"Wise" 7-10-22

Overview

The Wisdom of God: Living with the Unanswered "Why"

We are born askers. From the toddler's endless "why?" to the grieving adult's cry, "Why, God?", we demand answers from the One who is utterly other than us. Romans 9–11 follows Paul as he wrestles with one of the deepest "whys" of all—why has Israel, who pursued righteousness through the law, stumbled, while Gentiles who did not strive for it have received righteousness through faith Romans 9:30-32? Paul's answer points not to human effort but to God's mercy: "It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy" Romans 9:16. And to those who would press the argument further, he replies, "Who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God?" Romans 9:20.

Paul finally arrives where every honest seeker must arrive—at doxology rather than explanation. "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!… For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" Romans 11:33-36. His rhetorical questions—"Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"—are unanswerable by design. We see this same posture when God answers Job not with explanations but with questions of his own: "Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me" (Job 38:3; Job 40:7-8). God owes us nothing—"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine" (Psalm 50:12; cf. Job 41:11).

Here is the wonder: the same wisdom that is too high for us has bent low to save us. God did not consult mankind in creation, and he did not consult mankind in redemption—and that is our great mercy. No human mind would have devised salvation through a crucified Savior. As Paul writes, "We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" 1 Corinthians 1:22-24. In Christ, God takes our arrogance, our demands, and our sin, and gives us in their place new life—sealed in the waters of Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, proclaimed in the preached Word, and tasted in the Supper as tangible forgiveness.

So when the "whys" pile up—why the illness, why the loss, why this season of life—remember that we will not receive every answer this side of heaven, but we have already received everything we most desperately need. The branches that stand, stand only by faith, so let us "stand in awe" rather than boast Romans 11:20. Why does God love us? Why did Christ go to the cross? Why are we called his beloved children? Because. Because he is God, and his wisdom, mercy, and grace are deeper than we can fathom. From him and through him and to him are all things—to him be the glory forever. Amen.

Transcript

If you would please open your Bibles to Romans the 11th chapter, that's Romans the 11th chapter. 3s

If you are using the Pew edition of the Bible, you can find that on page 141 in the New 10s

Testament. 17s

Okay, the attributes of God. 19s

This is huge. 22s

It's big. 23s

And have you found that as we study and as we look at the attributes of God, a lot of questions 25s

start to come up. 33s

Okay, this may sound familiar to you. 36s

Kittle, put your socks in the hamper. 40s

Why? 42s

Well, because if they're on the floor, I won't know to put them in the laundry. 44s

Why? 49s

Well, I need to put them in the laundry to clean them. 50s

Why? 52s

Also, you'll have clean socks to wear tomorrow. 52s

Why? 55s

Because we want to have clean. 56s

You get the picture. 57s

It goes on and on and on. 59s

Why? 61s

Why? 62s

Why? 63s

And every why question leads to another why question. 64s

And the attributes of God when we study these because he is so other, so different, so 73s

much bigger, grander, wonderful, majestic, glory glorified than us, we constantly come 84s

back to him saying, why? 93s

Why? 97s

Why did God create creation? 98s

Well, if he knew Adam and Eve would sin, why did he create Adam and Eve? 101s

Why did he put the tree in the garden? 106s

Why did he make the tree accessible? 109s

Why didn't he make it untouchable? 112s

Why? 118s

God in his wisdom created. 121s

Why? 125s

Well, that's exactly what we're going to look at today. 128s

Why? 130s

Why? 132s

And how we're going to do this is to look at what Paul finally comes to in chapter 11. 133s

But we need to go back a little bit as always, context, context, context. 141s

The chapters in Romans, chapter 9, 10 and 11 are really answering a question of why? 147s

A question of salvation, a question of Israel and God's people and salvation and the 156s

why. 165s

So we're going to actually begin in chapter 9 beginning with, and we're going to bounce 166s

around in chapter 9. 173s

So I'll tell you where we are, but we're going to bounce through 9, 10 and 11, but we 175s

will end up at 11, 33, through 36. 180s

I promise you. 184s

Okay, so we're going to start with chapter 9, verses 33, 32, what then are we to say? 185s

Gentiles who did not strive for righteousness have attained it. 193s

That is righteousness through faith. 197s

But Israel who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law did not succeed 199s

in fulfilling the law. 205s

Why not? 207s

Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith. 208s

But as if it were based on works, they have stumbled over the stumbling stone. 211s

So let's go over to 11 verse 1. 219s

Then has God rejected his people? 223s

By no means, I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin 226s

back to chapter 9. 237s

Verse 6, it is not as though the Word of God had failed. 239s

For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel and not all of Abraham's children 244s

are his true descendants. 251s

But it is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you. 254s

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but 260s

the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 265s

It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. 271s

Verse 19, you will say to me then, why then does he still find fault for who can resist 280s

his will? 287s

But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? 289s

Well, what is molded say to the one who molded it? 293s

Why have you made me like this? 297s

Do you see these why questions all throughout 9, 10 and 11? 301s

We have these questions of why? 308s

Let's go over to chapter 11, starting in verse 15. 312s

I want you to understand this mystery. 318s

A hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 322s

Some of the branches were broken off. 330s

You, a wild all of you, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the 334s

olive tree. 339s

Do not boast over the branches. 341s

If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that 343s

supports you. 348s

They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. 350s

So we do not become proud, but stand in awe. 357s

There are questions in creation. 364s

There are questions in redemption. 368s

There are a lot of questions that just cannot be answered. 372s

And it drives us nuts because we are born with that annoying nonstop why? 381s

Why? 392s

Why? 393s

We want answers for everything. 394s

Throughout all time, mankind has dared to demand answers from the Lord. 399s

And Paul makes it very plain and clear. 411s

He says, it's a mystery. 416s

Ah, another mystery. 421s

When we read mystery novels, we end up finding out and figuring out what's going on. 426s

When we're doing a puzzle, we put the whole puzzle together and we get the full picture. 432s

But this side of heaven, we don't get all the answers. 439s

Consider the answer to the why God in His wisdom pours out upon us. 450s

His love, His mercy. 461s

Looking at verse 33 of chapter 11, O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge 465s

of God, how unsertable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways. 475s

God created out of His wisdom, a wisdom that is way too deep for us to ever understand. 484s

His judgments, His decisions, His rule is impossible. 497s

It's as it's inscrutable, impossible to understand His ways. 503s

It's impossible for us to figure out. 512s

And then Paul follows that up with some rhetorical questions, verse 34, for who has known 516s

the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor or who has given a gift to him to 522s

receive a gift in return. 529s

They're rhetorical, they're unanswerable. 535s

And yet we demand answers. 538s

Now of course we can never talk of mankind demanding answers without thinking immediately 545s

of Job, right? 550s

In Job, verse chapter 38, he says, who God answers Job and says, who is this that 553s

darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 560s

And then in chapter 40, he says, Gird up your loins like a man. 565s

I love that response to Job. 571s

Job in his demanding of answers, God answers him and says, Gird up, we're going to talk 574s

about the man demand demand. 582s

And he is going to lay it out for Job. 583s

And he says, I will question you and you declare to me, you dare ask me or demand answers 587s

from me, Job, man. 596s

I'm going to go ahead and ask you some questions. 599s

And you're going to answer to me. 602s

He says, will you even put me in the wrong? 604s

Will you condemn me that you may be justified? 608s

I am glad I'm not in Job's shoes in that moment. 616s

And yet in my sinful nature, I am in Job's shoes. 620s

In our sinful nature, we are all in Job's shoes because don't we all at some time 632s

in some place demand answers from God? 640s

Why, God? 647s

Why did I lose my job? 652s

Why did my kid get sick? 655s

Why am I living in this place in this time? 659s

Why can't I have that? 665s

Why can't I be this? 669s

Why, why, why? 673s

In every arrogance, we demand answers to our why, just as Job did. 679s

We accuse God of being in the wrong through our fault. 695s

And we hold Him responsible according to our wisdom and our wants. 707s

Who indeed are you? 725s

A human being to argue with God? 730s

Who are we to find fault with God? 738s

You're so arrogant, so arrogant to think that we like Job can demand answers from the Lord. 743s

That God owes us, owes us an answer. 752s

Even if He did answer us, we wouldn't understand. 764s

And remember His judgments, His ways are unsertable, are inscrutable. 770s

For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor or who has given 785s

a gift to Him to receive a gift in return. 791s

God does not consult us and God does not need to consult us. 797s

In the 50th Psalm, I love it. 803s

He says, if I were hungry, I would not tell you for the world and its fullness are 805s

mine. 813s

In Job 41, verse 11, I like the translation of the ESV where God says, who has first 815s

given to me that I should repay Him as if we have done something so wonderful for God 822s

that He owes it to us, that He owes us answers, that He owes us our anything. 830s

God was is and always will be and we dare demand an answer from Him. 840s

The Lord does not need us. 857s

If He were hungry, He would not tell us. 862s

The Lord is sovereign and Almighty over everything. 866s

And we, we think we can give Him some advice. 874s

He needs nothing, nothing from us. 881s

And yet we need everything from Him. 888s

The depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsertible are His judgments 897s

and how inscrutable His ways, for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been 904s

asked in return, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be the 915s

glory forever, amen. 926s

From through to God created out of His wisdom without consulting mankind. 931s

And God creates a new through Jesus Christ without consulting mankind. 943s

And it's a good thing that He did not consult mankind because recreation through Jesus Christ 957s

is possibly the craziest theory or idea or truth that is out there. 964s

It is the most difficult to understand. 973s

In fact, God speaks of this in first Corinthians through Paul, where He says, for since 977s

in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided through 985s

the foolishness of our proclamation to save those who believe, for Jews' demands signs 991s

and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews 998s

and foolishness to Gentiles. 1005s

But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom 1008s

of God. 1015s

To God be the glory because He is who we are not. 1018s

In the wisdom of this world, we do not say where can we find life a new? 1030s

Oh, in a man who has died upon a cross. 1038s

That is not wise to our little minds. 1042s

It is not wise to us to say, let me give of my life, holy and completely. 1046s

Let me take your sin upon myself. 1055s

Let me make sure you live in the presence of the God of our fathers. 1058s

And yet in his wisdom, in his mercy, in his grace, that is exactly what God does. 1068s

Through Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, He says, let me take all of your arrogance. 1080s

Let me take all of your demands. 1087s

Let me take all of your sin that you have thought done. 1090s

Left undone. 1099s

Let me take that. 1100s

And in its place, I am going to give you perfection. 1104s

I am going to give you new life through me. 1109s

And I am going to continue to sustain you in this new life. 1115s

How am I going to do this? 1121s

Why I am going to do this by washing you in the waters of baptism and sealing you in my name, 1123s

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 1131s

And every time you enter into the sanctuary, you will receive that word over and over again, 1134s

making sure that you know you are a beloved and forgiven child of mine. 1142s

And if that's not enough, I am going to feed you with myself, with the tangible forgiveness 1150s

that you may taste, you may see, you may smell, you may ingest the tangible forgiveness. 1161s

Would we ever come up with that? 1177s

No, no, we could never come up with such a promise of grace and mercy and love. 1181s

And yet God, in His wisdom, before creation, made this to be so. 1195s

Why? 1215s

Why? 1217s

The question why leads to what? 1221s

Another question of why? 1225s

And another question of why? 1227s

And then yet again, another question of why? 1228s

And in chapter 9 through 11 in Romans, Paul addresses why after why, after why? 1232s

Until he comes to the only response that he can come to, that any of us can come to, 1241s

that the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God are unsurgeable, his ways are inscrutable. 1251s

So we will never have the full wisdom and answer that we desire, but we have the full redemption 1259s

and mercy and grace that we so desperately need. 1274s

And it is given to us out of the goodness and the grace and the mercy of God, from Him, through 1282s

Him and to Him are all things to Him be the glory forever, amen. 1295s

And as a parent, I always tried to answer questions to my children, the why questions with 1306s

another, a sound answer and that would lead to another why. 1315s

And at some point, I finally had to get to be cut. 1320s

And that my brothers and sisters is what we get to. 1327s

Why does God love us? 1336s

Why did Jesus die on the cross? 1339s

Why was that sacrifice accepted? 1341s

Why are we so blessed to be called as his own beloved children? 1344s

Why have we been trusted to share his good word with our brothers and sisters around us? 1349s

Why does He love us so? 1357s

Because? 1365s

Because. 1369s