1. Welcome to the Adult Two Couples Class Immanuel Baptist Church

2. Question of the Day What makes you get up in the morning?

3. Announcements – December Fellowship Woffords – 17 Dec Woffords – 17 Dec Sign up sheet for meal Sign up sheet for meal Guy gift/girl gift of $10 or less Guy gift/girl gift of $10 or less – January thru March fellowship You too can be a host You too can be a host

4. Prayer Requests

5. Question of the Day What makes you get up in the morning?

6. Context The first eight chapters of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome explains the need for salvation by faith through grace. He ended by giving a loud and clear testimony about the assurance of God’s plan for the lives of those whom are called by His name. As if reading the minds of his fellow Jewish Christians, Paul now begins to address a logical question regarding a God who faithfully fulfills His purposes in the lives of His people. The question regards the Jews themselves. For how can one claim the faithfulness of God, when the descendants of Israel themselves appear to have not responded to God, and are therefore being left out in the cold.

7. Overview Mercy is Needed Mercy is Needed Mercy is Withheld Mercy is Withheld God Knows Best God Knows Best

8. Key Truth God’s is sovereign in all matters of salvation and we can trust in His ways regarding His mercy.

9. Romans 9 : 1 - 5 Mercy is Needed

10. Paul’s anguish and grief Paul’s anguish and grief –Paul’s heartfelt conviction on the subject –He invokes the name of Christ –The all-knowing accountability of the Holy Spirit The source of Paul’s troubled heart The source of Paul’s troubled heart –Status of fellow Israelites who are lost without Christ –Paul would give up his own salvation if it would lead Israel to Christ

11. Mercy is Needed The credentials of Paul’s people The credentials of Paul’s people –Descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob –Adopted and set apart by God –God revealed His glory directly to them –God made personal agreements with them –God gave them the Law –God designed a temple where they could worship –He made personal promises to them –The famous ancestors of history were Jews –Christ Himself was a Jew by birth The people of Israel had all that it took to know God The people of Israel had all that it took to know God –Were they still lost? Why? Why?

12. Romans 9 : 14 - 18 1 Corinthian 12:3 Mercy is Withheld

13. The question naturally asked by man The question naturally asked by man –Why does God choose one group and reject another? –Why is God so unjust? The answer to the natural man The answer to the natural man –God is God; He dispenses grace on whomever He chooses This is the prerogative of a sovereign God This is the prerogative of a sovereign God It’s one of the attributes that makes Him God It’s one of the attributes that makes Him God

14. Mercy is Withheld The example of Pharaoh The example of Pharaoh –Why did Pharaoh refuse to let the people of Israel go? –Could God have sent His Spirit to force Pharaoh to submit? –God knew that Pharaoh would act arrogantly enough, long enough to demonstrate God’s power –God used Pharaoh’s hard heart for His purposes Pharaoh first closed his heart to God Pharaoh first closed his heart to God God’s judgments made his heart harder God’s judgments made his heart harder God gave him over to his hard heart completely God gave him over to his hard heart completely –Consider this statement: God uses bad people doing bad things to achieve His glorious purposes God uses bad people doing bad things to achieve His glorious purposes

15. Mercy is Withheld God’s mercy is always available, but dispensed under God’s direction God’s mercy is always available, but dispensed under God’s direction –All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, but only those to whom God reveals Himself can choose to make that call 1 Corinthians 12:3 1 Corinthians 12:3 –We cannot arbitrarily obtain God’s mercy and we cannot earn God’s mercy –Like Pharaoh however, there is a danger in closing our heart to God’s mercy

16. Romans 9 : 19 - 24 God Knows Best

17. Why is the concept of God’s sovereignty so hard for man to accept? Why is the concept of God’s sovereignty so hard for man to accept? –Verse 19–In other words, “How can God blame us when he makes us behave the way He wants?” 1 Corinthians 2:14 1 Corinthians 2:14 –A natural man wants God to operate according to his understanding –Our natural concept of fairness says that bad things should only happen to bad people –The very act of the sacrifice of Christ was by nature unjust

18. God Knows Best Paul’s answer to the question of perceived unfairness Paul’s answer to the question of perceived unfairness –The example of the potter and the vessel Who is the creation to question the creator? Who is the creation to question the creator? –Isaiah 29:16 –God saw what we deserved and gave us something better God’s mercy and grace is extended in His desire to allow men to come to Him God’s mercy and grace is extended in His desire to allow men to come to Him –2 Peter 3:9

19. God Knows Best Our natural understanding of justice is irrelevant in light of God’s sovereignty Our natural understanding of justice is irrelevant in light of God’s sovereignty God chooses the who, how and when of extending His mercies to men God chooses the who, how and when of extending His mercies to men Man can never be smarter than God-trying to argue with Him is a waste of time Man can never be smarter than God-trying to argue with Him is a waste of time Our hope and fulfillment in this life comes from trusting His mercy and discovering His will Our hope and fulfillment in this life comes from trusting His mercy and discovering His will

20. Review Mercy is Needed Mercy is Needed Mercy is Withheld Mercy is Withheld God Knows Best God Knows Best

21. Adult Two Couples Class