God's Mercy
A Sermon on Romans 9:14-18
Originally preached Jan. 18, 1963
Scripture
14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16So then it is not of him that willeth, …
Sermon Description
What is the great mystery of salvation? According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in this sermon on Romans 9:14–18 titled “God’s Mercy,” it is not why every sinner is not saved, but why any are saved. This is because as the apostle Paul says, God does not have to give mercy to anyone but He chooses to because He is a gracious God. There is no doubt that this is a hard teaching to grasp; this is seen in the fact that many wise and godly Christians have rejected it. Yet God’s word is clear that from start to finish, salvation is a free and gracious gift from God. For if God had to give salvation to everyone, how would it be all of grace? As the Scripture teaches, God gives mercy to whom He wills to give mercy and He hardens whom He wills to harden. This truth is seen in the Lord Jesus’s parable of the workers in the vineyard. Here it is seen that God is not obligated to give mercy to all, yet He chooses to give some in order that His name might glorified. What should be one’s response to this teaching? This great doctrine should cause the Christian to forsake all hope in themselves and look to Jesus who alone can save.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul deals with the question of God's righteousness and justice in showing mercy to some and not to others.
- Paul argues that God himself proclaimed to Moses that he will show mercy to whom he will show mercy. God is not obligated to show mercy to all.
- God's mercy depends entirely on his sovereign will and choice, not on human will or effort. Whether we receive mercy is not based on our desiring it or our works.
- The parable of the workers in the vineyard illustrates that God has the right to do as he pleases with what belongs to him. No one has a ground for complaint against God.
- If God dealt with us according to strict justice, all would be condemned. The fact that any receive mercy is a mystery and a matter of wonder.
- We cannot understand why God chooses to have mercy on some and not others. His thoughts and ways are beyond our comprehension.
- We should humbly accept what God has revealed about his sovereign choice to show mercy, recognizing we have no claims on his mercy.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.