If you really want to dive deep into the implications and ramifications of God’s grace and mercy to us in Christ, you really need to take the time to listen to this series of sermons on Romans 9 by John Piper. It is unfortunate these passages get skimmed over, ignored or nuanced to such a great degree there is nothing left but hollow theology. There is gold here if you will spend the time with it. Romans 9 answers these questions (though Romans 10-11 continues the answers as well):

  1. “If God has made such great promises to us in Christ that will NEVER fail (as explained in Romans 8), why is it that a majority of Israel rejected Christ, the only One who could save them?”
  2. “If all of Israel is not saved, and God’s promises have failed them, what are we to make of the promises of God given to us in Romans 8?”
  3. “Is God required to show mercy to everyone?”
  4. “Is God free to show mercy to whom He pleases?”
  5. “Is God bound by what the creature does or doesn’t do, or is He free to do as He pleases, to His own glory and for His own purposes?”
  6. “From where did our faith come from?”

These are just a few of the questions to be answered in this series. John Piper will take you deep into the Biblical understanding of what it means for God to be God and for us to be His creatures, creatures that have rebelled against His glory. But be prepared to get challenged. Ask the Spirit to soften your heart, to humble your pride and grant you a greater understanding of who God is. The ways in which He acts to bring glory to Himself and what He’s done in history to actually bring that glory about, namely through the Person and work of Christ in the Gospel, are brought to even greater clarity in Romans 9. These truths are so counter to the autonomous, godless, humanistic messages and philosophies we are absorbed in within American culture that to some they are shocking they actually exist in the Bible. Nevertheless, here they are.

  1. The Absolute Sovereignty of God: What Is Romans Nine About? (MP3) – (Romans 9:1-5)
  2. My Anguish: My Kinsmen Are Accursed (MP3) – (Romans 9:1-5)
  3. How Great Is the Honor of Israel? (MP3) – (Romans 9:1-5)
  4. God’s Word Stands: Not All Israel Is Israel, Part 1 (MP3) – (Romans 9:6-12)
  5. God’s Word Stands: Not All Israel Is Israel, Part 2 (MP3) – (Romans 9:6-12)
  6. Unconditional Election and the Invincible Purpose of God (MP3) – (Romans 9:6-13)
  7. The Fame of His Name and the Freedom of Mercy (MP3) – (Romans 9:14-18)
  8. The Hardening of Pharaoh and the Hope of the World (MP3) – (Exodus 9:8-17 – Old Testament background sermon)
  9. The Freedom and Justice of God in Unconditional Election (MP3) – (Romans 9:14-18)
  10. How God Makes Known the Riches of His Glory to the Vessels of Mercy (MP3) – (Romans 9:19-23)
  11. God’s Ultimate Purpose: Vessels of Mercy Knowing the Riches of His Glory (MP3) – (Romans 9:23-24)
  12. The Gentiles Are Included (MP3) – (Romans 9:24-29)
  13. The Gentiles Have Obtained Righteousness by Faith (MP3) – (Romans 9:30-33)