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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Romans 11. We're going to focus this morning 
on verses 33-36. Those three verses make up a 
doxology, a praise to God. The Apostle Paul has discussed 
many wonderful things in the book of Romans up to this point. 
Very specifically, he's been discussing the sovereignty of 
God and the salvation of sinners in chapters 9-11. I recently 
saw a preacher on YouTube, a video clip, and he said that he was 
denying God's sovereignty. He was denying what men call 
the doctrines of grace or the Reformed faith. And he says the 
word sovereign never appears in the Bible. It's a curious 
statement because neither does the word Trinity ever appear 
in the Bible. But from first to last, the Scriptures 
are Trinitarian. From first to last, the Scriptures 
set forth a sovereign God. A God who is unrivaled in His 
power and majesty and in His excellence and in His glory. 
And last week in the Sunday morning service, we considered the grace 
of God and how it ought to promote awe in our hearts toward Him. 
This morning we're going to look at the sovereignty of God and 
how it ought to promote awe in our hearts. I'll pick up reading 
in Romans chapter 11 at verse 25. For I do not desire, brethren, 
that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should 
be wise in your own opinion that blindness in part has happened 
to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 
And so all Israel will be saved as it is written. The deliverer 
will come out of Zion, and he will turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob. For this is my covenant with 
them when I take away their sins. Concerning the gospel, they are 
enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, 
they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts 
and calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient 
to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 
even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the 
mercy shown you, they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed 
them all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all. Oh, 
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding 
out. For who has known the mind of 
the Lord, or who has become His counselor, or who has first given 
to Him, and it shall be repaid to him. For of Him, and through 
Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, the 
reading of this passage is so wonderful, and we pray that Your 
Spirit now would guide us as we consider the teaching that 
Paul sets forth here. Help us to examine Your Word, 
God, and help us to be humbled in Your sight. Help us to have 
a right esteem of God, to see Your glory and Your supremacy, 
to see Your majesty and Your excellence. And God, may this 
promote in us a right fear of You. a reverence before you and 
that holy awe and adoration that is fitting. We ask that you would 
forgive us now for all of our sins and transgressions. We thank 
you that there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. 
We thank you that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to 
live and to die and to rise again so that we may know that pardon 
of sin and that imputation of righteousness. We would just 
pray now, Lord God, that You would give us the mind of Christ. 
And we pray in His most blessed name. Amen. I don't think it 
would surprise any of you for me to say that we have issues. 
We all have issues facing us in our daily lives. We have issues 
as a local church. We have issues in our families. 
And very often we look to the Scriptures for answers. Very 
often we want a very practical answer for our very practical 
issues. And the Scriptures are fitting 
for such a thing. But as well, there is an answer 
to all of our issues when we understand just who God is. In 
fact, theology promotes good, godly living. Theology helps 
us to deal with the various challenges and issues that we face in our 
daily lives. Theology is what really matters 
for the Christian. And that is precisely what Paul 
is doing in this particular passage. As I said, he's been discussing 
the place of Israel. He's been discussing the place 
of God's sovereignty in the salvation of sinners. And so here in verses 
33 to 36, he takes up his pen and he praises and honors and 
glorifies God. That is the end of theology. 
It's not just so we'll know more than our opponent, but so that 
we'll be humbled before God and so that we'll praise Him for 
who He is and what He's about. One man has well said, theology 
must exhilarate. Theology must inspire praise. Theology must indeed move us 
to doxology and to worship. I want to take up these several 
verses this morning with three considerations. The first, there 
is an exclamation concerning God's character. That is in verse 
33. Secondly, we'll take up a confirmation 
from the Old Testament Scriptures, verses 34 and 35. And then finally, 
an ascription of glory to God there in verse 36. But notice 
this exclamation. He says, of the riches both of 
the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments 
and His ways past finding out. It's only the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ that could promote such a response in the Apostle Paul. In other words, if a man could 
earn his salvation by his own law-keeping, by his own works, 
by his own merits, there's no reason to say, oh, the depth 
of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. No, it's simply 
a barter system at that point. If I can just render up religious 
observance to God and He gives me salvation, there's nothing 
puzzling about such an arrangement. There is nothing baffling about 
such a way. The way of God in the Gospel, 
in terms of His sovereign election, redemption through blood, and 
the application of this redemption through the Holy Spirit of God, 
causes Paul to praise. to worship, to marvel, to glorify, 
to extol, and to just admire who God is. He speaks of God's 
omniscience here. He says, O the depth of the riches, 
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Omniscience means God's 
knowledge. God knows everything. There is 
nothing that He doesn't know. He doesn't have to go to school. 
He doesn't have to learn things. He doesn't have to acquire it. 
All knowledge is always readily available to our sovereign God. And Paul praises Him for this. And we ought to praise Him for 
this as well. We may not know what a day may 
bring forth, but we know who brings it. We know that our God 
has promised that He would work all things for our good. How 
could He promise such a thing if He Himself did not know intimately 
every detail, if He did not orchestrate the affairs of the universe? 
That would be an empty-vein promise. It would be me saying, oh, I 
hope everything works out for you, without realizing that you're 
about to get hit by a truck. If God says He will work all 
things for our good, He says it consistent with His omniscience, 
with the fact that He knows that He will accomplish this on our 
behalf. Wisdom refers to the arrangement 
and the application of all things to accomplish His will. God's 
not only purposed the end, but He's purposed all of the means 
to achieve that particular end. It is God's wisdom that He has 
brought us out of darkness into marvelous light. The Scriptures 
celebrate the wisdom of our great God. One place in particular 
is in 1 Corinthians 1. In verse 17, Paul says, For Christ 
did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with 
wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no 
effect. He says, For the message of the 
cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us 
who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing 
the understanding of the prudent. How does the Lord do that? But 
through His wisdom. Through His arrangement of all 
things. Through His carrying out His perfect and holy will. The Scriptures in the Old Testament 
celebrate this wisdom of God. But Paul doesn't stop there. 
He says not only the riches both of the wisdom, but he says the 
knowledge of God. This means His all-inclusive 
and exhaustive knowledge of everything. Again, I think this is sometimes 
difficult for us to understand. How do we gain knowledge? We 
read the Bible. We pick up a book. You want to 
learn how to fix your car, you go down to the library. You find 
a book and you start flipping through it to sort of understand 
the workings of an internal combustion engine and that car specifically. That's not the way God does it. 
God always has known and always will know everything there is 
to be known. Why should we be people of prayer 
and dependence and searching the Scriptures? Because our God 
has every answer. This is why Solomon says, trust 
in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding, 
but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Why? Because He's infinitely 
wise and infinitely knowledgeable. The Scriptures celebrate this 
attribute of God as well. So Paul says, O the depth of 
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. And then 
he speaks of his judgments. He says how unsearchable are 
his judgments. I want to make sure we understand 
what Paul is not saying. When he says that God's judgments 
are unsearchable, it doesn't mean we can't know anything of 
God. It doesn't mean that. He doesn't 
mean God is unknowable, but rather he means God is unbelievable. 
Not unbelievable like we can't believe Him, but unbelievable 
like it's amazing. It is mind-blowing. These new 
Bible translations, this might be a good place to put in mind-blowing. That's the point of the Apostle. His judgments are unsearchable. Again, a statement that makes 
no sense whatsoever if we work for our salvation. A statement 
that makes no sense whatsoever if Arminianism is right, or Romanism 
is right, or Islam is right, or if any of the religions of 
man is right. This statement makes no sense. 
When Paul says his judgments are unsearchable, certainly he 
means all of God's ordering of the affairs of the world. But 
I take it in the context of his judgments with reference to salvation. You read the gospel accounts, 
you see some pretty mind-blowing things, don't you? You see some 
things that are quite impressive and amazing. You see two men 
go to the temple to pray. One man is a self-righteous Pharisee. One man stands and prays thus 
with himself. Thank You, God, that I am not 
like other men. Thank You, God, that I'm not 
unjust, that I'm not an adulterer, that I'm not an extortioner, 
that I'm not like this publican here. Thank You, God, that You 
have made me in such a way and in such a capacity that I always 
perform well. I fast twice a week. I give tithes 
of all that I possess. Thank You, Lord, for making me 
thus. And then you look to the next 
man, and he can't even look up into heaven. All he can do is 
beat his breast and say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. 
What's Jesus Christ say? I tell you, this man went to 
his house justified. How unsearchable are his judgments? That would have been revolutionary 
to Jesus' crowd. They would identify the Pharisee 
as the heaven-bound man. They would have put that publican 
in hell faster than you and I could ever do so. And yet, Jesus says, 
I tell you, this man went to his house justified. Consider 
the thieves on the cross. Make no mistake about it, brethren, 
there were going to be three crucifixions on that day. Remember, 
they said, give us Barabbas. What do you want me to do with 
Jesus? Crucify Him. Crucify Him. Barabbas was the 
ringleader. I believe these two men on either 
side of Christ were His cronies. What happens in that event? The day starts off and both men 
are blaspheming the Lord Jesus. But then by God's grace, in an 
unsearchable judgment of the Lord, this one man is convicted. This one man confesses the justness 
of God's judgment in his own life. This one man looks upon 
Jesus, looks beyond the blood, looks beyond the crucifixion, 
looks beyond all that everybody else said. And he says, Lord, 
remember me when you come into your kingdom. He acknowledges 
Jesus as Lord while he's hung upon a tree. And then he acknowledges 
the fact that Jesus has a Kingdom. How unsearchable are His judgments. Ways past finding out. He confounds 
us. He confuses us. Not because He's 
confusing or confounding, but because He's a God of grace and 
a God of mercy and a God who meets us with that kindness. What about in Paul's argument 
up until this point? Unsearchable in his judgments. Look at Romans chapter 9 for 
just a moment. Romans chapter 9, the immediate 
context illustrates the unsearchableness of the judgments of God Most 
High. Notice in Romans chapter 9, verse 
6, Paul is taking up an argument here. Paul is dealing 
with the issue. What about Israel? You know, 
you say God sovereignly elects, God chooses. What about this 
old covenant people, Israel? That's the whole point of chapters 
9 to 11. Notice what he says in verse 
6. But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect. For 
they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children, 
because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac your seed 
shall be called, that is, those who are the children of the flesh. 
These are not the children of God, but the children of the 
promise are counted as the seed. For this is the word of promise, 
at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not 
only this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one man, even 
by our father Isaac. Now notice this. For the children 
not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the 
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but 
of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve 
the younger. As it is written, Jacob I have 
loved, but Esau I have hated. Now, there are many people who 
trip on this statement. There are many people who do 
not accept the clarity of this statement. In fact, just by way 
of an aside, when Paul says how unsearchable are his judgments, 
beware, brethren, of saying it's such a mystery. It's so confusing. It's so difficult. No, it isn't. There are some things about God 
that are difficult for us to understand. Deuteronomy 29.29, 
the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things 
He has revealed are for us and our children. There is nothing 
difficult about this passage. We may not like it, but that 
doesn't make it hard. We may not appreciate the sentiment, 
but that doesn't make it mysterious. But the place where a lot of 
people trip is in this statement, Esau I have hated. Why do people 
trip there? Because at core, we're humanists. 
It is to relinquish any idea of what sin is all about. I submit 
the most puzzling part of this passage is not that God hated 
Esau, because God hates the workers of iniquity. The most puzzling 
part of this passage, the unsearchableness of his judgment, is that he loved 
Jacob. One man wrote a book, Why Do 
Bad Things Happen to Good People? That's to ask the wrong question. The issue is, why do good things 
ever happen to bad people? This makes perfect sense. that 
a rebel against the Lord God, that one who contends Him, the 
one who is opposed to Him, it surprises us that God would oppose 
Him? It would surprise us that God 
would hate Him? No, that makes perfect sense. 
What is absolutely amazing is that Jacob, I have loved, especially 
when you read the Jacob narratives, I'd find it difficult to love 
Jacob if I was in his circle of friends. I would find it quite 
difficult. How unsearchable are his judgments? We think it's the upright. We 
think it's the polished. We think it's the handsome. We 
think it's the noble. We think it's the wise. And what 
does God do? Yeah, He may save some noble. He may save some wise. Not all 
of them. But what God does is He takes 
the low things, the base things. He takes those things which are 
not and He bestows upon them grace and mercy and love and 
kindness. This is why the apostle says, 
oh, the depths of both the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God. How unsearchable are His judgments. Again, not that we 
can't know them. But that it's mind-blowing. That 
it's amazing. That God would save a wretch 
like me. Or as we saw last Sunday morning, 
that God would be merciful to David. That God would say, I 
have put away your sin. That's unsearchable, brethren. We expect God to smash his teeth. To smash him into the ground. 
To end his life and cast him into hell. That's not what God 
does. God gives him consequences for 
his sin. God says, because of this, you've 
given cause to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The sword 
will never depart from your house. But this thing is sure. I have 
put away your sin. How unsearchable are His judgments 
with us? We were not brought up seeking 
God. We were not brought up loving 
God. We were not brought up in that 
context of wanting to worship God. Consider right now, even 
as Christians, we don't always want God. Worship at times is 
tedious to us. Bible reading isn't always something 
we just readily do. Prayer is not always something 
we just immediately fly to. How unsearchable are His judgments? 
Can't you think of half a dozen or a dozen people that deserve 
salvation more than you? I can. There's no dessert about 
it. It's mercy. It's grace. It's 
according to God's purpose. The twins in the womb, before 
they had done anything, God made His decision. That's what brings 
Paul to this point. See, Reformed theology isn't 
just about beating up Arminians and Romanists. Reformed theology 
is understanding this so that we'll be humble before the Lord. 
So that we'll imitate the disposition of that publican. God, be merciful 
to me, the sinner. So that we'll respond in praise. 
We don't understand these doctrines just so we can be right. We understand 
these doctrines so that we can worship. that we can approach 
Him properly, so we can fall before Him, so that we can stand 
in wonder and amazement. If these truths have not promoted 
in you a desire to worship, you've not understood them properly. 
It's not supposed to just be a cerebral exercise. You just 
get it up here so that you can have sound theology. And you 
know I'm an advocate of sound theology. But sound theology 
ought to promote worship, praise, Adoration. Prayer. You know, 
when you consider the fact how unsearchable are His judgments, 
there's nobody outside of God's scope. We can pray with great 
earnestness. I always think this way. If God 
saved me, He can certainly save a whole bunch of others. God 
saved you. He has the grace and the mercy. 
If God saved the publican, if He saved the thief on the cross, 
if He saved the very man that's penning this letter, then certainly 
there is grace and mercy enough for sinners that we know. We 
ought to be prayerful. The sovereignty of God does not 
get rid of prayer. The sovereignty of God is the 
blessed foundation for prayer. We ought to be in earnest at 
the throne of grace, calling upon the Lord. The immediate 
context displays the validity of Paul's statement here. How 
unsearchable are his judgments. And then he says, and his ways 
past finding out. His specific dealings with men 
in his works of providence. Remember when Peter stands up 
on the day of Pentecost to preach. They're wondering about this 
outpouring of the Spirit. Some had charged the disciples 
were drunk. Peter stands up and says, these 
men are not drunk as you suppose. It's only the third hour. He 
says, this is that which was prophesied in the prophet Joel. Joel 2, the age of the Spirit, 
the messianic reign had come to fruition. There's a rich biblical 
theology going on there. Man at Babel was confounded by 
God. Man at Pentecost is blessed by 
God. We see that being fleshed out. 
And then Peter starts to preach and interpret this whole scenario, 
and he puts it in the context of Jesus' life and death and 
resurrection. What does he say concerning the 
death of Jesus? This Jesus, whom you crucified, 
was according to the predetermined plan of God. There's no plan 
B in the mind of God. This was not a reaction to the 
wickedness of man. This was orchestrated. In fact, 
the book of Revelation can refer to Jesus as a lamb slain from 
before the foundation of the world. This is the grand event 
of history. It wasn't haphazard. It wasn't 
an unlucky day. It wasn't a lucky day. Paul says 
that in the fullness of the times, God sent forth His Son, born 
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. 
God orchestrated all those times. God gave His infant people in 
Old Testament Israel, the tabernacle and these types and these shadows, 
to lead them along the way until the coming of the Davidic king, 
the one who would live, the one who would die, the one who would 
rise again. His ways are past finding out. I think one of the 
best examples of the inspiration of Scripture, I mentioned last 
week the fact that the David narrative founded into 2 Samuel, 
the fact that he committed adultery and murder. That shows God inspired 
the author. One of the very best proofs of 
the inspiration of Scripture is the Gospel. The Gospel of 
Jesus Christ. What man would ever think this 
up? What man could ever dream this up? Remember when I was 
in high school, Roman Catholic high school, my buddies and I, 
once in a while would get philosophical and theological, and we concluded 
that the Bible was probably just written by a bunch of guys, they 
buried it, and then somebody found it way along the way. That's 
absolute folly. What bunch of guys would make 
a God who is holy, who is righteous, who is pure, who cannot look 
upon evil? You see, the problem with man 
is that we create God in our image. That's how we would fashion 
Him. What man would conceive of a 
triune God? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
One God, the same in substance. All three persons, Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit, the same in substance, equal in power and 
glory. Who would have ever conceived that the Father would send a 
Son? That the Son would take on our nature? The Son would 
become a man in the Incarnation? The Word would tabernacle among 
us? He would say things like, the 
birds have their nests and the foxes have their holes, but the 
Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Who would have conceived 
such a thing? Who would have conceived the doing and the dying 
and the rising again of Jesus Christ? His ways are amazing, 
brethren. This is of God. And Paul doesn't 
just stop after his theological reflection. He says, oh, the 
death. Brethren, I want to encourage 
you to consider sound doctrine so that it will bring from you 
this kind of an exclamation. Oh, the death. Think on the character 
of God. Think on His wisdom. Think on 
His knowledge. We can go to the Bible and get 
some good practical advice on how to be better men and women. 
We can go to the Bible and get some good practical advice on 
how to be better children and better parents. And we ought 
to do that. Those contexts ought to be in 
place. Those sermons ought to be there. 
But the overarching theme that the Christian most desperately 
needs is this understanding of just who God is. I've got to 
tell you, when you're going through the valley of the shadow of death, 
you need this God. You don't need one you fashioned 
after your own image. You don't need one that you put 
together in your workshop. You need one that is infinitely 
wise, infinitely knowledgeable, whose judgments are unsearchable 
and His ways are past finding out. This is the God to whom 
we throw our anchor. This is the God that keeps and 
is committed to keep that which we have entrusted to Him until 
that day. This is the God whom Paul said 
in another place, I am confident in this very thing, that He who 
began a good work in you will complete it until the day of 
Christ. Don't you need that God? We don't need the gods of the false religion. We don't need 
a God who changes with us. Prayer doesn't change God, brethren. 
You've heard that before. Prayer changes God. If my prayers 
change the immutable God of glory, majesty and excellency, then 
I have become God and He has become my puppet. You know what 
prayer does? Prayer is an act of worship. 
Prayer is an acknowledgement of our dependence. Prayer, if 
anything, changes us. Hopefully conforms us more to 
His will. conforms us more to His written 
Word, causes us to reflect upon these things so that in prayer 
we don't ask God to change. That kind of a God is useless. We want the rock-solid God of 
Malachi. I, the Lord, do not change. We need the rock-solid God of 
James 1. Every good and perfect gift comes 
from our Father in heaven, in whom there is no turning. There's 
no variation. There's no, oh, I'm for you today, 
but I'm against you tomorrow. No, we need a solid, rock-solid 
God from beginning to end. Is it any wonder that so often 
in the Old Testament God is referred to as a rock? Isn't that amazing? He's our rock. He's not our sand. He's not our performer. He's 
not our puppet. But rather, He is our rock. So Paul says, Oh, 
the depths. Now notice, secondly, he confirms 
this from the Old Testament Scriptures. He goes to the prophet Isaiah 
and to the patriarch Job. Notice in verse 34, For who has 
known the mind of the Lord? Or, who has become His counselor? This highlights God's self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency in us is a bad 
thing. I mean, it's a good thing to 
some degree. You hope that you're able to wash your own face and 
get out of bed and eat food. There are some areas of self-sufficiency 
we ought to really seek to achieve. But I mean the idea of being 
independent. We are always dependent creatures. We are always dependent upon 
God. God does not depend upon us. Remember when Paul is at the 
Areopagus in Acts chapter 17, he says, I see your objects of 
worship. I can see you have an altar here 
to the unknown God trying to cover your backs. This God whom 
you worship in ignorance, Him I proclaim to you. And he tells 
them very clearly, God does not need you. We were not something 
that sort of completed the Trinity. We're not something that sort 
of supplements God or makes Him really happy. Now, God is glorified 
in and through us to be sure, but He didn't create out of necessity. He is self-sufficient. The prophet 
says, who has known the mind of the Lord? Again, we need to 
be careful. That doesn't mean God is unknowable. 
God has revealed His mind a whole lot in the Scriptures. In fact, 
in 1 Corinthians 2.16, Paul says, we have the mind of Christ. Well, 
certainly Jesus knows the Father, so in terms of the revelation 
that has been given to us, we can know God. The idea here is 
who has exhausted Him? Who has fully explored Him? You know, you would sooner fully 
explore the Pacific, the Atlantic, and all the other oceans of the 
world before you dent the knowledge of God. That's the point here. Who has known the mind of the 
Lord? Or who has become His counselor? I really believe we all need 
a great big dose of Romans 11.34 and of Isaiah 40.13. Because we all want to counsel 
God, don't we? Think about it. We all want to 
counsel God. We know what's best, Lord. We 
may not be so brazen, and we may not put it in those particular 
terms, but we indict God if things don't go our way. We get angry 
with God when things go wrong. We get upset with God. What's 
the implication that we know better than the Lord? We're like 
the guy who gets pulled over by the policeman and then chastises 
the policeman. Why aren't you out catching robbers? 
Why aren't you out catching bad guys? Why are you harassing me 
because I'm not wearing a seatbelt? We're like the person who goes 
to Walmart and yells at the customer service rep, because we know 
better. You jipped me. You shorted me. 
I know the way it's supposed to be. Here's what you should 
do. Now, there may be a sense where in a godly way you go and 
you remind somebody or whatever. But the point is, brethren, we 
all want to counsel God. We all want Him to do as we say. 
We don't look at prayer as an act of worship, a means of dependence 
and a means of our conformity to the will of God. We look at 
it as a set of rules and marching orders. We think we ought to 
say, jump, and God's response ought to be, how high? Now, you 
may not be that brazen, brethren. But I know of a truth that when 
bad things happen to us, we oftentimes indict God. We saw it in 2001. What was the question everybody 
was asking on September 12th? Where was God? Bad things happen and where was 
God? Bad things happen in my life, 
where was God? We get angry with God. We get 
upset with God. We want to counsel God. We in 
our 25 years, or our 40 years, or our 50 years, or our 80 years, 
have attained a measure of wisdom such that God should get a piece 
of our mind. How many of you, honestly speaking, 
would let your five-year-old reprimand you or lecture you 
on how better to manage the family home? You'd be like, get out 
of here. Let me help you out of here. I'm not talking just about the 
world. Christians who should know better. Now, I'm not saying, 
brethren, that we can't be like the psalmists crying out to the 
Lord God, Not suggesting we ought not to be like these men of old, 
or even Jesus Christ and the apostles. I'm not talking about 
an earnest heartfelt prayer, beseeching the Lord our God. 
I'm talking about this mindset that develops when something 
bad happens in my life, I am not going to honor God until 
He makes things right again. J. Gresson Machen spoke to this, 
and I think he spoke it very, very well. He says we value God 
solely for the things He can do. It's called a fair weather 
fan. I'm not much of a sports fan, 
but from what I understand, there's guys who might support a particular 
team as long as they're doing well. I've even seen it, I think, in 
Chilliwack. Comes time to the NHL playoffs, 
I see all these Canuck flags on people's cars. As soon as 
they lose, those Canuck flags are gone. We're on to the next 
team. We're on to the next group. We're 
going to wave our banner for someone else. Is that how you 
respond to God? Is that how you conduct yourself 
with God? Wasn't this the devil's accusation 
concerning Job? Oh, he only serves you, God, 
because everything goes his way. You afflict him and see what 
happens. See, that's the categories the devil thinks in. Machen says 
we value God solely for the things He can do. We make of Him a mere 
means to an ulterior end. God is simply a means to my happiness. God is simply a stepping stone 
so that I can have the fulfilled life. Much of Christianity or 
evangelicalism has degenerated to this state. Take his principles 
for success. Take his principles for fulfillment. Take his principles and everything 
will go your way. We have every bit as much as 
a health, wealth, prosperity gospel as the most rabid charlatan. God is not a means to our end. God is the end. That's what Paul is saying. He says God refuses to be treated 
so. Such a religion always fails 
in the hour of need. When we treat God as a means 
to an end, he says such a religion always fails in the hour of need. Listen to what he says. If we 
have regarded religion merely as a means of getting things, 
even lofty and unselfish things, then when the things that have 
been gotten are destroyed, our faith will fail. He says when loved ones are taken 
away, when disappointment comes and failure, when noble ambitions 
are set at naught, then we turn away from God. We have tried 
religion, we say. We have tried prayer. And it 
has failed. Of course it has failed. God 
is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant at our 
beck and call. He is not content to minister 
to the worldly needs of those who care not a bit for Him. Has 
it ever dawned on us that God is valuable for His own sake? That's what Paul's point is. 
That just as personal communion is the highest thing that we 
know on earth, so personal communion with God is the sublimest height 
of all. He says, if we value God for 
His own sake, then the loss of other things will draw us closer 
to Him. We shall then have recourse to 
Him in time of trouble as to the shadow of a great rock in 
a weary land. Oh, that that sentiment would 
be grasped in the church today. God is not a means to our end. And that end may be noble. We'll 
have a good life. We'll raise up good kids. We 
want to have a happy family. Those aren't bad things. I'm 
not here telling you those are wicked things. Go out and have 
the worst family you could ever have. Go out and be as unfulfilled 
as you could ever be. God is not the means to that 
end. We are to seek Him. Seek Him 
first. And His righteousness. This is 
a kingdom principle that we need to get ingrained in our hearts. Seek first the Kingdom of God 
and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to 
you." It's a promise from our Savior. It's a promise from our 
blessed Lord. So Paul, inciting the prophet 
Isaiah, highlights the self-sufficiency of God. And then inciting the 
patriarch Job, he highlights his sovereignty. He says, "...or 
who has first given to him, and it shall be repaid to him." Our 
salvation is in a bartering system. It wasn't as if God said, wow, 
you've done well. Here's your salvation. Who's 
first given to God that it should be repaid? What do we possibly 
have to give to God in order to get just recompense? We have 
sin. We have wickedness. We have evil. 
We have viciousness. We have rebellion and opposition. 
You're going to bring that to God and say, well, here you go, 
Lord. Even our best works, according to the prophet Isaiah, are like 
filthy rags in your sight. And in that context, those works 
were their religious observances. They're coming to the temple, 
they're bringing the animals, they're going through that particular 
cultic ritual. Isaiah the prophet looks at that 
and says, even our righteousnesses are like filthy rags in your 
sight. What is it that you have to present to God? And if you 
don't know the Lord Jesus this morning, listen to me and listen 
good. You don't have anything to present to God. You don't 
have anything that you can say, well, God, you know, I've done 
such and such. I've been a pretty good guy. I've been a pretty 
good girl. I've done a few bad things. But you know, in the 
grand scheme of things, I'm not as bad as others. So why don't 
you hit me where I live? Why don't you give me something? 
You've got nothing. In fact, what you have is offensive 
to Him. That's the glory of the Gospel. 
He says, bring that offensiveness to Him and He'll clean you. Bring 
that wickedness to Him and He will take care of it. Bring that 
sin and He will pardon you. And He will give you a righteousness. He will give you the righteousness 
of Jesus Christ. You have nothing. You can do 
nothing. There is nothing in you that can merit favor with 
God. That's what the man said. That's 
what Job said. Who is first given to Him and 
it shall be repaid to Him. Hasn't Romans 9-11 convinced 
you of that already? Before the twins were even born? 
You can't say, well, you know, there was a native bent in little 
Jacob there. No, there was a native bent, 
alright. It was a bent away from God. But God in His mercy said, 
Jacob, I have loved, Esau, I have hated. One man said, the attempt 
to domesticate God by reducing His ways to human ways turns 
out to be the attempt to make Him indebted to reward us for 
our works. The attempt to domesticate God. You know what domestication means. 
You might see a stray cat in the parking lot. I'm going to 
take it home and I'm going to domesticate him. I'm going to put a little 
dish there, a little saucer. I'm going to teach him how to 
drink from there. I'm going to teach him how to 
use the litter. But I'm going to domesticate him. I'm going to control him. 
I'm going to subdue him. That's what Christians try to 
do with their God. He's a bit too much the way He 
is. He sort of embarrasses us, doesn't 
he? I speak as a man. I speak as a fool. We get out 
in the world and somebody says, how could you serve this God 
who sent the Israelites in to Canaan to purge those people, 
to engage in genocide? And you say, well... God is God. We had a man live right over 
there. Steve and I talked to him. Oh, your God's a murderer. 
He instructed Israel to go into Canaan and to murder people. 
Oh, really? God's a murderer? God is not 
a murderer. He makes alive, He kills. That's 
not murder. And if God sends Israelites into 
Canaan to purge their wicked selves out of that land, or you 
die in your sleep, God is sovereign in both instances. Christians 
get embarrassed. Especially when we come to the 
Reformed faith. You mean that God shows us in Him before the 
foundation of the world? You really think that? It's irrespective 
of what we would do or what we would choose? How could you ever 
believe such a thing? It's a mystery. No, it isn't. 
What's mysterious about Romans 9.16? It does not depend upon 
him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. You tell me the mystery there. 
There's no mystery. It's just that we hate it. We 
want to tell God what to do. We want to domesticate Him. We 
want to take Him from the parking lot. We want to put Him in our 
house. We want to give Him a saucer. We want to put a leash on Him. 
We want to tell Him where He can go and where He can't go. 
The attempt to domesticate God by reducing His ways to human 
ways turns out to be the attempt to make Him indebted to reward 
us for our work. In the former citation, Isaiah, 
there was a warning not to imagine ourselves to be clever. Here 
there is an implicit warning against imagining that our works 
gain us any privilege with God. Who has first given to Him and 
it shall be repaid to Him. And that brings us thirdly and 
finally to the inscription of glory to God. One of the beautiful 
statements concerning God and His glory and His majesty is 
found in verse 36. For of Him and through Him and 
to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. That means 
that God is the source or the origin. For of Him. He's the 
Creator. He spoke this world into being. This is not an embarrassment 
in the biblical record. This is an issue, a test, a reliance 
upon the character and nature and work of God. Genesis 1-1 
doesn't start to present why we should consider God. You ever 
notice that, how presuppositional the Bible is? In the beginning, 
God doesn't argue for him, doesn't try to give us some theological 
prologomena, why there is a God, why we need... No. In the beginning, 
God. God did this. He created the heavens and the 
earth. For of Him are all things. Things seen and unseen. Things 
that we can see in this parking lot. Things at the subatomic 
level that we cannot see. God is sovereign in all of these 
things. In fact, in Hebrews 1.3 it says 
that Jesus upholds all things by the Word of His power. The 
very chairs that you're sitting on, the very wood that I'm grabbing 
on, it's upheld by Jesus right now. For of Him are all things. He says, and through Him. This 
means that God sustains everything. God is sovereign in what we call 
providence. There are no haphazard events. 
Everything happens according to God's plan. Ephesians 1.11 
makes this crystal clear. The prophet Isaiah makes this 
crystal clear. You didn't just wake up willy-nilly 
one day and decide for Jesus. It was orchestrated according 
to a great and glorious plan. Praise God that we live according 
to His plan. And we don't have Him live according 
to our plan. He is sovereign. God is governor. God is sustainer. This is clearly 
displayed throughout the Scripture. Remember just one instance with 
Joseph. Talk about a bad family life. Brothers hated Joseph. He was 
the apple of his father's eye. So what do the brothers do? Well, 
let's kill him. The one intervenes, no, let's 
not kill him. Let's throw him in a pit. Okay, that sounds good. That's horrible. What happens? Some guys come along, take him 
out, make him a slave. And what happens? He ascends. 
God exalts him. His brothers come back into the 
scene. He hides himself, he disguises himself, then finally he reveals 
who he is. What's the grand lesson in the 
entire scene? Not, that's a bad family, I'm 
glad I don't have brothers like that. Or, let's be good men even 
if we're in prison, like Joseph. Let's learn how to resist temptation, 
like Joseph in Potiphar's house. Those are good lessons, I grant 
you. But the key theme, key verse in the whole Joseph narrative 
from Genesis 39 to Genesis chapter 50 is found in 5020. You meant 
this for evil, but God overruled it for good. That's the point, 
brethren. Remember I said last week, God 
is the hero from Genesis to Revelation. Not Joseph. As godly as he is, 
and as much as we should imitate certain characteristics, the 
point there is that God takes crooked things and makes them 
straight. God takes wicked things and overrules 
them for good. And then finally, God is the 
goal of all things. To whom? Be glory forever. Amen. All of history is moving 
forward. History isn't cyclical or circular. It's not like we're just, you 
know, we've jumped into the circle of life, we're here for a time 
and then off we go. If you notice this particular 
verse, it sets forth something that is very important for us 
to understand that is being denied at every step of the way. The 
Bible presents what's called a linear view of history. There 
was a beginning, there's a middle, there's an end. Why do you think 
evolutionists have attacked the beginning? Oh, because science 
has shown them so many things. By denying the beginning, they 
hope they can escape the end. We get God out of the beginning. We don't have to worry about 
Him now. And we're certainly not going to stand before His 
judgment in the future. Christian history begins, sustains, 
and ends. with God. Not just Christian 
history, all of history. A Christian view of history. 
This is what we insist upon. He is the goal. The Westminster 
Shorter Catechism, the very first question says, what is the chief 
end of man? I hope you all know this one. 
The chief end of man is the glory of God and to enjoy Him forever. That's the chief end of God too. 
His glory and the enjoyment of His triune self forever. Charles Hodge commenting in his 
commentary on Romans said this, and I think this is a good summary 
statement, and then we'll close with just a couple of brief observations. 
He says, that system of religion therefore is best in accordance 
with the character of God, the nature of man, and the end of 
the universe, in which all things are of and through and to God, 
and which most effectually leads men to say, not unto us, but 
unto thy name be all the glory." That's a great assessment, a 
great litmus test. A great representative of what 
biblical religion is all about. We say, not unto us, Lord, but 
unto thy name be glory. For that is exactly what the 
Apostle Paul says here. For of him, and through him, 
and to him are all things. To whom be glory forever. Amen. If Paul rejected God's 
absolute sovereignty in the matter of salvation, he would have never 
penned these words. If we could domesticate God, 
if we could figure God out, if we entered into a barter system 
with God, Romans 11.33-36 are completely out of whack. But 
it's for the very reason that God is not domesticated, that 
God is not on our leash, that God is not at our beck and call, 
that God is not a performer, that God is not a puppet, that 
Paul could say, oh, the depth of both the riches of the wisdom 
and the knowledge of God. His judgments are unsearchable. 
His ways are past finding out. Who has known the mind of the 
Lord? Who has become His counselor? Who has first given to Him so 
that He would repay them? For of Him and through Him and 
to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. It's 
only that soteriology, that salvation that he has discussed in the 
rest of Romans that leads him to this most blessed ascription 
of praise. You see, if you don't understand 
this, you're not going to praise God accordingly. We need to imitate 
Paul. We need to make this confession. We need to worship and adore. 
Listen to what A.W. Pink said. He said, the apprehension, 
the knowledge of God's infinite knowledge should fill the Christian 
with adoration. The whole of my life stood open 
to his view from the beginning. He foresaw my every fall, my 
every sin, my every backsliding. Yet, nevertheless, He fixed His 
heart upon me." He says. Do you realize that? He chose us in Him before the 
foundation of the world. Before you believed the Gospel, 
what did you do? Even as a believer in the Gospel, 
what do you do? He says, oh, how the realization 
of this should bow me in wonder and worship before Him. That's the point. There is a 
resurgence today of what men call Calvinism, or what men call 
Reformed theology. We need to make sure that as 
that takes root, it's not something that is cold, detached, or just 
a weapon to beat up opponents with. but that it fills us with 
that awe. It fills us with that reverence. 
And we, with Pete, say, oh, how the realization of this should 
bow me in wonder and worship before Him. Consider as well 
the whole flow of Romans. We'll end here. Romans is a book 
about man's problem and God's solution. That's it. That's what the book of Romans 
is about. Man's problem. God's solution. Man's problem is outlined beginning 
in chapter 1, verse 18, all the way to chapter 3, verse 20. What's 
man's problem? It's not that he's ignorant. It's not that he doesn't have 
enough money. It's not that he was brought up in a bad home. 
It's not that society has gypped him. It's not that he's been 
victimized. His problem is very simple. Not 
denying that those are real issues and they really create hurt and 
pain and all that. But when God looks upon man, 
the problem is quite simple. You don't often hear this even 
in Fox News. You don't hear it in the, you know, CBC. You don't 
hear it, you know, as a reason why so and so did such and such. But the issue is very clear from 
Romans 118 to Romans 320. The issue is sin. Very simple. There is an unrighteous, 
no not one. There is none who seeks after 
God. There is no fear of God before our eyes. Fat Paul begins 
his declaration in Romans 1.18 with God's wrath revealed from 
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. He 
starts with the bad news. He tells us God is angry. He 
tells us that God is going to send His wrath. But then he shifts 
to the good news in Romans 3.21. He says, But now the righteousness 
of God is revealed from faith to faith, being witnessed by 
the Law and the Prophets. The coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled 
all that they had stated. So Paul then develops justification 
by faith alone. He deals with the imputation 
of righteousness. He deals with issues concerning 
sanctification. He deals, as we've seen, with 
election and sovereignty and predestination and foreordination. Brethren, it is in this context 
that man finds fulfillment. It is in this context that man 
finds happiness. It is when he comes to an end 
in himself, when he sees that assessment as accurate, when 
he realizes that he has sinned against this holy God, and by 
God's grace he casts himself upon the mercy of Jesus. That's 
the point. That's what Paul wants. That's 
where he's moving. That's where he's going. Yes, 
God's ways are unsearchable. Yes, you've sinned against Him. 
Yes, you've violated His law. Yes, you have thrown into the 
dust the very knowledge of God that you possess by nature. But 
God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. All those 
who believe in Him will never be disappointed, He says in chapter 
10. All those who believe in Him will not be ashamed. You 
may be a young child today. You may be an old man today. 
Old woman. You've not come to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. His judgments are unsearchable. It is amazing for the rest of 
us why He would ever save. It is amazing that He would save 
one like me, or He would save an Apostle Paul, or He would 
save a John Bunyan, or He would save a John Newton. And of all 
the men in the history of the world, would you pick Newton? 
A blasphemer? A slave trader? Why does God 
do that? to demonstrate His glory and 
His grace. So, if you do not know Jesus 
Christ, believe on the Lord Jesus today and you will be saved. And hopefully you will say, oh, 
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding 
out. You'll say, Lord, forgive me 
that I ever tried to be Your counselor. Lord, forgive me that 
I ever tried to give You something so that You would pay me back. 
Lord, forgive me that I have ever sinned against You. Lord, 
thank You for so great a salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord. That's 
the answer. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word and we thank You for its clarity. We 
thank You for its consistency that Isaiah and Job and Paul 
and Daniel and Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, and all the prophets, and all 
the apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, testify of the 
one sovereign God in human history. The one sovereign God who is 
the Creator, who is sovereign in providence, and who is the 
One to whom all history is moving toward. Our Father, we just pray 
that we would be like the Apostle here. That we would worship You, 
and that we would adore You. That we would never shrink back 
from declaring the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And we 
would ask now that you would go with us and watch over us, 
protect us. And again, we commit our sisters 
Marilyn and Rebecca to you. I pray that they would receive 
comfort from the Scriptures and the comfort that a sovereign 
God alone brings. And we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.