John Chapter Three: The road to salvation – we study Paul's letter to the Romans: Romans Chapter 9

Documentation Published on 10 September 2024

The Road to Salvation – We Study Paul's Letter to the Romans, Chapter 9

Paul’s own people

Where Paul wrote in Romans 5 to 8 about the salvation of all, he now focuses on his own people, the Jews, and the chosen people, Israel. First, he confirms that what he is about to say is the truth and that the Holy Spirit is a witness to it. What does he confirm? He speaks of great sadness, an inner hurt, and an unceasing sorrow in his heart. He is sad, and it doesn't stop. He experiences so much pain over their condition that he desires to be an unbeliever himself if it would mean that they would come to salvation.

In verse four he mentions that they are Israelites and are automatically part of the promises of God, but they miss it. Nationality does not necessarily mean belief in God. However, it is necessary that he must now qualify who Israel really is. The lineage is very specific. Although Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, the former is not part of the nation of Israel, because the lineage goes through Isaac. See Genesis 21:12. Abraham's two sons stand for two directions in history:

The flesh – Ishmael

Let's read this story carefully. In Genesis 16 we see that Sarai herself decided that Abram should have a son with her slave Hagar. The result is the Arabs who would mostly become Muslims and are still a big headache for the world today. From the birth of Ishmael there was conflict, as there is still today. Ishmael is not the promised one. He is simply carnal, the result of a human need for offspring. Ishmael does become a great nation (Genesis 17:20 and 21:13), but this nation has no part in the promise. However, this does not mean that they cannot also be saved. Sarai's own decision that her husband should have a child with her slave was certainly not in God's perfect will. Perhaps Abram should not have listened to her.

The promise – Isaac

See Genesis 17:19; 18:10 and 21:1. Sarah did not believe it (18:12) but it proves that our inability cannot limit God. Isaac is the promise and through his line comes the promise of salvation and the Messiah.

Romans 9:8 is therefore clear – the children of the promise are the offspring. The line of promise cannot pass through every man's son, only those whom God has decided upon. It is the same with the next generation. There were two brothers, Esau and Jacob, but only one could be part of the promise, and it didn't necessarily have to be the oldest one. See Genesis 25:23 and Malachi 1:2-3. However, we must understand this passage in its proper context. The Lord hated the nation of Edom, which was the offspring of Esau. He did not hate Esau as an individual. Jacob is Israel and Esau is Edom (Psalm 83:7). God hates Edom as a nation because they delighted in the captivity of Israel. See Psalm 137.

We need to understand how words are used in the Bible. The word "hated" as used above was never intended as we use it today. See Luke 14:26. Here the word "hate" is used, but it rather means "choice". God did not hate Esau, but Esau was not his choice for the path to salvation. If you have to choose between two dishes, A and B, and you choose B, it does not mean you hate A. It is just that you made a choice to choose one over the other. B may still be a good dish to enjoy.

We can easily now think that God is unjust. However, he can decide himself how he wants to act. See Exodus 33:19. God can use anyone to accomplish his purposes. See Romans 9:17 and with it Exodus 9:16. We must not misunderstand this chapter to mean that God would have favourites. He never aims to save only certain people, but to save everyone. However, he saves those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. The works (verse 32) cannot save anyone. Let us look at some examples of his righteousness:

To Moses He says that He will have mercy on whom He wills, and He will have mercy on whom He wills. Doesn't that mean that anyone can come to Him? There is no exclusion here, rather complete inclusion (Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19).
To Pharaoh He says that He showed him His power so that Pharaoh would believe. The message of God's mercy was therefore made known to Pharaoh. However, he did not respond to it (Romans 9:17; Exodus 9:16).
The objects of honour and dishonour refer to Israel and the Gentiles. His glory is available to all, Jew and Gentile (Romans 9:24).
Israel was God's chosen people, but Hosea makes it clear that He also makes the Gentiles His people and loves them (Romans 9:25; Hosea 1:9-10).
Israel was indeed God's chosen people, but they still had to live in faith. However, most of them did not want to and therefore only a small portion is saved (Romans 9:27; Isaiah 10:22-23; 28:22). Were it not for God's grace, there would be nothing left of Israel (Romans 9:29; Isaiah 1:9).

The irony is that the Gentiles who did not pursue the law at all and stood aside obtained righteousness, while Israel who played the game received no prize. The reason is simple: Israel pursued works and even as God's chosen people it was not enough. They did not even repent when their Savior came into the world. Look at the words stone and rock. You may still trip over a stone in the dark and bump your foot, but a rock is so much bigger. You'd have to be stupid not to notice that. Israel did not see the Savior because they did not want to (Romans 9:32-33; Isaiah 8:14; 28:16).

For Israel today, two aspects of verse 33 apply: a stone of offense (most Jews today refuse to experience any guilt for their rejection of their Messiah, and they find the thought unacceptable) and a rock of stumbling (their entire belief system stumbles over the aspect of Jesus' coming as their Messiah, whom they rejected). The stone that was despised by the builders (Israel) became a cornerstone (of the Church) (Acts 4:11).

But those who believe will not be put to shame. In this context, "ashamed" means the following in Greek: καταισχυνθήσεται (kataischynthēsetai). This is probably the longest Greek word I have ever taught you. It simply means that the person who believes in Him will not be disappointed. The word is used only twice, in Romans 9:33 and 10:11. So I won't have to find out one day with disappointment that my faith was in vain.

Conclusion

We see the heart of Paul for his own people in this chapter. He himself was once also a zealot of the law who did everything "right" (Philippians 3:5-6). When God's grace came his way, he realized that what he was chasing was worthless. Now he wants to persuade his own people, but they are not interested. He goes on, in chapter 10, to explain that Israel has a zeal for God, but the knowledge of how God wants them to serve Him is not present. Chapter 10 builds on this. Go read it in the meantime as preparation for the next lesson.

Chapters

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The Road to Salvation – We study Paul's letter to the Romans

Paul’s own people

The flesh – Ishmael

The promise – Isaac

Conclusion

Chapters