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All right, we're here in Romans chapter 9, and the name of the sermon is The Rejection of the Israelites. You say, brother, suck you, wasn't that last week's sermon? Well, I mean, that's what Paul's talking about. So hey, if you've planned out your trip to Israel, you've saved up money, then, you know, I'm sorry, you still got to sit through the sermon, right? Just go to Batangas or Palawan or somewhere else, okay? And so the rejection of the Israelites, just a quick recap from last week. There was kind of two examples that Paul gives. One example is he talks about Jacob and Esau, and it talks about God hating Esau, but it's not in reference to the individual person, but the Edomites, which are the lineage or the heritage of Esau. Then he talks about Moses and Pharaoh, and they're representing the nations, and the Egyptians were wicked, okay? So that's the context going into verse 19. And after he says this, there's kind of an unfair allegation. That's the first point, unfair allegation that people would claim. Verse 19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? So people would hear this about how, hey, you know, God's rejecting us, and they say, well, that's not fair, right? I mean, that's God's will. How is that fair to us? But here's the thing, were the Israelites ever complaining when the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea? Do you ever see them complain, saying, hey, that's not fair, they had to drown in the Red Sea? I mean, they were fine with that. Why did God do that? Because they were wicked. Because they were persecuting God's people, and you know what, the Hebrews had no problem with that, right? It's funny, though, how they've got a problem with the fact when they get rejected. Hey, you're okay with other people being rejected, but when it turns around to you, you're mad about it. Well, why did God reject the Egyptians to begin with? Because they were wicked. I mean, look, read about Nineveh in the Bible. They were wicked, they turned to God, and then God blesses them, and he gives them another chance. Look, if the Egyptians, if Pharaoh had gotten saved, and he became just this Bible believer, and there was lots of soul winning, they got rid of the abortion and all the wickedness that was around back then. Look, you know what, God would have blessed those people, but they were wicked, and they drowned in the Red Sea, okay? Go to Ezekiel chapter 18, Ezekiel 18, Ezekiel chapter 18. This is how God deals with nations. When they become wicked, they're going to be judged. One day, the United States of America, which is the end times Babylon that the Bible speaks of, they will be judged for their wickedness. You say, well, why would they be judged? Well, maybe because they shed more blood than any country in the world. Look, I get it. The Philippines is very pro-America. They love the U.S. I'm an American, okay? That doesn't change the fact that the United States is responsible for more bloodshed than any country by far. It's like a combination, Israel and the U.S. Israel starts the war, and then the U.S. says, oh, yeah, we got Israel's back because it's always these evil Muslims, right? And it's like the U.S. is involved in so much bloodshed. One day, they will be destroyed for their wickedness, okay? This is how God deals with nations. Look, if our country becomes very wicked, and then God pours out some sort of, you know, natural disaster upon us, hey, it's our own fault. We can't blame God. Look, the Kapampangans, you know, with Mount Pinatubo, they can't really blame God when they're beating themselves and doing this pagan holiday right before Mount Pinatubo starts to wake up. It's like, well, maybe you made God mad with your pagan traditions and rituals, right? Look, we're blessed that yesterday, this celebration wasn't really that big this year. You say, why? The biggest way to put wrath upon this country is to have millions of people just crowding the streets and worshipping an idol. God hates idolatry. I'll tell you what, that was great for us that they had to cancel it for the most part, right? You couldn't blame God, though, if that made God mad and he poured out his wrath. And see, that is what the Israelites are claiming. This isn't fair to us. Who's resisted as well? Well, it's because of your wickedness it happened. Ezekiel chapter 18, notice verse 24. Ezekiel 18, verse 24. Ezekiel 18, verse 24. But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and commiteth iniquity and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned. In his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die, okay? Now, this verse is often taken out of context and used toward an individual person. That's not really the context, though. The real context is for the house of Israel as a people. Now, I'm sure you can make applications as an individual person, but what it's saying is if there's somebody who let's say they're doing pretty good or a nation that's doing pretty good, but then they become wicked when they turn away from that righteousness and start doing abortions and the LGBT explodes and there's just a bunch of drug dealing and all of this wickedness, well, then God is gonna pour out his wrath because they become wicked. They've turned from their righteousness and God will pour out his wrath on that nation. Verse 25. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. Now, what are they saying there? Hey, it's not fair. It's not right. God, it's not equal. God's ways aren't equal. But what does the Bible say? Here now, O house of Israel, is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal? See, when you look at these major prophets, you had Isaiah that was prophesying toward the future of the coming captivity of Judah. Jeremiah's preaching through it and Ezekiel's looking back at the captivity that has already taken place. And what's the reaction? Hey, it's not fair we're in captivity. This isn't right. God's ways are not equal. But isn't this equal? Because Egypt got rejected when they became wicked. So the house of Israel gets rejected when they become wicked. Seems equal to me. See, the world will always say God's ways aren't equal. And yet the world's ways are the ones that aren't equal. They'll say it's not fair how you preach about women. It's not fair to them. You know, you're holding women back. God's ways aren't equal. They're sexist. It's not fair. You know, the world's ways aren't equal. The world's ways aren't fair. The world's ways don't balance up. God's ways are fair. God's ways are equal. Verse 26, when a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and commiteth iniquity and dieth in them for his iniquity that he hath done, shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul and live. Because he considerth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel, the way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal or not your ways unequal. Now turn in your Bible to Romans nine. Romans nine. Romans nine. Look, as a Bible-believing Christian, this seems fair to me. They were given the oracles of God. They were told to produce the fruits and they were supposed to be the representatives of God on earth. They were a bad representative and they got replaced. Doesn't that seem fair? Doesn't that seem equal? I mean, I don't see where this is unequal. It's like, you know, you were given a privileged position. You had the word of God, you had the prophets, you had the oracles of God and to whom much is given, much is required, much is expected and you didn't produce anything. So you got replaced. I mean, it's really that simple. Look, I've never been part of a church that was like a pro-Zionist church. So look, this is weird to me when, and I know it's in the US and in the Philippines where these Baptist churches, they might have an Israeli flag back here and everything and they're like, you know, hey, we're taking this special offering and we're gonna send it to Israel. It's like, that's weird to me. Okay, it's like, you know, why Israel? Why not Iraq or Iran or whatever country, right? It's weird to me. But look, this is not biblical. They're wicked. I mean, as a nation, Israel is one of the most wicked nations on the world. So why would they have a special position in God's eyes? Okay, God never gave them this everlasting covenant where he said, you are my people as a nation, no matter what you do. Look, God's not a racist. It says there's no respect of persons with God. So why would God just automatically love somebody more than another one because of their skin color? It doesn't make any sense. Okay, and that's not biblical. Okay, Romans nine, verse 20. Nay, but oh man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing form say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? Verse 22, what if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? Now look, these verses are taken out of context by Calvinists. All it's saying is that yes, we are created by God, but notice verse 22, God endured with much long suffering. He was long suffering. He was merciful to the fact that they were rejecting him and they were wicked when we're talking about the nation of Israel and eventually they were destroyed. Because what God determined from the beginning is that if they became wicked, they'd be destroyed. It doesn't mean that he forced them to be wicked. It's just saying he's determined, hey, I've created you and if you obey, then you're gonna be my people. It doesn't mean that he forced Israel to be filled with the LGBT and rape and sodomy and abortion and murder and all these wicked things. That's not what it's saying, okay? He endured with much long suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. Go to Matthew chapter 23, Matthew 23, Matthew 23. So here's the thing, they can't claim it's unfair because God was very long suffering before he rejected them. Remember the parable we looked at last week, how prophet after prophet was sent and they stoned some and they killed others and God still gave him a chance, right? I mean, how could you say God's not fair? It's like he was more than long suffering with you, but eventually God's mercy runs out, okay? He gave him a chance, he was long suffering with them, but it's like, you know what? You become wicked and you're gonna be destroyed, okay? Matthew 23, verse 34. Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel onto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Now you say, brother, second, why does it mention Abel? Because Abel is long time before Jacob comes into the picture, because it's the same false religion that's doing this, okay? Yes, we have Jacob thousands of years later, but it's the same false religion, rejecting God, rejecting the commandments of God. So look, they're not the people that they were supposed to be. I mean, think about the Jews today. Do Jews sacrifice animals? Do they follow the Passover? Because correct me if I'm wrong, but that was supposed to be an everlasting covenant. Now for us, it is because Jesus came and he fulfilled that. He is the lamb slain. Why don't Jews sacrifice lambs at Passover every year? Because they don't follow the Bible. They don't follow the Old Testament. They don't believe it. They're Jews by name only, right? And for most things I've read, not even ethnicity wise, it's like a big hoax or whatever, but certainly not with religion. They don't follow the religion of the Old Testament. You know, we follow the same God as the God of the Old Testament, not them. You talk to Jews and you ask them, well, you know, who created the world? Do you believe in evolution or creation? Most of them will say evolution. Most of them will say the earth is old. So what scriptures are they reading? Does it sound like they believe in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth? Because that's not very complicated. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. It doesn't sound like evolution to me, my friend, right? The earth is less than 7,000 years old. It's not that old, okay? But most Jews will say, well, the earth's like billions of years old and all of this evolution. Why would they say that? Because they don't believe the Bible. They don't believe the scriptures. Now we do, which means we take the word of God in Genesis 1 and we take what the Bible says and we believe it, but they don't. They reject that, okay? Verse 36, verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. I wonder who he's talking about. I mean, who does he mean when he says Jerusalem? Maybe he's talking about Egypt. Maybe he's talking about Babylon. I mean, maybe he's talking about Nineveh. Yeah, I don't know, it's tough. You know, the Bible's just so deep. I mean, there's so many interpretations of the Bible. People could read the same verse and read it a thousand different ways. Like Jerusalem could be like, you know, I don't know, Davao City or whatever, that's a whole nother thing. But O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent onto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathered through chickens under her wings and ye would not. You made the choice, you didn't wanna be my people. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. What house is that? The house of Israel. They're rejected. I mean, it's clear as day here in Matthew, these are the words of Jesus Christ. Go back to Romans nine, Romans nine, Romans chapter nine. Romans chapter nine. Look, it doesn't matter how often you hear people repeat the fact that, you know, hey, you know, the Jews are God's chosen people. The Jews are God's chosen people. The Jews are God's chosen people. Chapter and verse. Show me where the modern day Christ rejecting Jews are God's people. Because the Bible says, he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him. And as a nation, no nation has rejected Jesus Christ more than the Jews. This is reality. And look, I get it. The Philippines is a very pro-Israel country. As I've said, they're listed as the number three most pro-Israel country behind the United States and India. That doesn't make it true though. Just because they think we should love the Jews, that doesn't mean it's reality. Where is that in the Bible? Okay, Romans nine, verse 23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto glory. Even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. And see the Bible is saying, both Jews and Gentiles can be saved, right? And since the Jews rejected it, they had every chance. The gospel was by and large preached to the Gentiles and they embraced it. They loved the word of God. This is why Paul the apostle is the most famous one, because he really took the gospel to the Gentiles and they received it. Verse 25, as he saith also in OC, I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it is said in them, you're not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. Now it's said in verse 25, as he saith also in OC. What's that referring to? It's referring to Hosea. Go to Hosea chapter one, Hosea one, Hosea one. Hosea chapter one. And Romans does quote the book of Hosea a few times. And so it's kind of a good timing. We're in the book of Hosea on Wednesdays and we're the book of Romans. Hosea one verse 10, Hosea one verse 10. Hosea chapter one verse 10. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it is said in them, you're not my people, there shall be said in them, you are the sons of the living God. And if you've been with us on Wednesday nights, in the book of Hosea, Hosea is married to Gomer and Gomer basically whores around on him. And so basically, there's these children that are produced that do not belong to Hosea. And obviously Hosea as a husband is gonna be very angry about that. And that was meant to be a picture of what Israel would do to God, how they're married onto God and yet they rebelled against him and they committed whoredom and they went after false religions. So that's the context here in Hosea. Now go back to Romans chapter nine, Romans nine. Romans nine. Romans chapter nine. Look, this is what the nation of Israel did to God. They rejected God's commandments, they didn't follow what the Bible says and they're held accountable. Here's the reality. If you grow up in this church and you hear the word of God preached all the time and you know what you're supposed to do, but you do not do it, you're gonna be held more accountable than someone who had no idea. That's the way it works. And people might say, well, that's not equal. That's not fair. It seems fair to me. Look, an unsaved Catholic person who never really hears the gospel but is trying to do what's right and is a nice person, they will go to hell, but they're not gonna suffer as much as someone who grew up in a church like this and you heard the word of God and you knew the truth and you chose to reject the gospel over and over and over. You're gonna be held more accountable, right? It makes sense. Romans nine, verse 27. So only a small percentage, a small group of Israel ended up believing on Jesus and getting saved. Verse 28. You say, brother Sucky, why is it that very few ended up getting saved? Because God cut it short in righteousness. Because the nation became wicked and they were rejected as a people because God will judge you by righteousness and on an individual level, if you don't believe on Jesus Christ, you're guilty. Why? Because there is none righteous, no, not one, okay? On an individual level, he will judge you based on righteousness. Here's the thing, when I go to heaven, there's gonna be no sins on my record. You say why? Because if you have eternal life, your sins are cast away as far as the east is from the west. They're gone. You have eternal life and all of your sins are forgiven but if you never believe, then you have a multitude of sins to answer for because he's gonna judge you in righteousness and he judges a nation also in righteousness but look, as a nation, it's based on the works you do and if a country is wicked, they're gonna be judged for it. It doesn't matter whether they're called Israel or the Philippines or the US or whatever, okay? Now go to 1 Peter chapter two, 1 Peter two. 1 Peter two. Look, when you're a child of God, God expects you to obey what he says and the nation of Israel, although there is plenty of unsaved people that live there, they were expected to obey what the Bible said. I mean, isn't it true that we would expect people in this church to dress better than the world? Wouldn't we expect people in this church to not listen to some of the things that the world listens to? Wouldn't we expect people at this church not to watch some of the things that the world watches? Wouldn't we expect people at this church to read the Bible more than what the world's gonna read it? Look, if you're God's people, God's gonna expect something from you. When you hear the word of God, you're gonna be held accountable for it. As a parent, this makes sense. Look, if your child does something that you do not like but you did not tell them not to do it, then they're either not gonna get a punishment or they're gonna get a small punishment. But if you specifically tell your son, hey, do not do this, and five seconds later he does that, you're gonna be upset. Why? Because you were told not to do it and the nation of Israel, they knew God's laws and they disobeyed. 1 Peter 2, verse 9. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation of peculiar people. The nation of Israel was supposed to be holy and do what was right. Were they holy though? They were rejected. They were rejected by the same reason why Egypt and the Edomites got destroyed because they became wicked. They weren't holy people. They were wicked people, okay? Go to Romans chapter 9, Romans 9, Romans 9. Look, I feel like I'm being repetitive in this sermon from last week, but I mean, this is just what the Bible says. Verse by verse, and look, you know what? Maybe God knew that thousands of years from now, because here's what you have to realize. It's only been the last 100 years where this new mantra came up that the Jews are God's chosen people. Nobody thought that 100 years ago. Everybody realized they were wicked. I mean, they've been kicked out of so many countries. I mean, I don't have a list in front of me. Maybe next week I'll bring it, but country after country after country after country. And look, I'm by no means a fan of Martin Luther, but he did write that book, The Jews and Their Lies. And look, I've read that book. I mean, he just is actually a pretty good book, right? He's like blasting them and everything and saying how they're so wicked. That's what the world thought of them. That's what just the, because look, Martin Luther represents kind of the normal non-Catholic Christian. So if he was around today with the same beliefs, right? And look, I don't believe he was saved, but I'm saying the normal person was at victory or non-denominational, non-Catholic Christian church. That represented the normal view back then. That's what people thought. But nowadays it's all changed just in the last 100 years. What does the Bible say? Verse 29, and as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, referring to the house of Israel, we had been as Sodom and been made like on the Gomorrah. And so, you know, Paul makes a comparison, quoting from Isaiah of the nation of Israel being like Sodom and Gomorrah, okay? Now that's not a very nice comparison. Now, why did he make the comparison of Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, number one, cause what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? They got destroyed. Number two, what was the big sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? I mean, people I know nowadays, oh, I mean, they were lazy. They were prideful. It's like, no, the reason why they're ultimately destroyed was because they were Sodomites, they were homos, okay? That's where you get Sodomite from, from Sodom. That's why they were destroyed, okay? Well, here's the thing. You say, why does that represent Israel? Well, maybe cause Tel Aviv is kind of competing for being like the Sodomite capital of the world. I think they got voted first last year. It's like, good job. The Sodomite capital of the world is right there in the heart of Israel. And it's like, well, I wonder why God had to destroy them. They're wicked. They've rejected God. Romans nine, verse 30, Romans nine, verse 30. And here's the thing, Sodom and Gomorrah was completely destroyed. So what is Paul saying by quoting Isaiah? Same thing to the nation of Israel, same thing to the house of Israel. And Isaiah was preaching about this before the captivity, but it was coming and he's warning them, hey, you know what? We're all gonna be destroyed except a small seed that ends up believing or not becoming wicked, okay? And that is what happened. Romans nine, verse 30. Point number one was an unfair allegation. Point two, God being long suffering toward them. Point three, the result of this is an embrace of the Gentiles. Romans nine, verse 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which fall not after righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. You say, Brother Sucky, what does that mean? Well, I mean, when it comes to the Gentiles, they don't believe on Jesus Christ, right? Their background. They're not trying to believe on Jesus for their salvation. They're not putting their faith in the coming Messiah as the nation of Israel did back then. They weren't trying to get salvation that way and yet they attained to righteousness by faith. They're trying to work their way to heaven. The gospel was given to them and they really embraced it more than the nation of Israel. Verse 31. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Why is that? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. So look, although it's clear that salvation has always been by faith, that was preached to the nation of Israel, they knew what the Bible said, they knew what the scripture said, and yet they rejected it. Jesus Christ came and what did they do to them? They killed him. They rejected him. Now were there some that believed? There is a small remnant, as the Bible says, that believed on him. But by and large, they rejected Jesus Christ. However, when you're reading the New Testament in January, what are you seeing? You're seeing that the Gentiles embraced Jesus Christ. They believed on Jesus Christ. And look, they weren't trying to attain to it. They didn't have the oracles of God. They didn't know what the scripture said, but then somebody came and gave the gospel and they're like, man, it makes sense, I believe it. Right, I mean, the same thing's true today. I mean, think of people that are really religious, but are not saved. Are they usually receptive to the gospel, people that are really religious, but they're not saved? Nope. Now they're trying to attain that salvation, right? They're trying to get that righteousness. They think they're real good. They go to church all the time. But look, if they're really religious and not saved, they're probably not receptive. What about the average Catholic though, that's just going about their life, not really trying to live for God and everything, do they embrace the gospel? Absolutely. We give them the gospel and they embrace it, okay? Look, Israel was super religious and they had the oracles of God, they had everything. They said, we're God's people and everything. They think they're gonna go to heaven and yet they got rejected. Why? Because they sought it not by faith. Salvation is by faith alone, okay? They stumbled at that stumbling stone. Now go to 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 1. Okay. As a nation, they were rejected for their wickedness and also the fact that they rejected Jesus Christ ultimately. They rejected all the prophets that came and on an individual level, by and large, they rejected the gospel. So there's kind of two things being focused on here in Romans 9, but it's very clear from this chapter, as a nation, they've been rejected. I don't think there's any dispute to that. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 21. For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that belief, okay? God has set up a system where preaching is what actually results in people believing and getting saved. This is God's system, okay? You say, Brother Stuckey, what about just doing some creation seminar and we'll have like a rock band, right? We got to have a rock band to attract people because nobody would want to come to a church like yours, Brother Stuckey. I mean, makalumang music, makalumang preaching, and I mean, you're preaching about how people are dressed and everything. Nobody's going to want to come to your church in 2021. Well, I mean, plenty of people here today, right? Right. And it's like, we can use the world's methods where it's like, well, let's just have a rock band and then someone will just come up here and just preach the gospel for 15 minutes and everybody will get saved, right? Is that what all these churches, these mega churches are trying to do? Is that what the Bible teaches, okay? God determined the foolishness of preaching to save them to believe. And the best way that works is one-on-one preaching the gospel. Verse 22, for the Jews require a sign. The Jews say, hey, we would believe if you came down from the cross, we'll believe, right? It's like, give me a sign and I'm going to believe, right? The Jews require a sign. And the Greeks seek after wisdom. I mean, the Greeks think they're so intellectual and they're so, I mean, Greek mythology is so wise, right? It's so smart. I mean, Socrates and Aristotle and Plato, those are like the smartest people that ever lived, my friend. It's like Greek philosophy. Yeah, I mean, Zeus and everything. Yeah, that's real smart. Makes a lot of sense. They're seeking it by wisdom, right? The world's wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified onto the Jews' stumbling block and onto the Greeks' foolishness. So according to the Bible in verse 23, the Jews want a sign, the Greeks are seeking after wisdom. Do we try to give a sign to the Jews? No. Do we try to give wisdom to the Greeks? Man, I'm going to sit here with some intellectual atheist and spend 30 minutes giving facts about why the earth is less than 10,000 years old. Is that what the Bible says we should do? They're seeking after wisdom. We preach Christ. That's what the Bible says. You say, Brother Stuckey, that will never work. Oh, really? Why is it that people from every religious background, there are some that end up believing on Jesus and getting saved when they hear the gospel? And see, the world mocks at this. How could preaching save somebody? I mean, if somebody was an atheist or a Hindu their whole life, they're not going to believe if you just explain the gospel. Oh, really? Because I've seen people believe that we're Hindus before. I've seen several Hindus get saved before. You know how they got saved? By the gospel, by preaching the gospel. Look, right now, I'm reading a book on the history of India in my free time. I've always been kind of fascinated with that culture over there. And I'm learning a lot of stuff about the old ancient Vedic religion and how Hinduism's like imposters and it's nothing like it. And I'm learning all the names of all these gods. And I've got all this information I'm learning. If I run into a Hindu out soul winning, do you think I'm going to give them that information? Is that going to get them saved? Or am I going to preach Christ crucified? What does the Bible say? Because man's wisdom would say, yeah, give them all that information and they're going to believe it. But what does the Bible say? We preach Christ crucified on the Jews' stumbling block and onto the Greeks' foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. And the Bible's saying there are some Jews and some Greeks that when they heard the gospel, they believed it. Even though they had a different background, okay? They heard the gospel and they believed. Now go to Romans one. Let me close up here in Romans one. Romans one. Romans chapter one. And I want you to look at verse number 16. Sorry to disappoint you. We're not going to Romans 1 29 or 30. We're going to Romans 1 16, okay? The reprobate doctrines, another sermon. Romans 1 verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. See, the Bible says it's the gospel of Christ that gets the Jews saved. It's the gospel of Christ that gets the Greeks saved. It's also the gospel of Christ that gets the Muslim, the Hindu, whatever religion. It's the gospel of Christ that gets them saved. Now here's the thing. This kind of comes, it's like the opposite of what you would think, right? I remember when I first got saved and I was learning all this information and look, I was in college. And so of course, evolution is a big thing you talk about in college and everything. And look, I've watched Ken Hovind seminar like 55 times or whatever, long time ago. It's been a long time now. But I remember I learned all these facts about creation and evolution and everything. And I just remember when I would run into an atheist at the door, I wouldn't really use the Bible much. I would just throw all these facts out about how the earth is young, right? Like, well, I mean, if the moon's receding from the earth this many feet per year, then this is gonna happen. And you're given all these facts and this information. Nobody gets saved from that. That's man's wisdom. There's not power in that. And look, I'll tell you what, it feels good when you win an argument but our goal is not to win arguments, I'll still win it. I mean, I still remember, right? This is something I'll still remember. I'll take to the grave with me because it was fun. I'll admit it, not useful. But I remember I ran into someone who was like in masters for biology and he was like a big evolutionist and everything. And I just argued with him about creation and evolution for like 45 minutes at the door. And then at the end he said, man, you have some good points. Here's the thing though, he didn't get saved though. Now I may have taught him that evolution is false but he's just gonna believe something else that's false. It's like that doesn't get somebody saved. What gets people saved is the gospel of Christ. And here's the thing, a lot of people are gonna laugh and scoff and mock at it but there are some that will believe it. Now here in the Philippines, you're not gonna run into a whole lot of atheists. Very rarely do you run into atheists. Whenever you run into an atheist, you're like, why are you an atheist, right? But here's the thing, in some parts of the world, there are a lot of atheists, right? I mean, brother Mateusz is from Europe and in Europe it's just like, they're proud to be atheists oftentimes in some of those countries. And I mean, evolution is taught and believed and many people reject God. But you know what, just because they've been taught something false, that doesn't mean that they won't accept the truth when they hear it. Because this book, the gospel, it has power that doesn't logically make sense. I mean, it has power that when you preach the gospel, it has power to change someone's belief and for them to get saved. Because look, the gospel's logical. I mean, it makes perfect sense. I mean, the world wants to say, well, how do we know it's true? How do you know if it's Muhammad or Jesus? I mean, it's actually pretty obvious because the gospel is different than every other religion. Every religion says work your way to heaven and here's the thing, that doesn't make sense. Does that make sense? I remember when I heard the gospel and I asked the person who led me to the Lord, or he told me this and he said, well, here's the thing. If what you're saying is true, that if you're good enough, you'll go to heaven, where is that line where you're just barely good enough versus going to hell? Because he said, is it fair that all of these people go to heaven and these person go to hell because of just one extra mistake? And I was like, you know what, that makes sense. What I believe doesn't fit. But what he said made sense because here's the thing, if you're saved, you have no sins on your record. It's not like it's, well, there's just barely enough good to let you know there's no bad. You're declared guilty in court if you do something wrong. If you have no wrong on your record, you're innocent. So here's the thing, everybody who goes to heaven, they're 100% innocent. It's as if they've never sinned. Everyone who goes to hell, they've got like a million sins, right? I mean, we sin every single day. So here's the thing, Israel rejected this message, but what are you gonna do if you run into a Jew out soul winning? You're gonna preach the gospel. But Brother Stuckey, they don't believe in Jesus. Yeah, but if they hear it, they might. You say, Brother Stuckey, when I preach the gospel to Jews, like, what verses should I use? Like, where should I go in the Old Testament? Why would you go to the Old Testament? Romans 3.23, that's where I would start. Romans 3.10, I don't usually use Romans 6.23, but until the end with a gift, but most people do. Romans 6.23, Revelation 20. Look, if it works for one person, it's gonna work for another. Because they have to believe the same thing to end up getting saved. Now, what I often do is I tell people from another religion, I'll say this, well, let me just show you what the Bible says and you can decide if you believe it. And I've given the gospel to people that don't believe in the Bible, but they're willing to listen. And you know what, sometimes they do get saved, right? Now, look, usually if someone has another religion outside of the Christian realm, they're less likely to get saved, right? If you give the gospel, I remember when I was in Guyana for a couple of weeks, because Guyana is kind of a mix between like Hindu and, you know, Christian, because there's a lot of people that their heritage is from India. And most people listen to you though. And so of course you try to give the gospel to everyone. But when I was stopping people and inviting them to church and trying to give the gospel, sometimes it was almost like, oh, I hope this Hindu doesn't listen to me because they're probably less likely to get saved. And they were less likely, but you know what? Some of them heard the gospel and they're like, you know what, that makes sense. And they got saved, right? The gospel is the power of God onto salvation. That is the method that God has given us, not some creation seminar. If I can just get this atheist to watch this creation seminar, then he might get saved. Well, he might, but the chance is probably pretty low, especially if there's no gospel presentation on the end. Hopefully, hopefully he sits through the three hours of the seminar bashing what he believes to hear the gospel presentation. But a more effective method is if the gospel presentation's at the beginning. You could always try the method, hey, just watch this. Just watch the first 15 minutes, you know, about the gospel, about what we believe, and then you can watch, you know, the rest or whatever. Maybe you can try that, I don't know. But I'm telling you, what gets people saved is the gospel, and nobody can get saved unless they hear the gospel. This is the power of God onto salvation. And here's the thing. You know what, when you're first soul winning, I remember when I first started going soul winning when I was 19 years old, you think that you can get people to believe by just proving a bunch of facts, right? Like the religion I really studied when I first got saved was Mormonism, because I had a friend who was a Mormon. I don't know anymore, but I used to know all the years of false predictions and all these bizarre things, and I could quote like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Well, in 1875, this Mormon prophet said this, and he said this, and he said this. You know what, nobody gets saved that way though. And yet what you'll find is you can get Mormons saved if they listen to the gospel and hear what the truth is. Right? All these memorized facts, that's not the method God gave. And you know what, that's actually good for us, because here's the thing, it would take a lot of time to become an expert at a false religion. Can you imagine if you run into a Muslim, and it's like, oh no man, I gotta spend like hundreds of hours studying what they believe in order to get them saved. That's a lot of time. Here's the thing though, if you know the gospel, you have the truth right here that can actually get them saved, right? You know, when it comes to people that study counterfeit money, you know, they're experts at banks and everything, this is what they always say, you don't spend all your time studying all these counterfeits. What you do is you study the real thing, and you know the real thing really well, and once you know the real thing really well, and you've read your Bible several times, you've memorized verses, you can easily spot a fraud. You can easily spot a fake, but look, there's countless of false religions and false belief systems out there. If you spend all your time reading all these books on Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses and Hindus and all this stuff, you're wasting a lot of time where you could actually learn what you need right here, okay? That is the power of God and salvation. And look, Israel as a nation, they became wicked in terms of their sins, and by and large, when the gospel came to them, they rejected it. And God said, you know what, I'm done with you. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your word here in Romans chapter nine, and help us to know our Bibles and understand them. I know many people in this room have heard false teachers proclaim that the Jews are God's chosen people, that land was given to them no matter what they do, God. Help us to just read and know our Bibles so whenever anything false is said, we're already ready. We already know what the Bible says, and not just believe man's words, but actually read it for ourselves, God. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen.