[𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘖𝘋 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘡𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴”, 𝘣𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦.]

Mr. MacDonald introduced our new lesson this way (p 91): 

“Romans 9 is one of the key passages in the Bible on the sovereign election of GOD.  The next chapter sets forth the balancing truth – the responsibility of man – with equal vigor.

To say GOD is sovereign is simply to allow GOD to be GOD.  We should not be afraid of this Biblical truth or apologize for it.  It is a glorious truth, one that should cause us to worship Him.”

Paul was speaking to Jewish believers who were suddenly unsure or insecure in the original covenant promises GOD made to their nation. GOD chose them, not because of any good in them (Deuteronomy 7:7, 9:5), but simply because it was His prerogative to do so. 

GOD chose Isaac’s line rather than Ishmael’s, and Jacob’s line rather than Esau’s to be the one through whom the promised Messiah would come, the Deliverer that was promised to all of humankind when GOD promised Adam and Eve that a Savior would come. He chose Israel as the nation who would be His witness to the rest of the world.  His detailed instructions to them pointed faithfully to His Son who would come as their Redeemer.

Now that JESUS had come and redemption had been secured, the sorrow Paul felt was that most of Israel didn’t get it and rejected CHRIST. So, GOD chose to use those who believed in JESUS to extend the message of redemption to the Gentiles.

Jews who may have felt exclusive beneficiaries of their covenant promises were suddenly feeling that this was not fair and Paul reminded them that none of us has the right to question GOD’s choosing. He chooses to use whom He will, how He wishes, to make Himself known and draw all men to Himself.

The Gospel Coalition offered this bigger-picture perspective:

“A PEOPLE.  What is GOD doing in history?  Making a Name for Himself by gathering a people to Himself.  Paul makes this reality a major theme of his letter to the Romans, wanting his recipients to know that GOD has neither abandoned His promises to the Jews nor neglected the needs of the Godless Gentiles.  Instead, He is assembling for Himself a people out of every tongue, tribe, and nation (Rev 5:9-10).  And to make his case to the Jewish readers, he reminds them that this has been GOD’s plan all along, throughout all the Scriptures (9:24-29).

ISRAEL and THE CHURCH.  The teaching of Romans 9:6-8 (and the verses following) is complex.  Throughout Romans, Paul wants to make it clear that GOD’s promises to Israel are irrevocable and certain.  At the same time, he is opening up the understanding of those promises, explaining how they have been filled out in CHRIST and His gospel mission.  This is not the same thing as saying that CHRIST’s work is innovative, only that it was not entirely expected.  

Throughout the Gospels, we see the followers of JESUS surprised by many of the things He did, leading up to and including His crucifixion.  Yet at the same time we can see these things predicted in the Old Testament.  So, the clues were there all along, but the expectations did not match.  

We do not always see the things in the room clearly until the light is turned on.  This is what the New Testament is: a light turned on by which to see everything, including the landscape of the Old Testament.  CHRIST is Himself the key that makes sense of all that GOD has been doing down through history.  

So, when Paul gets to Romans 9:6-8, he wants us to know that GOD has not failed in his promises to Israel; it’s just that “Israel” isn’t limited to ethnic Israel.  “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (9:6).  The children of the promise are descendants of Abraham.  This is good tidings of great joy for all people – GOD keeps His promises to His people (Israel) and this includes non-Jews.”

GOD’s choice from before time was to send a Redeemer, to save all who would turn to Him and trust in His Son. This includes any Jew or Gentile who turns to Him – they will not be disgraced (outside of His grace) but will be counted as children of Abraham by faith.

.   .   .

Paul’s took time to address anticipated questions raised by his strong statements about the sovereignty of GOD in salvation, “GOD chooses people according to His own purposes; He calls people, but not according to their good or bad works” (9:11-12):

• “Are we saying that GOD is unfair?” (9:14)
• “Why does GOD blame people for not responding?  Haven’t they simply done what He makes them do?” (9:19)

Paul turned to several Old Testament passages to respond to these questions:

• “GOD said to Moses, ‘I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.’  So, it is GOD who decides to show mercy.  We can neither choose it nor work for it.” (9:15-16)
• “GOD told Pharaoh, ‘I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying My power in you…’  So you see, GOD chooses to show mercy to some, and He chooses to [further] harden the hearts of others who refuse to listen.” (9:17-18)
• Paul then refers to Isaiah 64:8, “O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, You are the Potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” … “Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with GOD?  Should the thing that was created say to the One who created it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (9:20)

In our Emmaus study, Mr. MacDonald explained it this way (p 94-96):

“Who can say that the Most High, the LORD of heaven and earth, does not have the right to show mercy and compassion (9:15)?  All men are condemned by their own sin and unbelief.  Left to themselves, they would all perish.  In addition to extending a genuine Gospel invitation to all people, GOD chooses some to be special objects of His grace.  But this does not mean He arbitrarily chooses the others to be condemned; they are already condemned because they are lifelong sinners and have rejected the Gospel.  Those who are chosen can thank GOD for His grace; those who are lost have no one to blame but themselves. …

Grace rejected is grace denied.  GOD has the right to show mercy to whomever He wishes and to harden whomever He wishes.  But because He is GOD, He never acts unjustly.  The apostle rebukes the insolence of any creature who dares to find fault with his Creator (9:20).  Finite man, laden with sin, ignorance, and weakness, is in no position to talk to GOD or to question the wisdom or justice of His ways. …

In verse 21, Paul uses the illustration of the potter and the clay to vindicate the sovereignty of GOD.  The potter comes into his shop one day and sees a pile of formless clay on the floor.  He picks up a handful of it, puts it on his wheel, and fashions a beautiful vessel.  Does he not have the right to do that?

GOD has the absolute right to make a vessel of beauty with some of the clay and a vessel of dishonor with some.  In a situation where everyone is unworthy, He can bestow His blessings where He chooses and withhold them whenever He wishes.

Who can object if GOD wishes to show the treasures of His glory to people to whom He desires to show mercy – people whom He has previously selected for eternal glory (9:23)?  GOD does not fit vessels of wrath to destruction, but He does fit vessels of mercy to glory.  Paul identifies the vessels of mercy as those of us who are Christians whom GOD called from both the Jew and Gentile worlds (9:24).  This lays the foundation for much that is to follow – the setting aside of all but a remnant of the nation of Israel, and the call of the Gentiles to a place of privilege.

These additional thoughts from the Gospel Coalition greatly helped to clarify these difficult truths for me:

“SOVEREIGN MERCY.  Romans 9:16 is unassailable encouragement.  “So, then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on GOD, who has mercy.”  When GOD sets His merciful designs on a person He will capture them in His grace.  This is a blow to human pride, yet it is also profound encouragement.  Look to CHRIST.  Trust GOD.  He is mighty to save. 

UPSIDE-DOWN APPROVAL.  The gospel disrupts all our intuitive expectations about how GOD’s favor is secured.  Paul tells us in the last four verse of Romans 9 that so many Jews have stumbled because they sought to be right with GOD based on their own performance – “as if it were based on works” (9:32).  Not only many Jews then, but many of us today live in accord with our natural instructs, which insist on securing GOD’s approval through some degree of self-generated moral contribution.  The gospel confounds this natural reflex with the startling declaration that we are put right with GOD not by anything we bring to the table, but only and ever through “a righteousness that is by faith” (9:30).

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IN SALVATION.  Romans 9:11-18 develops a difficult yet profoundly comforting teaching: Salvation is authored by GOD’s sovereign grace, not by human free choice.  Indeed, left to human free will, no one would ever choose GOD, for we are all desperately wicked and spiritually “dead” (Eph 2:5).  Paul teaches that those who trust in JESUS were predestined to do so in the wisdom of GOD’s electing purposes, having been wooed in the course of their lives with invincible love.

Anticipating our natural response of ascribing injustice to GOD’s utter sovereignty, he then reminds us in a gentle rebuke that GOD is GOD.  Because He is perfectly holy, whatever He does is the right thing to do, even if we do not understand or approve of it.  We must let Him be GOD.  If we dictate to GOD what He must be like, then we are not in fact worshiping GOD – we are worshiping an idol, for it is a god of our own making.  

Moreover, the ultimate purpose in GOD’s sovereignty over salvation is the magnification of His own glory (9:17).  When we insist on salvation by our own initiative, we proclaim our own glory, making GOD’s saving purposes all about us, as if we were in charge of Him at this point.  Nevertheless, GOD’s glory and our good are wonderfully bound together: “He exalts Himself to show mercy to you” (Isaiah 30:18).”

.   .   .

In the final section of Romans 9, Paul turned to a few more Old Testament passages to explain how Jews and Gentiles have lived out a history that was foretold generations before the foundation of their fledgling churches.

Paul referenced two verses from Hosea originally spoken to the Jewish people who had been unfaithful to GOD.  They called themselves “not GOD’s people” – and others watching them called them this as well.  But GOD was saying He will still call them “My people” because of His faithfulness to His own promises.  Although many still reject Him, GOD will be faithful to preserve the small remnant of those who do trust Him.

Paul was now applying that truth to the Gentiles as well. Those who were “not His people” were now welcomed in to benefit from the covenant promises secured by CHRIST.

In our Emmaus study, Mr. MacDonald shared these thoughts about Paul’s use of an Old Testament passage in a New Testament context (p 97):

“The Spirit-inspired apostle quotes two verses from Hosea to show that the call of the Gentiles should not have come as a surprise to the Jewish people (9:25).  Hosea 2:23 actually refers to Israel looking forward to the time when she will be restored as GOD’s people and as His Beloved.  But when Paul quotes it here in Romans, he applies it to the call of the Gentiles.  What right does Paul have to make such a radical change?  The answer is that the Holy Spirit, who inspired the words in the first place, has the right to reinterpret or reapply them later.

The second verse, quoted from Hosea 1:10, was, once again, in its OT setting, not speaking about the Gentiles, but describing Israel’s future restoration to GOD’s favor.  Yet here, Paul takes it out of context and applies it to GOD’s acknowledgement of the Gentiles as His sons (9:26).  This illustrates again the fact that when the Holy Spirit quotes verses from the OT in the NT, He can rightfully apply them as He wishes.”

Paul then referenced several passages from Isaiah to confirm the state of GOD’s chosen nation, their unbelief, the danger of their extinction because they stumble over the cornerstone of CHRIST, but GOD’s grace in preserving a remnant of people who genuinely trust Him, placing their faith in His Son (9:27-33).

.   .   .

As Paul said in verse 30, “what does all this mean?” Jew or Gentile, anyone who places their faith in CHRIST will receive GOD’s gracious promises and will be counted among His chosen people! 

GOD’s choice from before time was to send a Redeemer, to save all who would trust in His Son. This includes any Jew or Gentile who turns to Him – they are all recipients of His amazing grace!  

In the next chapter, we will study the second half of the story – man’s free will and responsibility to respond to GOD’s gracious provision of salvation through faith in JESUS.  For now, it is great comfort to know that He provided redemption, that His own Spirit draws our hearts to trust JESUS as our Savior, and that all true believers can confidently say they were chosen by GOD before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

You are a chosen people. … GOD’s very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of GOD, for He called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  (1 Peter 2:9, NLT)

RESOURCES:

“The Letter to the ROMANS,” by William MacDonald, Emmaus Worldwide, 2020, Revised 2023.

The Bible Project, video summary of the book of Romans, Parts 1 & 2.

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans-1-4/

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans-5-16/

“Knowing the Bible: Romans”, by Jared C. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition,  thegospelcoalition.org .