December 1, 2024 – Romans 9:1-24

Lesson Date: December 1, 2024

Focal Scripture Passage: Romans 9:1-24

AIM: To lead students to recognize that God exercises sovereign rule over salvation and human events, and to thank the Lord for choosing to call them and save them.

Before class: Read the notes on Romans 9:1-24 found in the Sunday School Teacher Book.  Bring a brick and a pretty piece of pottery to class.  Enlist some volunteers to find the following verses and be prepared to read them when called upon: Job 33:6; Isaiah 64:8.

INTRODUCTION (Create Learning Readiness): Show the pretty piece of pottery to the class.  Comment on the beauty of the piece.  Ask: “What is pottery made of?” (clay).  Ask: “Did the clay just decide one day that it wanted to be a beautiful piece of pottery and transform itself?” (no).  Ask: “What is needed to transform an ugly lump of clay into beautiful pottery?” (a skilled potter).

Ask: “Have you ever seen a potter making something out of clay using a potter’s wheel?” (they probably have, either in person or by way of video).  Ask: “Did the clay tell the potter what it wanted to be, or how to shape it into a finished piece?” (no, that is entirely the choice of the potter).

Write the word “Sovereign” on the board.  Ask: “What does the word ‘sovereign’ mean?”  Allow time for some responses, and then tell the class that dictionary definitions of ‘sovereign’ include possessing supreme power and authority, unlimited, and autonomous.  Tell the students that the potter has sovereign control over the clay.  Stress the fact that the potter makes the clay into whatever he chooses; he doesn’t ask the clay’s permission or input about what it would like to become.

Tell the students the title of today’s lesson is The Sovereign Savior.  Tell them we will discover that God exercises sovereign rule over salvation and human events.

HEART OF THE LESSON (Bible Study):

1. Review.
   • Be sure everyone has a copy of the new Sunday School Member Quarterly.
   • Tell them we are continuing our study of the New Testament book of Romans.
   • Ask: “What was last week’s lesson about?” (Confident Assurance; we discovered several things about which we can be absolutely certain, truths that give us confident assurance in the face of life’s uncertainties).
   • Ask if any volunteer would recite last week’s memory verses (Romans 8:38-39).
2. Paul’s Burden for His Kinsmen.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 9:1-3.
   • Ask: “According to verse 1, was Paul telling the truth?” (absolutely).
   • Ask: “What does verse 2 tell us about his emotional state?” (he was very burdened and full of sorrow).
   • Ask: “According to verse 3, what caused him to be so weighed down with burden?” (he was deeply concerned about the spiritual condition of his kinsmen).
   • Ask: “Who were Paul’s kinsmen?” (the Jews).
   • Tell the class that Paul also expressed his concern in Romans 10:1, which says, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”
   • Ask: “According to verse 3, how deep was Paul’s concern for the Jews?” (he would have been willing to be cut off and sent to hell, if that would lead the Jews to accept Christ).
   • Ask: “Did Paul choose to be born and raised a Jew?” (no, that was God’s sovereign choice).
   • Ask: “Did you choose where you were born and how you were raised?” (no, that was also God’s sovereign choice).
   • Tell the class that Paul was burdened for his fellow Jews, just as we should be burdened for lost people we know.
   • Summarize: The Sovereign Savior chose to make Paul a Jew and gave him a deep burden for the salvation of other Jews.
3. God’s Sovereign Choice of Israel.
   • Read Romans 9:4-5.
   • Ask: “According to those verses, what blessings did God bestow upon the Israelites (the Jews)?” They should name the following:
     • He adopted them as His chosen people.
     • He let them experience the glory of His presence (in Temple worship).
     • God made covenants with them.
     • He gave them the Law (Rom. 3:1-2).
     • He gave them the privilege of serving Him through Temple worship.
     • He made many promises to them.
     • They were descended from the fathers (the patriarchs and other past spiritual leaders of Israel).
     • The Lord Jesus Christ, their long-awaited Messiah, came from their lineage.
   • Tell the class that God sovereignly chose Israel from among all the nations of the earth, He made them a nation when they were nothing but slaves, and He gave them many blessings that He did not give other nations.
   • Tell them that Deuteronomy 7:6-7 describes God’s sovereign choice of Israel: “⁶For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. ⁷The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.”
   • Ask: “Did Israel choose to be God’s chosen people, or did they work to achieve that status?” (no, that was God’s sovereign choice).
   • Summarize: The Sovereign Savior chose Israel to be His own special people, apart from any merit or goodness on their part.
4. God’s Sovereign Choice of Individuals.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 9:6.
   • Ask: “Does the fact that God chose the nation Israel to be His special people mean that every Jewish person obeyed and followed the Lord?” (no; similarly, not every person who attends church is genuinely saved).
   • Stress the fact that heredity does not produce salvation; in other words, no one is saved simply because their parents were Christians.
   • Tell the students that while verses 4-5 spoke of God’s sovereign choice of the nation Israel, verses 7-18 describe God’s sovereign choice of individuals.
   • Read Romans 9:7-9.
   • Tell the class that Abraham is the first individual named in this passage.
   • Ask: “What caused Abraham to leave his pagan family and homeland in Mesopotamia and journey to unknown Canaan?” (God chose him and called him).
   • Remind the class that after years of childlessness in Canaan, Abraham had two sons, one by his wife Sara’s handmaid Hagar, and the other by Sara.
   • Ask: “Which son did God choose to carry on the lineage and promises?” (Isaac).
   • Read Romans 9:10-13.
   • Tell the class that Isaac’s wife Rebecca bore him twin sons, Jacob and Esau.
   • Ask: “Which son did God choose to carry on the lineage and promises?” (Jacob).
   • Ask: “According to verse 11, why did God choose Jacob over Esau before they were born or had done anything good or evil?” (so that “the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth”).
   • Tell the students that God made this choice clear by telling Rebecca, “the elder shall serve the younger,” and by expressing His love for Jacob and hatred for Esau (Mal. 1:2-3).
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 9:14.
   • Ask: “Is God unrighteous or unfair in making such sovereign choices?” (absolutely not).
   • Read Romans 9:15-16.
   • Ask: “Who is the next person named in these verses that God sovereignly chose?” (Moses).
   • Tell the class that after being born to slave parents in Egypt, Moses was raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and later became an exiled shepherd in Midian.
   • Ask: “To whom does God show mercy and compassion?” (whomever He chooses).
   • Read Romans 9:17-18.
   • Ask: “According to verse 17, what did our sovereign God do to Pharaoh?” (raised him up to a position of power and then hardened his heart).
   • Ask: “Why did our sovereign Savior do that?” (to demonstrate His power and magnify His name throughout the earth).
   • Ask: “What does verse 18 tell us?” (God has mercy on whom He chooses and He hardens the hearts of others He chooses to harden; 33:19).
   • Summarize: The Sovereign Savior chooses individuals for special roles and to receive His mercy.
5. The Sovereign Potter’s Choice.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 9:19-20.
   • Tell the class that some people consider God unfair for choosing some but not others.
   • Ask: “What’s the first question in verse 20?” (Who are we to question God?).
   • Tell the students that when Job questioned God’s actions, God asked him, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job. 38:4).
   • Explain that these verses tell us the creature is subject to the will of the sovereign Creator, and the next verses illustrate this fact.
   • Read Romans 9:21-24.
   • Ask: “How much power does the potter have over the clay?” (he has sovereign control and can make of the clay anything he chooses; the clay has no choice in the matter).
   • Explain the following:
     • Show the students the beautiful piece of pottery you brought to class.
     • A potter chose to turn an ugly lump of clay into a pretty piece of pottery.
     • Show the class the brick you brought to class.
     • The brick also began as an ugly lump of clay, but someone chose to make it into a brick instead of a piece of pottery.
   • Ask: “According to verse 22, why does God endure vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” (to demonstrate His wrath and power in their ultimate destruction).
   • Ask: “According to verse 23, what does our sovereign Savior show through vessels of mercy which He has prepared for future glory?” (His mercy and the riches of His glory).
   • Ask: “According to verse 24, who are those vessels of mercy prepared for future glory?” (Jews and Gentiles He has called unto salvation; see John 6:44; Rom. 8:30).
   • Ask: “Does anyone deserve God’s mercy?” (no).
   • Summarize: The Sovereign Savior, like a master potter, chooses to extend mercy to some people and call them to salvation so they can experience future glory.

PERSONAL APPLICATION: Ask the previously enlisted volunteers to read Job 33:6 and Isaiah 64:8.  Ask: “What do those verse tell us?” (we are merely clay in the hand of God).

Remind the students that the title of today’s lesson is The Sovereign Savior.  Tell them we have learned that God exercises sovereign rule over salvation and human events; specifically:

• The Sovereign Savior chose to make Paul a Jew and gave him a deep burden for the salvation of other Jews.
• The Sovereign Savior chose Israel to be His own special people, apart from any merit or goodness on their part.
• The Sovereign Savior chooses individuals for special roles and to receive His mercy.
• The Sovereign Savior, like a master potter, chooses to extend mercy to some people and call them to salvation so they can experience future glory.

Ask: “Don’t answer out loud, but are you one of those vessels of mercy whom God has chosen and called to salvation?”

Explain that if anyone present has not received Christ but wants to, that means the Sovereign Savior has chosen them and is calling them to salvation.

Tell them Romans 10:9-10 says, “⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Ask everyone to bow their head and close their eyes.  Tell them if they already know Jesus as their Savior, they should silently thank the Lord for choosing to call them and save them.  Tell them if they don’t know Jesus but want to, they should tell God right now they believe He raised Jesus Christ from the dead, they should turn away from their sin, and they should yield to God’s call to come to Christ.  Allow a moment for silent prayer, and then voice a closing prayer.

CONCLUSION: Tell the students Romans 10:9 says we should confess our faith in Jesus Christ with our mouth.  Tell them if anyone received Christ this morning they should make that public right away.  Ask everyone to memorize Romans 10:9-10.  Offer to stay after class to speak to anyone who has questions about salvation.