FCC Canon City

08/31/2026

Vessels of Mercy and Vessels of Wrath
Romans 9:14–24

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 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.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens 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, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 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? 22 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, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Few passages in Scripture provoke more visceral objection than Romans 9. Paul’s teaching on God’s sovereign choice in election and reprobation strikes at the deepest assumptions of human autonomy. How can God choose some for salvation and pass over others? How can He hold people accountable for sins that they were ordained to commit? Is this not unjust?

Paul does not flinch from the objection. He states it plainly in verse 14: “Is there injustice on God’s part?” He then answers with equal plainness: “By no means!” He develops his argument by using the image of a potter and his clay (vv. 20–21). Does the clay have the right to demand an explanation from the one who formed it? The Creator has the sovereign right to do with His creation as He pleases, and what He pleases is always consistent with His perfect justice, wisdom, and goodness.

This does not resolve every philosophical tension, and Paul does not pretend that it does. The relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility remains, at some level, a mystery that finite minds cannot fully pe*****te. But Paul gives two truths that we must hold together, even when we cannot see precisely how they fit.

First, God’s decree of reprobation is described in passive terms. Verse 22 speaks of “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.” The verb is passive, suggesting that these vessels are left in the condition into which they have fallen rather than actively pushed into it. God does not create evil or coerce anyone to sin; He permits some to remain in the sinfulness that they have freely chosen, and in so doing He displays the reality of His just wrath against sin.

Second, God’s decree of election is described in active terms. Verse 23 speaks of “vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory,” and here the verb is active, for God Himself prepares these vessels for their glorious destiny. Election is not a response to foreseen faith but the sovereign, gracious act of a God who chooses to love those who deserve only condemnation.

The purpose of this double decree is ultimately doxological; it is meant to “make known the riches of his glory” (v. 23). When we see that we have been chosen not because of anything in ourselves but solely because of God’s mercy, the only fitting response is worship. The doctrine of election is meant to humble us, comfort us, and move us to praise the God who loved us before we ever loved Him.

Living before the face of God

If we know Christ today, it is because the Father set His love upon us before we drew our first breath. This truth is meant not to evoke idle speculation but to prompt humble adoration. May the doctrine of election drive us to our knees in gratitude, marveling that the God of all grace chose to make us His own.

Works Cited

Daily Studies.“August” 2026 Tabletalk: “The Tongue”, Tabletalk Magazine; Ligonier Ministries Store.” Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/August-2026-tabletalk magazine accessed 31 August 2026.

“OpenAI.” Romans 9:14-24. ChatGPT, 31 August. 2026. AI-generated image.

“The Reformation Study Bible ESV.”Edited by R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/collection/the-reformation-study-bible-1. Accessed 31 August 2026.

08/30/2026

By grace we have everything we need in our walk with Christ.

08/24/2026

Growing in Grace and Knowledge

2 Peter 3:17–18

“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

Peter closes his final letter to the church not with a lament but with an exhortation and a doxology. Having spent three chapters warning against false teaching, exposing the character of false teachers, and emphasizing the certainty of Christ’s return, he leaves his readers with a single imperative that captures the whole of the Christian life: “Grow” (2 Peter 3:18).

The warning comes first. In verse 17, Peter reminds his readers that they have been forewarned; they know that false teachers will arise, they know the marks of error, and they know the danger of being “carried away” by the influence of lawless men. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. With knowledge comes responsibility, and the responsibility here is vigilance.

But Peter does not end with warning. He ends with growth. The Christian life is not a static holding pattern in which we merely avoid error and wait for Christ to return; it is a dynamic, forward-moving journey of increasing intimacy with the Lord Jesus. We are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 18).

Notice that grace comes first. Growth in the Christian life begins with grace, the unmerited favor of God that saved us and that sustains us at every stage of our journey. We grow in grace as we come to understand more deeply how dependent we are on it, as we learn to receive it more freely, and as we extend it more generously to others. The means by which we grow in grace are the ordinary means that God has appointed: the preaching of the Word, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and prayer, through which the Spirit nourishes our faith and conforms us to the image of Christ.

Knowledge follows grace, and the two are inseparable. The knowledge that Peter has in mind stands in contrast to the pretentious, esoteric knowledge of the false teachers described in this entire letter. Their “knowledge” was speculative and self-serving; the knowledge that Peter commends is the personal, relational knowledge of Jesus Christ that deepens as we walk with Him through the ordinary and extraordinary circumstances of life.
The letter ends with glory ascribed to Jesus Christ. Peter’s final word is one of worship. Whatever challenges the church may face, the glory belongs to Christ “both now and to the day of eternity.” That doxology is the ultimate answer to every heresy and the ultimate expression of every truth that Peter has taught.

Living before the face of God

Peter’s letter ends not with a warning but with worship, reminding us that the glory belongs to Christ alone. Let us pursue growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Savior through the ordinary means that He has appointed: Word, sacrament, and prayer. In these, the Spirit nourishes and deepens what He has begun.

Works Cited
Daily Studies.“August” 2026 Tabletalk: “The Tongue”, Tabletalk Magazine; Ligonier Ministries Store.” Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/August-2026-tabletalk magazine accessed 24 August 2026.

“OpenAI.” 2 Peter 3:17-18. ChatGPT, 24 August. 2026. AI-generated image.

“The Reformation Study Bible ESV.”Edited by R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/collection/the-reformation-study-bible-1. Accessed 24 August 2026.

08/23/2026

Sermon from 08-23-2026

08/23/2026

08/17/2026

The Patience of a Merciful God
2 Peter 3:9–10
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed."

In our last study, Peter reminded us that God’s relationship to time is radically different from our own, for a thousand years are as one day in His sight (2 Peter 3:8). Now he explains the purpose behind what the scoffers have mistaken for delay. Why has Jesus not yet returned? Peter’s answer transforms the question entirely: The apparent delay is not a sign of God’s indifference or inability but a display of His mercy. “The Lord . . . is patient toward you,” Peter writes, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (v. 9).

Some have read this verse as a denial of the Reformed doctrine of election, reasoning that if God does not wish anyone to perish, He must intend to save every individual without exception. But the context will not support this reading. Peter is writing to a specific audience of believers, and his pronouns reflect this. God is patient toward “you,” the community of the faithful. He is unwilling that any of His chosen people should fail to come to repentance before the end arrives. The seemingly long interval between the first and second advents exists because God has purposed to gather in every last one of His elect.

This is a breathtaking display of divine commitment. The delay that frustrates us is, in fact, the patience that saves us. Some who will believe tomorrow have not yet believed today. Some who will repent next year are still running from God this year. The continued turning of the earth is evidence not of a broken promise but of a relentless mercy.

Yet Peter immediately adds a sobering counterpoint. The Lord’s patience has a limit. Christ’s return will come “like a thief” (v. 10), suddenly, without warning, at an hour that no one expects. When that day arrives, “the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” The Greek word rendered “exposed” carries courtroom overtones; it is the language of evidence being laid bare before a judge, and the ungodly works done on earth will be revealed and brought to account as the present order is swept away. The juxtaposition of patience and suddenness is deliberate: God’s mercy should not be mistaken for permission to delay repentance. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is promised to no one.

Living before the face of God

Every day that the Lord tarries is a day of mercy for someone who has not yet believed. Rather than growing impatient with the wait, let us marvel at the grace that has kept the door open long enough for us to enter. And let us not presume upon that patience, for the day of the Lord will come without warning.

Works Cited
Daily Studies.“August” 2026 Tabletalk: “The Tongue”, Tabletalk Magazine; Ligonier Ministries Store.” Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/August-2026-tabletalk magazine accessed 17 August 2026.

“OpenAI.” 2 Peter 3:9-10. ChatGPT, 17 August. 2026. AI-generated image.

“The Reformation Study Bible ESV.”Edited by R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/collection/the-reformation-study-bible-1. Accessed 17 August 2026.

08/16/2026

Sermon from 08-16-2026
Scripture: 2 Peter 3:14-https://youtu.be/kMinv1O8g_w

08/10/2026

Stirring up Remembrance
2 Peter 3:1–2

“This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.”

Having devoted the whole of 2 Peter 2 to exposing the character, methods, and destiny of the false teachers, Peter now opens the final chapter of his letter by returning to a theme that he introduced at the beginning: the vital importance of remembering the truth. In 2 Peter 1:12–15, he expressed his determination to remind believers of the fundamental truths of the faith even though they already knew them. Now, as he prepares to address the denial of Christ’s return, he again calls his readers to remember.

What is it that we are to remember? Peter identifies two sources: “the predictions of the holy prophets” and “the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles” (3:2). These correspond to the Old and New Testaments. Peter places the words of the prophets and the words of the Apostles on the same plane because both ultimately come from the same source: God Himself. This is a significant claim, for it means that the Apostolic writings carry the same divine authority as the prophetic Scriptures that Israel had long received as the Word of God.

In biblical usage, remembering involves bringing past truths to bear on present circumstances. When Israel was commanded to “remember” the exodus, the purpose was not nostalgia but obedience, for remembering what God had done was meant to produce faithfulness to what God had commanded. Similarly, Peter wants his readers to recall the prophetic and Apostolic word so that they will not be swayed by the false teachers who deny it.

The primary defense against false teaching is not sophisticated theological argument, though argument has its place. The primary defense is deep familiarity with the truth. Christians who are saturated in Scripture will instinctively recognize when something does not fit. As Dr. R.C. Sproul often illustrated, the best way to detect counterfeit currency is not to study every possible forgery but to become so intimately acquainted with the genuine article that the counterfeit is immediately obvious.

Peter’s reminder also underscores the continuity of God’s revelation. The prophets who foretold Christ’s coming and the Apostles who proclaimed His gospel are united in a single testimony, and the false teachers’ attempt to drive a wedge between the old covenant promises and the new covenant proclamation fails, for the two belong together, forming one coherent witness to the truth of God.

Living before the face of God

We cannot recall what we have never learned. Peter’s command to remember assumes that the truths of Scripture have been planted in our minds through patient, repeated exposure. Let us give ourselves to the regular reading and hearing of God’s Word so that when error presents itself, we are able to recognize what does not belong.

Works Cited
Daily Studies.“August” 2026 Tabletalk: “The Tongue”, Tabletalk Magazine; Ligonier Ministries Store.” Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/August-2026-tabletalk magazine accessed 10 August 2026.

“OpenAI.” 2 Peter 3:1-2. ChatGPT, 10 August. 2026. AI-generated image.

“The Reformation Study Bible ESV.”Edited by R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/store/collection/the-reformation-study-bible-1. Accessed 10 August 2026.

08/09/2026

Sermon from 08-09-2026

We are to serve faithfully to what God calls us to do.Scripture: R...