great, how high, how broad, how deep, how wide is the love of God to you in Jesus Christ. You see, it's with this doctrine of election that you really do see, as Paul writes, the riches of God's glory. As we consider the doctrine of election, we see the glory of God in a way unlike any other. How could God ever dare, or rather, how could anyone dare charge God with wrongdoing? How could anyone ever charge God with not being good? How could anyone dare charge God with being unmerciful or unkind or lacking compassion or mean or evil or any such thing? How could they do that when they see this doctrine of election? when they see that God is pleased to save undeserving sinners, to redeem them from their own sin, and to crown them with loving kindness and glory, to seat them in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. How could you question the Lord? How could you question His ways when you see this choice to save you in Christ Jesus? How dare we insinuate any fault on the Lord's side. The glory of God is revealed to us in this doctrine, whereby He leaves some in their sins and yet redeems others in the Lord Jesus Christ into salvation. The glory of God shines. And we are again to humbly acknowledge the glory of our God, to be before Him and to tremble, to tremble before this God. To be amazed by this God, to be amazed by His choice, to be amazed by this grace, this love and this mercy that led Him to save lost sinners. Paul writes, oh, the depths of the riches of the glory of our God. And you know where we find it? We find it here in God's glorious plan and purpose to save lost sinners without any consideration of their works. This is absolutely humbling, and it is absolutely God-glorifying. It shows us the wonder of the God whom we serve and worship tonight. The wonder of the God who's laid hold of our own hearts and truly brings home the message that we are saved by God and God alone. It is all of grace and not of works. It is God who laid His hand on me and God who saved me from all our sins. And so may our hearts be humble and glad as we again consider the glory of God's works and ways, the glory of our awesome God as He redeems lost sinners from destruction, redeeming them, setting them apart for life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you amazed, brothers and sisters? Are you amazed at God's love? Do you see how undeserving you are and yet how wondrous is that love that lay hold on you? Are you amazed? Give God the glory. Amen. Let's pray. Oh Lord, our Heavenly Father, as we draw near to you tonight, we again humbly acknowledge that you are God and you are God alone. and that your ways are wondrous and your works are awesome. And we delight to study them here tonight, Father, even though in many respects they attack our sensibilities and they expose the hardness of our own heart, failing to acknowledge that You alone are God and You have the right to govern lost mankind as You please and as You will, that You will harden whomever You harden and that You will have mercy upon whomever You will. Father, help us to humbly consider this teaching and this doctrine, even as our minds struggle to comprehend it. Yet may we, Father, see within it your glory and your majesty. May we see the wonder of what you've done in Jesus Christ, how you have chosen us, Father, to receive salvation, an eternal choice that it can never be changed or altered. and one which means we will forever live with you in glory and in peace. Father, humble our hearts that we may give you praise. And as we go forth in this new week, may we go forth certain of the fact that you have called us into everlasting life, that we are yours and you are ours, that our God is with us and that our God loves us and he has all manner of grace and mercy towards us, sinner though we may be. O Father, assure us of such as we look to Christ, the mirror of our election, as we offer this prayer to you in his name. Amen.