Scott continues the study of Romans, focusing on chapter 11:33-36, discussing the themes of God's righteousness, sovereignty, and mercy. He talks about how both Jews and Gentiles are central to God’s redemptive plan, emphasizing that the hardening of Israel was temporary and served a purpose in bringing Gentiles into God's family.

Scott explains that the mercy shown to Gentiles is meant to provoke Israel to eventually return to God, pointing to a future restoration for national Israel. Throughout the episode, Scott tackles difficult questions on election, hardening, and human free will, stressing God's ultimate authority and freedom in dispensing mercy. He explores the depth of God’s wisdom and judgments, underscoring that salvation and the process of becoming the righteousness of God are neither accidental nor based on human effort, but are acts of God’s sovereign will and mercy. The episode closes by reflecting on the proper response to God's sovereignty: awe, worship, and gratitude for His mercy.

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Blank Insight Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vZNoS_jW5K_TOYX_A-jbQhJkLs1-UzE5/view?usp=sharing

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Key Topics Discussed:

• God’s righteousness and the gospel
• Israel’s temporary hardening and Gentile salvation
• The sovereignty of God in salvation and judgment
• The purpose and outcome of mercy to Gentiles
• Future restoration of Israel
• Election, free will, and God’s justice
• The right human response to God’s sovereignty
• Assurance and security in God’s redemptive plan

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the Bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the Bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi and welcome to today's Episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show Notes and download the Blank Insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website@beholdingbibletruth.com and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

A lot of stuff, a lot of concepts in the midst of this and so we're looking at the righteousness of God in Romans particularly. How do we as sinners become the righteousness of God? That's the gospel. That you can become the righteousness of God and therefore have eternal fellowship with God. You can be ever favorable in, in. In his eyes because you're of the same nature. It's the gospel is stunning that way. How would we become like God? How would we become the righteousness of God? He dwells in unapproachable light, yet we're able to approach him in eternity. How can that happen? How does that happen? That's the gospel.

Not just that your sins are forgiven, but that you become a son of the Almighty God. We become sons, not gender specific, but sons in the sense of access, sons in the sense of favor, sons in the sense of inheritance we receive. We've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And so the question is, how is God righteous in all of that? How do we receive the righteousness of God? And how does God remain righteous? And then we're struck with Israel's disobedience in the midst of this and what's happening to Israel. So I put on there the sovereignty and the righteousness of God in belief and and unbelief. In belief and unbelief, which is where we're struck with things we like and things we don't like, things we understand and things we don't understand, things we agree on and things we don't agree on. But here they are in the midst of this. So let's see if we can walk through this and understand what we get.

First of all, Israel's hardened. Israel, we have to deal with this in the midst of this, right? Israel's hardened so that gentiles are saved, so that gentiles are saved. And then Israel is provoked. Israel's provoked. And then we see what's up with Israel. Israel restored, Israel restored, Israel's hardened Gentile saved, Israel's provoked through it. And then future restoration. So I put on there, Israel's disobedience led to temporary hardening.

Temporary hardening. Or to comprehend that God would harden. But remember, it's a just and righteous and judicial hardening as a result of their disobedience, as a result of their ongoing disobedience, God righteously, justly and judiciously hardens them in order, right, to remind us and to show us that he is sovereign over all of it. So temporary hardening, he reminds us it's temporary. And then there's what? Mercy Underlying mercy for disobedient Gentiles. We put on there Gentiles who once defied God now stand in his mercy. Who's that? That's us. We be the gentiles who now have received mercy.

A time of mercy for gentiles. That mercy came, how literally says through Israel's disobedience, leading God to temporarily harden them, right? Which is a judicial inability to come to a saving knowledge of them, which resulted from their disobedience. So they're disobedient, continual disobedience. Because the question is, think about the early church, are Jewish and then they reject the Messiah, right? Fundamentally, they're rejecting the Messiah. What is going on? They're rejecting, right. And so that turns to the Gentiles, if you will. Turns. Paul says they turn to the Gentiles, Peter turned to the Gentiles, right? Which opened the door for the Gentiles to be grafted into God's family.

We looked at that for a number of weeks. So some of the branches were broken off. And you being a wild olives, it reminds you you do not belong on the olive tree. You are a wild olive. And we've been grafted on, grafted in among them and became partaker with them of what? The rich root. Rich root of the olive tree, Right. So the olive tree we've been grafted on of the tree we are. We've been grafted on the Gentiles.

So he says, therefore in Ephesians, remember, what are you to remember that formerly you the Gentiles in the flesh. So, right, we're talking about Jews in the flesh. Those who were ethnic, those who were national, those who were born Jewish, right? You've been born gentile. You were called uncircumcision by so the so called circumcision of course, which is performed in the flesh by human hands. Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope. No hope. And without God in the world. So you stood down there, Rick and Chris, and walked by.

Right. 800, 000 people. Right. Vast majority of them were lost without Christ. Right. No idea. Lost in blindness. Yes.

Just like I was before the Lord brought me. Just like I heard my words coming back at me. Yes. Just like we all were. Just like we all were. Right. A reminder that Gentiles in the flesh. Gentiles in the flesh.

So Israel's disobedience, God's response to that is temporary hardening. And that becomes mercy for us, mercy for the Gentiles. Is that a good thing? Yeah. And then he says, gentile mercy is designed to provoke Israel. Gentile mercy is designed to provoke in Israel. Right. What is God being gracious and merciful to Gentiles, designed to provoke Israel. So the mercy shown to Gentiles serves as a catalyst for Israel's future return to God.

But by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles. What's it designed to do? Make them jealous. These were people who are not a people. There are people who are not a people. Then national ethnics, Israel, future mercy. Future mercy. So God's going to deliver mercy in the future which will lead to obedience and restoration. And for.

For ethnic Israel, national Israel, the new new covenant that I will write my laws upon their heart. But they will be my people. Right? They will be my people. Now if their transgression, it says in Romans, is what? It's riches for the world, right? Not non Jews. And their failure is riches for the Gentiles. He's saying, how much more will their fulfillment be? Right. That there's a time in the future where Right. It will be fulfillment.

So he says, I do not want you brethren to be uninformed. Uninformed of this mystery that a partial hardening, temporary hardening. Right, the temporary hardening. And he reminds us in the midst of that, even in the midst of their disobedience and God's judicial, righteous, just partial hardening. There's always a remnant. There's always a remnant, right? Always a remnant. There are, you know, Messianic, if you call it Messianic Jews, right? Jews who are ethnic, ethnically born Jewish who have come to a saving knowledge of you got a friend that we're praying for and trusting, just right on the edge, not sure. Where he is, you know, But I said to him, for Jews, right, Messiah is a stumbling block.

Says in Corinthians that the, that Jesus Christ for gentiles is foolishness, right? You're handing out tracts, you're handing out the Bible, but the gentiles walking back, they think it's foolishness, right? Messiah. I don't need a Messiah. What do I need a Messiah for? Right? I got success, I got this, I got all that stuff. What do I need a Messiah for? Get the draft right. What do I need Messiah for a Jew? It's a stumbling block. Why a Messiah hanging on a tree? Cursed is. Cursed is the one who hangs on a tree. Right.

Even now, if you talk to a Jew, where is the need for blood? There, there. There is not. There isn't even the idea that there's the need for blood. Right? Where's the blood on the doorpost? Where is that? Where. Where does that come from? So even the idea of Messiah is just, is not even there. And certainly Jesus Christ is a stumbling block for a Jew. So still waiting. Aren't Jews still waiting for the Messiah? That's the way I always thought.

Well, they should be. They should. They should have always been waiting. Right. But I think if you talk to the average Jew, they wouldn't say they're waiting for Messiah. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, you have to talk.

Yeah. You kind of have to talk to where they are. It just depends on where they are. But generally it's through acts of compassion and. Right. So there, there's essentially a way to earn favor. Yeah. I had a guy come up to me when I was here.

Not. He goes, that's not my Messiah. Yeah. He was Jewish. Yes. You know. Yes. You know, they're.

I didn't get a chance to really talk to him. He, he said that in passing. He kept walking. That's, that's how they would be. So I don't know. I don't know where the, if you, you know, a number of good Jewish friends, they're not looking for Messiah, Resurrection, not. Rather, I mean, all that stuff. Right? Yeah.

So that's what I mean. In, in, in our world today, there's, there's a cornucopia of views, right. For, for whether you're Jewish or gentile. There's a lot of, a lot of mix. And that 800000 of people down there, there's all sorts of mix from, you know, who cares? I'm thinking about, I'm not thinking about. You just die and you know, so anyway, he says, I do not want you to be uninformed. This is a hardening, but it's a partial hardening and it's happened to Israel for a time. What's the time called? The fullness of the Gentiles.

The fullness of the Gentiles. So no matter what you're thinking about that there is a time when that will. There's a time of the Gentiles and there's a fullness of Gentiles. Whatever. There's. There's a time period in here until the fullness of the Gentiles. That means there is something before and then there'll be something after. Right? Something before and something after.

And it says at that point in time all Israel will be saved. Does that mean. Lot of discussion. What does that mean? I've even lot agreement, disagreement on what does that mean. Right. What does that mean? It certainly doesn't mean every Jewish person at the time will be saved. The idea is, is all Israel and that ethnic. Right.

Israel, that the time of the Gentiles were. The majority of those coming to Christ are Gentile in our, in our. In this age. That the majority at that time will be Jewish by birth. Right. And dispensationally, you'd say this occurs after or somewhere around the rapture. Somewhere after the rapture, right? Depending on your view of the rapture. Yes.

So that's the general restoration. The salvation is the general restoration. Yes. We're a time of Jews where at this time, right. There's the majority of those coming to Christ are Jewish. Salvation, restoration. Yeah. Well, the restoration being, you know, the promises to the fathers, right.

Are coming to pass. The New Testament is coming to pass for the, for the Jews, those who are ethnically born. So what's going on here, Lord? So I put on there, behold, behold God's sovereign design and purpose. That's the point here. This is not happening accidentally. God is not recovering because Israel was disobedient. He's not coming up with plan B because Israel, Right. Israel was unwilling to receive the Messiah.

It's not like God is saying, okay, what do we do now? This is part of God's purpose and God's plan. Not only does he demonstrate, says in scripture, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth, all their host. You ever try and build something, piece of furniture, a house, something. Put your office together. Put something together. Is it hard? Yeah, the things generally come together. So think about all the systems design all the integration of the heavens and the earth. Yes, perfect.

So God is saying, here's a physical demonstration of my ability to blueprint design, speak forth into physical creation. He's saying, behold that the heavens declare the glory of the Lord. He's saying, my plan and purpose for man over time also displays my glory. So he's saying, pay attention. Behold, behold, just like I am sovereign in the creation of creation, even in the midst of brokenness and sin and fallen world, my plan and purpose, right the. The purposes of God will be accomplished. He's saying, behold my plan, sovereign design and purpose of God. He's saying, what is the sovereign design and purpose? It is mercy to all.

It is mercy to all. Jews and Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles. Through Abraham. What was the promise? All the nations. All the nations. So the stunning verse here is that God has shut up all in disobedience. Literally, almost right? Put in a place, put in a room.

It could be used to put into a prison cell. God has shut up all in disobedience that he might show mercy to all. God has. Has put right, purposed shutting up in disobedience so that he might show mercy to all. So Israel disobeys and Gentiles receive mercy. Gentiles provoke Israel. Israel receives mercy. So sitting over top of all of that, guess what? You're in this class.

You'd be surprised by this. What is that? God's sovereignty. Right? God's sovereignty. Lest you think I just like to say that word and continue to go, you cannot walk through Romans and not be hit by. This is not me putting out. This is God saying, do you understand? I am sovereign over all disobedience. That's what he's saying. I am sovereign over obedience and disobedience.

So I put there, God is sovereign over disobedience. What? God is sovereign over disobedience. Why? To show forth his mercy. Mercy. To show forth his mercy. The scriptures seem to indicate that angels are completely confused about. Because angels do not receive mercy. Do not receive mercy.

So here we go. What if God. What if God, although willing. What's he willing to do? Demonstrate. Make known. What's he making known? His wrath. Remember? What's the word? What's a word for wrath? Justice. Righteous justice.

Although He's. He's willing to make known his justice and to make his power known. So he's just. And he's. He's able to bring forth justice, right? He says, although he's willing to do that if God were to demonstrate his wrath and make his power known. What would happen? He smoked for the soul that sins must die. The wages of sin is death. So sin, all should die.

All should die. But he's saying, I, although I'm willing to do that. He endures with much patience. He endures. What is he enduring? Sin. He endures sin. We endure it, but it's just because it's annoying, right? Other people's sin, the sin of the world, the unrighteousness in the world. It's annoying.

It makes my life. Life inconvenient and uncomfortable and makes me scared and afraid and all that stuff. We're just annoyed by it. We're bothered because it bothers us. The Lord endures it, and he sees it every second of every day. Eight billion people sinning, and he sees stuff we don't even see. Sometimes you hear about it and you're shocked, aren't you? Shocked by the death of it. He sees it all.

He sees it all. He's enduring with patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. Why does he do that? To make known. Oh, really? What? What are you making known? The riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy. Really? Huh? When did that happen? Beforehand. What? Prepared beforehand for glory. When was that? Beforehand? Purposeful. Purposeful Even us, Who? He also called that election.

I don't like that word. Okay, I'll read Romans. You don't know what to do with that. God's choice. God's election. God's calling. Not among Jews only, but also among the Gentiles. If you've come to a saving knowledge, you were prepared beforehand for glory.

Your name was written in the book of life beforehand, before hand. So his mercy through the disobedience of all, his mercy through the disobedience of all mine too. And his sovereignty and freedom. His sovereignty and his freedom. What does that mean? Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he pleases. He doesn't. He doesn't report to anyone, right? He is that he is. I am that I am.

I don't report to anyone, right? I'm righteous and I'm just. And I report to no one. I'm free. And he's free in election and hardening. Okay, tilt, tilt, tilt. Why? Because I run that through my translator, and I run it into my sinful ability. And I think, well, that doesn't seem right. That doesn't seem fair.

I don't get it. Doesn't make sense to me, right? All of that doesn't make sense. So he says in Romans, he says to Moses, so he's Quoting from Exodus, when Moses says, show me your glory, the Lord right passes by and he says, I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion. What? Show me your glory. That's your glory? That's your glory. How can that be? God is sovereign and God is free. So then he says, does not man on demand does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I raise of you ought to demonstrate my power in you, that my name might be proclaimed to the whole earth.

So then he has mercy on whom he desires, the heart whom he desires. 24 questions. You know, can he do that? Can he really do that? Is that right? I mean, all that stuff goes in it. So what should we do with that? What do we do with that? Well, a few verses later, the Lord descends in a cloud. So here's Moses, right? So God shows up and he says, I will have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. And then he's calling upon the name of the Lord. And it says, the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed the Lord gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness, keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin. Yet he'll by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

Visiting the iniquities of the fathers, to the children, the grandchildren, to the third and fourth generation. What Moses do? Well, explain that. Is that really right? Is that really fair? Well, how can you have mercy on some and not mercy on others? And what did Moses do below for the earth? And what it means is, he literally, He put his face to the dirt and he worshiped his face to the dirt. And he showed us for all time. What's the response to God's sovereignty? What's the response to God's freedom? What's the response to. To God's power? Not that we'd understand it. That's not beckoning us to understand it. It's not that we will choose the right answers on a test.

It's that we will bow low toward the earth and worship. And so this is where he goes. This is where he goes. He's going here. What? What does he say? Wonder and worship, Right? We stand in awe and wonder and worship. So he says, well, what is that? Well, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How deep is that? How deep is that? And Isaiah, it says, he, he says, who has measured the waters in the Hollow of his hand. So if you put your hand on.

Put water, how much water could you put in there? 1.2 ounces. I think it's 670 to 370. I couldn't remember, but it's. That's the number of gallons of water in the earth quintillion. God, that's in his hand. That's just the hall of his hand. Wow. Well, the depths.

Wow. Are the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Quinn, Brilliant. Because he's saying, right, if God is sovereign in freedom and election and choice and hardening, what should the response be? Well, that's deep and it's full of riches, whether I understand or not. Because he says in, in Isaiah, he would say shortly after this. His understanding is inscrutable. It's inscrut. Which means God is not showing himself for you to put under a microscope and inspect him and pass your affirmation.

Well, I agree with that. God, that's a good way to create salvation. That's a good way to handle Israel. That's a good way to do Gentiles. That makes sense to me. God's not asking for our affirmation. He's saying it is beyond our scrutiny. Then he says that his judgments are just and his ways are incomprehensible.

So he says, what shall we say to this in Romans 9? So what's the big thing for. For us as humans? What do we say? Then you go through, what about so and so? They didn't come to knowledge of God. What about so and so? Well, they lived a good life. What about so and so? What about all these people who don't hear? What about all that stuff inherently? What are we saying? Oh, God, are you. Is God really just. Well, how do people argue about election, all of that? Well, I thought that's not right. At the end of the day, man has to have his will and choose, or he does. But God is still sovereign over his disobedience.

God is still sovereign over his disobedience because we say, is that right? So he said what Paul. Paul says, spirit of God says, what shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? Then what's he saying? May it never be ascribed greatness to our God, the rock. His work is perfect. Underline all his ways are just underline that he's a God of faithfulness. Underline it. Faithfulness, by the way we think of faithfulness, you know, he's gonna. He's gonna show up. And that's true, but faithfulness Is true to himself, True to his word.

He is faithfulness. He is faithful. He's true to his word, right? And he's underlined, without injustice. Righteous. You can underline that. Upright. He's light, and in him is no darkness at all. There's no wavering with God ever.

Eternally upright. He's eternally upright. There's. There, there's. There's not a speck of injustice with our God. So then, then he says, well, who's known the mind of the Lord or became his counselor? Because I certainly have some thoughts for God. Always say, I set up a. A counseling service for God.

He never calls, never hear from him. You know, I've got great ideas for it, right? And then he asks, who is first given to him that it might be paid back to him Again, who's given to God? Who does God owe? See, God is free. Who does God owe? God doesn't know. Anyway, that's why it's mercy. Mercy. He doesn't. He doesn't provide mercy because he owes it to us. He owes it to us.

So all of this in the nature, when. When the Spirit of God says this, here's man's response. So I don't understand that. I don't agree with it doesn't make sense to me. No, I don't think. I don't think all that stuff he says, are you God's counselor? Did God owe you something? I mean, the nature we think, well, gee, that's pretty direct. But it's fundamentally and irrevocably true. So then I think I put in there, are we to question God? Depends.

Yes and no. And yes. So I put on there two, right? Where, Where Job says Job and all his buddies question God's integrity, question God's righteousness, question God's ability, trust in God's power, question that. God says, all right, you want to question my character, my purposes, my nature? You don't agree with them, that's fine. My turn. He says, you want to ask me now? Let me ask you. And he says, put on your adult body pants, because now I get to ask the questions, right? And I love this. Who is this? The darkens counsel by words without knowledge.

Now gird up your loins. Gird up your loins. And I'm going to ask you, and you instruct me. Where were you? Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, he says, tell me if you have understanding. Tell me if you had understand. So that kind of questioning, no, you can, but it's It. It's an affront to the name and the character of Almighty God. Can we call out to God? Yes.

Can we call out to God? Yes. And he'll answer you and tell you great, mighty things which you do not know. It's the nature of our crying out, Lord, I don't understand your justice. I don't. It doesn't make sense to me. That's different than Explain it to me, because I don't agree with it. I don't agree with it. So it's the nature of that.

So then he says, for from him and through him and to him are all things. Now, that's true in the context of all things. Everything that there is from him, right? From him, through him, to Him, Right, Right through him are all things. But in this context, he's not actually talking about all things. He's talking about those things which you might agree with or don't agree with, might understand or don't understand, might disagree on. What's he talking about? He's talking about here God's heartening, God's election, God's choice. That's the context of this. That's nine through 11, like it or not.

For from him, what's he talking about? His election, his calling, his choosing. That's from him, through him, what is that? That's his redemptive plan. And what's owed to him, his glory. So he says, by his doing, are you in Christ Jesus, who became to us what wisdom from God, our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. That's kind of like the whole Christian life. Let's see. By his doing, these are wisdom from God, our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. Is that good news? Yeah, man.

Because apart from Him, I'm over the hill. I'm lost. I'm on my own. I'm doing my stuff, right? I'm doing my stuff. By his doing, in him we have obtained an inheritance. What inheritance? Having been predestined. Predestined, Destined. Pre.

Before. Huh? Before. That's like. Beforehand. Predestined, Destined, pre. Well, how was I destined? Pretty according to his purpose. What's he do? He works all things after the counsel of his will. All things after the counsel of his will.

Huh? All things. Including me. Including me. And it says, the Lord Jesus. All things were created through him and for him and in him. All things. All things hold together. And, oh, by the way, if he's holding all things together, do you think he can hold you and your life together? Think that's too big of a task for him.

He can hold all things together and he can hold all you together and he's working all things after the counsel of this world and there's a purpose, there's an end to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. We are to the praise of his glory. Dislikes, understands, doesn't understand, agrees, doesn't election, predestination, choice, all that stuff. How could God do this? How could he do this? How did he do that? How did he do? Nobody argues. How is it that anybody's to the praise of his glory? How did a sinner become to the praise of God's glory? What? How could that be? How could I be to the praise of his glory? I know me, I know the depth of my sin. I know where I've been I know what I think and what I want don't want how am I the upright, just eternally pure the light of lights and the truth of truth in whom there is no shadow of turning how could I be to the praise of his glory? No other way. No other way. There's no other way.

No other way. Nobody wakes up and says God, that's not right. It isn't right. It isn't right. That's not just. It's only just in Christ, in Him, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed you were sealed cool picture wax on an envelope same right King puts his seal also the picture of a have an engagement ring, another seal, right? We were sealed in Him. Where do I want to be sealed In him with the Holy Spirit of promise. And he's given as a.

There's a pledge, a down payment, a first fruit. He's the first fruit. This is the down payment. This is the engagement ring. If God has made the down payment, what will he do? He will bring the full harvest. If God has given a pledge, he will fulfill it. So he's saying, right, the the Holy Spirit is the first fruit of his promise. What's it? What is it? In view of the redemption of God's own possession, I'm not mine, I'm His.

And he doesn't lose his, it doesn't lose his. Because we're his and we are to be. To the praise of his glory. The praise of his glory. So he said, you, our chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people for God's own possession. God's own possession. And he says in Galatians, it's not that that that People say, oh, well, you know when I received Christ, you know when I accept the Lord, when I did this. No, no, no.

He said, it's not that you say you're God's. It's that God says you're his. It's a. God says you're his right. God says you're his, your own possession. Because he said you were a people without mercy. Now you receive mercy. You are not a people now you're God's people.

I want to be his. I want to be his. I want to be his. So we are to the praise of his glory. So he says, here, here's. Here's where he is sovereign over obedience and disobedience. The disobedience of Gentiles, the disobedience of Israel. None of them blew God's plan.

In fact, Adam's disobedience didn't blow God's plan. God's plan, purpose from all eternity was to send his Son, right? And in the midst of that, he shows forth mercy. Mercy, doll. Mercy at all. Mercy. All right, write down insight or question or an observation. We do have a free will, right? And everyone exercises their free will. And they all exercise it to sin.

Everyone exercises their free will to sin, right? For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The question is, is God's sovereignty over that and does what has to happen for my free will, which wants to sin against God, wants to be disobedient, wants to be my own? What has to happen for that cold heart to turn to him? What has to happen, generation? Well, I all of a sudden recognize, I need Savior, I'm going to go do right things, right? Or is God's sovereignty over that to break through and take my heart of stone, give me a heart of flesh. So here's the question. Because if. If people could come to Christ on their own, people could come to Christ on their own. Just think about this, right? People who share the gospel, they just come to Christ, okay? Why aren't they? But here's a better question. If. Let's go back.

Because we're all sinner, right? Born, born in sin. Born, right? We sin because we're sinners. So we all sin. And in sin, we're going to choose Christ. Okay, let's go back. There was one opportunity for human without sin to choose. Who is that? Without any sin, what did Adam and Eve choose? Sin. So we with sin are going to choose.

Not sin, sin. I mean, think about that. Adam, sinless, with everything that he would need eternally including fellowship with God. They choose sin. So we born in sin, we're going to choose not sin. So when we say God's election, God overcomes our disobedience, our unwillingness. Right, our unwillingness. So when you see, yeah, the man is a free will, absolutely.

But it needs to be overcome. Overcome. And God, by His grace and mercy. Right. Takes your heart of stone out and gives you a heart of flesh. He speaks, it says, there's darkness in here. God speaks light into your soul. And all of a sudden you see, I'm a sinner.

A sinner. It's not words I say, it's not a prayer I pray. It's that God has spoken forth. And I see my sin. What? And I see God's holiness. What? And repentance is a gift. Amen. It's a gift from Almighty God.

That's always saying, yeah, you got all the free will in the world you want. You're just free to sin. It takes God's mercy to overcome my. My heart, to disobey my heart, to go my own way. Does that make sense? We should be stunned by his mercy. Yeah. Every day we should be stunned by his mercy. That's what it means to.

To wake up to the Gospels. We should just be stunned. Here I am, still. Still a son of God. What? Yeah. That happened. Yeah. How's that happen? And you're going to wake up tomorrow and the day after until the day he calls you home and then you're eternally a son.

How'd that happen? Stunned by mercy. Or you have missionaries, they'll say, oh, that's his name. That's his name. Wow. Right? Because God has spoken forth, Right? Spoken forth. So stunned by mercy. That's what we should be, stunned by, Mercy. Oh, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Unsearchable are his judgments, unfathomable his ways. Then he reminds us from him and through him, to Him. For from him and through him and to him are all things. May the God of all mercy, may he bless you, may he keep you, may cause his face to shine upon you. May he lift up his countenance and speak forth his shalom deep into your soul, so that you know every minute of every day that you are his eternally. Amen. Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the Bible, in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Until next time. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine. Upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time. May God bless you and keep you it.