Sermon(Rom 9:14-24): noble vessels vs. mean vessels

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025252151

 

 

 

>> 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! .... 18 So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me thus?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? .... (Rom 9:14-24) <<

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You can't judge God with human knowledge and wisdom. If you try to know about God with your wisdom, you'll always reach an impasse. For example, the problem of the Trinity. Of course, some Christians who do not depend on their wisdom can accept the dogma of the Trinity by faith, and the faith helps them acknowledge the Trinity as truth. So the existence of the Triune God never becomes a problem to those who do not depend on their wisdom. Can't the God who is different from humans exist differently than humans exist, that is, as the Trinity? Is it right to reject the truth that I can not understand?

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Also the problem of eternal life and eternal punishment is a difficult question that cannot be solved with human wisdom and common sense. What are the judgments of human wisdom about the postmortem reward for the life on earth? Usually people think there is the eternal heaven, but they don't believe that there is not the eternal hell. So they think that those who believe in the God in this world will unconditionally be saved while those who do not believe in the God in the world but commit sins will pay for the sins in a hell-like place for a while and will participate in the eternal life thereafter. Some say that God will extinguish the existence of the sinners after they are punished, so that they will exist no more. My brethren, even I, who am deeply enraged by the non-Christians' misdeeds and condemn them, hope that the problem of judgement after death might be settled thus. However Jesus didn't say like that. "... where (in the hell) their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. (Mk 9:48)" "Then he will say to those at his left hand. 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' (Mt 25:41)"

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Then people will say, "Yes, we sinned a lot while living briefly in the world. Even so, isn't it too harsh a punishment to suffer in the flames of hell forever?" Frankly, I can't give a good adequate answer to this. But it is harder to understand how God elects those who will be saved. According to Paul, God unilaterally predestinated ones to be saved and ones to be reprobated (abandoned). To the elected ones who will be saved God gives the heart to believe in Jesus and to repent so that they may be saved. God grants them his love, grace and mercy. But Paul says that God hardens the hearts of those who are supposed to be abandoned, like Pharaoh in the old days, so that they oppose God and his chosen people and will be punished. When people dispute this answer, saying, "Why does God punish for the sins those whom he has abandoned, whose heart he has hardened?", Paul gives them this answer: "Who are you, a man, to answer back to God? How dare you, a lowly creature of God, rebuke God the Creator?"

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My brethren, let's judge Paul's answer with human emotion. First, Paul is saying by such an answer, "How can you, who indulge in sinning, shamelessly utter so many protesting words to God?" My brethren, isn't it right? It is tolerable for good people living in obedience to God's words to ask humbly such a question to God for they feel sorry for those who will be punished eternally. The brazen sinners are adding the insult of God to their sins if they cry out, "Yes, I am a sinner. I'm the reprobate, so I'm living like that. But I'm not responsible for all my sins, because I was abandoned by God and was predetermined to live thus." But many dogs lead a good life and are faithful to their owners without being chosen by God! My brethren, if you have sinned against God and man, you should not make any excuses even if they have a little justification. Sinners should repent their sins deeply in tears, but must not protest against God, saying, "It is too unfair for me to suffer forever in hell!" To those who refuse to repent and only stress unfairness of the future punishment of hell, Paul gives insulting words, "You are mean vessels." This is a just insult. Wicked sinners do not believe in the good God who created human beings, and they live as they like. If they believed in the good God who created them, they would not live such a life. Humanly speaking, it is right indeed to say to those who do not regard the worthy God as worthy and refuse to serve him, "You are vulgar vessels for poop (even though you're originally noble humans). >Not to praise and glorify the worthy God< is more insulting than >to say to such sinners, "You're vessels for poop (dung)."< Those, who led a wicked life though endowed with all ability and strength to live as a good human being, are grave sinners who have badly insulted the God who made them.

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So noble vessels and mean vessels are words of praise or rebuke. Precious vessels God made are indeed those who keep the commandments of God in mind, obey God's words, and walk in the path of righteousness. Their heart is filled with love, mercy, faithfulness, gentleness, integrity, gratitude and praise. Their heart is filled with the dignified character of God. on the contrary, mean and base vessels are those who trample down the good conscience God has given, intentionally reject the words of God given through others, instead keep all dirty things Devil gives in heart and practice one by one. They are God's vessels because God made them, nevertheless they have become vulgar vessels for they are filled with all kinds of dirty garbage.

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Let's look at the issue of the eternal life and the eternal punishment from the religious standpoint. If we extend the period of determining who to gain the eternal life to the time after death, the life on this earth now will not be thought serious. After death, you can see everything concerning eternal life and punishment. Then no one will refuse to believe in Jesus. Therefore it is a just law of God that the eternal life is given to only those who believe in Jesus and obey his words while living in this world. If Christianity teaches that you can obtain the eternal life even after death, this world would become a chaos. Am I wrong? Then even Christians believing in Jesus would live a bad Christian life, not observing the law of God strictly. Am I wrong? Another severe problem arises when we teach that the penalty of hell after death is not eternal. Certainly such teachings will loosen the life of faith on earth and create a lot of unnecessary doctrines associated with it. only one doctrine >the eternal life and punishment after death< is enough for us regarding the world after death. Any deviation from this to the left or the right will inflict great bad influence on our religious life on earth. Therefore it is the best doctrine for the church and the saints that the salvation is determined by the life on this earth and there will be only the eternal life and punishment after death. one step from this to the left or the right is heretical. It is heretical because it is unnecessary and harmful to the Christian life.

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My brethren, can you say to a Christian living in obedience to God, "You seem to have been forsaken by God. So do not try to live so righteously. Live as you like! You're going to hell anyway"? No, you can't! And can you say to a man who lives a sinful life deliberately, "You seem to have been chosen by God"? No, you can't! The God, the Bible and Paul all are saying, "You're a noble vessel," or "You're a mean vessel," to see the visible fruits of those who are living good or bad life. Peter experienced the two opposites. When Simon (Peter) confessed rightly that Jesus was the Christ from God, Jesus gave him a very glorious praise, saying, "You are Peter (rock). I'll build my church on this rock. (Mt16:18)" But after that, when Jesus said he would die on the cross, Peter stopped Jesus, saying, "What do you mean? You can never do that!" And he had to hear a very insulting words from Jesus "Get behind me, Satan! (Mt 16:23)" What a judgement according to the current deeds! Satan is a far more insulting word than a mean vessel Paul mentioned.

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Of course, as Paul said, there are surely some elected people of God whom we can't discern outwardly. But they will reveal what they believe by outward deeds someday. I can affirm that zero is the possibility to go to heaven to those who, not believing in Jesus, live a wicked life all their life. Some of those who are not called by God and are living like vulgar vessels now in sin and among worldly people will later be called by God and receive the Holy Spirit to live as noble vessels of God. However it is an affair of the future. We can't know now exactly who is the noble vessel and who is the vulgar vessel. But the best judgment we can make about it is possible if we judge people by the fruits they bear now in their life.

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The most important passage in the text today is "What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! (v. 14)" First, it is never unjust for God to choose his children, be gracious to them, forgive them, and give them eternal life. For this we must give thanks to God indeed. Nor is he unjust when he lets him, who, like Pharaoh, enslaved and exploited God's people, not repent his sins but oppose him and his people and get due retribution. Am I wrong? It is absolutely just (lawful) when Pharaoh and his army got so severe a retribution that almost all of them died in the Red Sea, considering how Pharaoh and his army had persecuted and killed Israelites God's people before in Egypt. And it is a just judgement of God that they will not be allowed the eternal life in heaven. Finally, if someone asks, "Is it a just punishment for them to suffer eternal punishment in the hell?"; we can give this answer: "It is just if it is God's judgement!" He who believes this will gain the eternal life in heaven. How can a man who does not believe that God is righteous and fair live with him eternally in the blessed heaven? Actually, it is fair that we believe in God as the righteous one, for he recognized us as "his righteous people" even though we were real sinners. Therefore, can we misunderstand God as an unrighteous one even when he punishes the sinners? How impudent it is for you to think the God unrighteous! This is not to say that we should believe he is fair although he is, in fact, unfair. There is indeed no injustice in God. My brethren, if you don't understand, nevertheless please believe in God as a good one unconditionally. And God will love you more unconditionally. And he will give him who believes God is good the wisdom to understand the difficult problems in due course. Actually, it is not a problem to me that sinners will be punished forever. I absolutely believe that God is good.

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I hope all of you will become clean vessels and be used as precious vessels by God.

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Chong Tack Kim

                                    - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -