I will Call Them My People" | Jeremy Lynch

Devotional

Day 1: Clay in the Potter’s Hands: Sovereignty Without Arbitrary Control

God’s sovereignty isn’t about cosmic favoritism but about His right to shape history for redemption. Like a potter molding clay, He works with human choices to reveal His mercy and justice. The metaphor isn’t about predestined destruction but about God’s patience with resistant hearts to showcase His glory. Even vessels of wrath serve His ultimate purpose: magnifying grace for those who trust Him. Salvation isn’t earned through lineage or rituals but received by faith in Christ’s righteousness alone. [49:08]

“Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—”
(Romans 9:21-23, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you resisted God’s shaping in your life, mistaking His sovereignty for harshness? How might His patience with your struggles reveal His desire to display mercy?

Day 2: Not Children of the Flesh, But Children of the Promise

Salvation collapses human hierarchies. Being born into a religious family or culture doesn’t guarantee favor with God. Abraham’s true heirs aren’t those with biological lineage but those who share his reckless trust in divine promises. God’s covenant has always been about faith, not pedigree. Religious pride blinds us to the scandal of grace: outsiders become heirs, and the “unqualified” are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. [01:07:23]

“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
(Romans 9:6-8, ESV)

Reflection: Do you subtly rely on spiritual heritage or moral performance more than Christ’s work? How does grace dismantle your sense of entitlement?

Day 3: Jacob and Esau: Election’s Lens on Mercy, Not Merit

God’s choice of Jacob over Esau wasn’t about rewarding virtue but about His mission to bless all nations. Election highlights God’s freedom to work through unlikely people to dismantle human pride. Esau wasn’t rejected from salvation—he rejected his birthright. God’s “hatred” of Esau (Malachi 1:3) refers to setting aside his role in the Messiah’s lineage, not denying him grace. Sovereignty serves redemption, not exclusion. [01:08:12]

“And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’”
(Romans 9:10-13, ESV)

Reflection: When have you assumed God’s favor depends on your performance? How does Jacob’s story free you from proving your worth?

Day 4: Pharaoh’s Resistance: Vessels of Wrath and Mercy’s Story

Pharaoh’s hardened heart became a stage for God’s power, not a sentence to hopelessness. Even rebellion serves God’s goal: revealing His justice and mercy. Vessels of wrath endure consequences of their choices; vessels of mercy receive unearned grace. Both groups exist to answer humanity’s accusation: “Does God really care about evil?” His patience with Pharaoh shouts, “I’ll confront sin—and save all who flee to Me.” [01:10:14]

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”
(Romans 9:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you see God’s patience with rebellion—in others or yourself—as an invitation to trust His justice and mercy?

Day 5: The Stumbling Stone: Faith Over Works’ Illusion

Religious people stumble over grace because it requires surrendering control. The “stumbling stone” is Christ: His mercy offends those clinging to moral resumes. Gentiles found righteousness by trusting; Israel missed it by striving. God’s sovereignty isn’t a puzzle to solve but a gift to receive. When we stop justifying ourselves, we find the Rock that holds us. [01:17:19]

“What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.”
(Romans 9:30-32, ESV)

Reflection: What “good works” do you secretly trust more than Christ’s finished work? How might laying down your resume of merit deepen your rest in Him?

Sermon Summary

Romans 9 raises a hard question about the potter and the clay: does God make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? Paul’s words can sound like God arbitrarily picks who is saved and who is lost, leaving people with no real choice. Romans 9, read in the flow of Romans 1 through 8, pushes somewhere else. God’s good news has been that He saves everybody who trusts Him, Jew and Gentile alike, because “the just shall live by faith.”

The contrast in Romans 9 is not between people God likes and people God does not like. The contrast is between faith in Christ and confidence in pedigree, performance, and religious status. Israel had the prophets, the covenants, the law, and even the Messiah coming through their people. Yet Israel could still miss Jesus by trying to build righteousness through works and lineage instead of receiving God’s righteousness by faith.

God’s choice of Jacob over Esau shows His freedom to carry His saving plan forward however He wants. Jacob was chosen as the line through which God would show His work in the world, not because Esau was made beyond grace or hated in some cosmic sense. The election in that story turns human expectations upside down, because firstborn status and family pedigree do not save anybody. Faith does.

Pharaoh also shows that God can use even a resistant person to make His power known. Pharaoh had a choice to let Israel go, and he could have been honorable by responding to God. Pharaoh chose resistance, but God still used that resistance in the larger story of deliverance. God’s sovereignty does not excuse people from their choices, and human rebellion does not stop God from accomplishing His purpose.

Israel’s history under the law shows the consequences of refusing the close relationship God wanted. God called Israel to come near at Sinai, but fear and self-reliance kept getting in the way. The law exposed sin, idolatry, and the failure of religious effort to make people right with God. Christ becomes the stumbling stone because faith feels too simple to people who want something in themselves to point to.

Hosea’s promise brings the whole thing home. Those once called “not my people” can become sons and daughters of the living God. God can save whom He wants, and His choice is to extend mercy to all who believe. Faith in Christ alone is the point. Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.

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Key Takeaways

1. Pedigree cannot produce saving faith. Romans 9 confronts the idea that a religious family, denomination, or long history around truth can substitute for knowing Christ. Israel possessed remarkable privileges, yet those privileges became empty when they were treated as proof of righteousness. Faith receives what pedigree can never earn. [66:46]
2. God’s election serves His saving plan. Jacob’s selection over Esau was not a cosmic lottery deciding who could be loved by God. God chose Jacob as the line through which His promise would move toward the Messiah. Divine election tears down human boasting and keeps salvation centered on God’s purpose. [68:12]
3. Resistance never defeats God’s purpose. Pharaoh resisted God’s call and chose dishonor, yet God used even that rebellion to display His power of deliverance. Human choices carry real consequences, but no hard heart can force God’s plan off course. God remains free to turn resistance into a witness to His righteousness. [69:57]
4. Faith receives God’s righteousness alone. Israel pursued righteousness through the law and stumbled over Christ, while Gentiles received righteousness through faith. The stumbling stone exposes the instinct to trust performance instead of mercy. Christ is not a reward for successful religious effort but the only ground of salvation.

## [76:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[48:16] - The Potter and the Clay
[50:45] - Romans 9 and God’s Salvation
[52:26] - Why Paul Can Be Hard to Understand
[57:33] - Reading Romans 9 in Context
[60:24] - Israel’s Confidence in Religious Status
[62:34] - God Can Save Whom He Wants
[63:43] - Jacob, Esau, and God’s Purpose
[64:47] - Pedigree and Performance Cannot Save
[69:21] - Pharaoh’s Choice and God’s Power
[73:29] - Israel’s Refusal at Sinai
[75:41] - Called Sons of the Living God
[76:27] - The Stumbling Stone of Faith
[77:35] - Faith in Christ Alone

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 9:21-23
“Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—” [49:06]

Romans 9:25-26
“As indeed he says in Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people I will call “my people,” and her who was not beloved I will call “beloved.”’ ‘And in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” there they will be called “sons of the living God.”’” [01:15:55]

Romans 9:30-33
“What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’” [01:16:40]

Romans 1:16-17
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” [58:35]

Observation questions

In Romans 1:16-17, who does Paul say the gospel is for, and what does he say is revealed in the gospel?
What two different ways of pursuing righteousness are contrasted in Romans 9:30-33?
What privileges did Israel have, yet what did they still fail to receive? [01:05:24]
In the examples of Jacob and Pharaoh, what different purposes did God accomplish through their stories? [01:08:12]

Interpretation questions

How does reading Romans 9 alongside Romans 1-8 help explain the potter-and-clay picture? What does the wider message of Romans say about who can be saved? [57:43]
Why would trusting religious family history, church background, moral effort, or knowledge of Scripture become a barrier to faith in Christ rather than a help?
Jacob was chosen as the family line through which God’s promise moved toward the Messiah. How does that differ from the idea that Esau was created with no possibility of receiving God’s mercy? [01:08:29]
Pharaoh resisted God, yet God used Pharaoh’s resistance to show His power. How can human responsibility remain real even when God’s purposes cannot be stopped? [01:10:03]

Application questions

Is there any part of personal religious background that can quietly become a substitute for trusting Christ—such as family heritage, denomination, years in church, Bible knowledge, or outward behavior? What might that look like in everyday life? [01:01:24]
Where is there a temptation to prove righteousness through performance—doing enough, serving enough, knowing enough, or appearing spiritual enough? How can faith in Christ reshape that area?
Christ is the “stumbling stone” for people who want righteousness to be earned. What makes simple trust in Christ difficult for the human heart? [01:17:03]
Is there someone who seems unlikely, undeserving, or outside the usual expectations of faith? How does God’s freedom to call “not my people” His people change the way believers should view that person? [01:16:21]
Pharaoh had an opportunity to respond to God but chose resistance. Where might there be a clear area of God’s leading that is being met with delay, excuses, or resistance?
Israel had many spiritual privileges but missed the heart of a relationship with God. What practices could help keep Bible study, church involvement, and obedience connected to knowing and trusting Christ rather than merely checking boxes? [01:13:29]
“Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” How can that promise bring peace to someone who is afraid that their faith is too weak or their past is too broken? [01:17:14]

Sermon Clips

47s

“It's simply just giving us insights into God's plan, into how he's going to achieve his salvatory work. And we'll we'll get to it just a little bit in just a little bit. And the main message is we cannot gain salvation through lineage, pedigree, or by works. Salvation comes from faith in Christ alone, and all who believe will be not put to shame. That's what the end there. And our text here our, key text here talks about he will the people who are not called my people will not will be called the sons of God. And so that's kinda what the point of that is. This is kinda leading into that.”

38s

“Romans nine one through three, he basically just kinda talks about how he would give up his eternal life if his Jewish brethren were saved. And he's so concerned because they've rejected Christ, and they've chosen to continue in their religious religiosity and doing things on their own in a works based religion. And it says, you know, the whole chapter basically just points out that it's not your pedigree. It's not your performance that's gonna save us. It's his righteousness alone. God's righteousness alone.”

51s

“And it says and I also wanna say, you know, kinda put yourself in the Jewish mindset. Imagine your religion believes in keep keeping the 10 commandments to the letter, especially the Sabbath, has an excellent health message, claims to have a superior religious practices because they worship the one true god, and their ancestors kept their religion for generations. I'm third generation Adventist. Oh, did I say that out loud? Or what or that you somehow have a better belief in God because he's favored your nation or your denomination above others. But you actually don't have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Does that sound familiar to anybody?”

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