Chosen

Romans 11:1-12

The descendants of Israel (Jacob) are known as God’s chosen people.

Even today, if one speaks of the “chosen people,” most people understand this is a reference to the Jews.

Along with the association of the Jews with the “chosen people,” the land now occupied by the nation of Israel is known as “the promised land.” The terms “chosen people” and “promised land” have a long and storied history, dating back to the time of Abraham. The bulk of our Bible contains the history, law, poetry and prophets of the chosen people, and most of the events and stories we study and teach in the Church took place in the Promised Land.

God promised much to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the nation of Israel. Jeremiah 31:3 says:

Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT)

However, it does not seem like God has shown much love to Israel.

Less than 100 years ago, one of the mightiest nations on earth tried to wipe the Jews from the face of the earth, and millions were murdered. In 1948, Israel’s neighbors tried to destroy the new nation and were defeated. In 1967, Egypt, Syria and Jordan tried to destroy Israel again. Even to this day, there remains a sizable portion of the Middle East that would like nothing more than to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth.

For centuries, Israel did not exist as a nation, and it did not appear that God loved Israel. One might ask, even now, if God has rejected His people. Humans break relationships all the time. We make promises to have and to hold, to honor and to cherish until parted by death, and we break these promises. Many know the sting and pain of being rejected outright as relationships end. Experience has taught us that we can expect promises to be broken.

Along these lines, schools of thought exist in the Church that interpret history as revealing that God has rejected His people. One common interpretation is that the Church has replaced Israel and references to Israel in prophecy are interpreted allegorically. This is an error. While the Church certainly partakes of the promises and grace extended to Israel, Romans 11, along with other passages, makes it clear that Israel still has a place in God’s plan.

Even from the earliest days of the Church, as Gentile believers became more numerous, the question of the place of Israel in God’s plan became an issue. Thus, in Romans, Paul addresses the place of Israel in God’s plan. This is the subject of Romans 9-11. 

Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles. The other 12 Apostles ministered to the Jewish people. The Church was Jewish. However, the Church grew like wildfire among the Gentiles. At the end of Romans 10, Paul explains how God was found by those who did not seek Him, referring to the salvation of the Gentiles. And then, he quotes Isaiah 65:2, calling Israel a disobedient and contrary people.

With the salvation of the Gentiles and the contrariness of Israel as the background, Paul asks a question:

I ask then, has God rejected his people? (Romans 11:1, ESV)

He answers His own question immediately with “By no means!”

He follows this with an explanation of how Israel remains God’s chosen people, but not all of them are saved yet. They are chosen, but a partial hardening has happened for a time. Today, we are going to look at Romans 11:1-12 where three concepts in God’s plan are introduced. Those three concepts are:

1. The Remnant (Verses 1-6)
2. The Hardening (Verses 7-10)
3. The Fullness (Verses 11-12)

Israel remains God’s chosen people. However at the present time only a remnant is saved. 

Paul uses himself as an example. He says:

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. (Romans 11:1 ESV)

Paul gives his lineage as an Israelite to show that God has not rejected His people. A complete rejection would mean that he, as an Israelite, would not be saved.

The Israelites were contrary throughout their history. In ancient Israel, when Ahab was king and Jezebel was queen (874-853 BC), the nation of Israel rejected God and replaced Him with the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Jezebel led in the persecution of the prophets of the Lord and many of them were put to death. This led to the statement that Paul quotes in Romans 11:2-4.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." (Romans 11:2-4 ESV)

While it seemed to Elijah that all of Israel had abandoned God for the Baals and the Ashtoreths, God says He kept seven thousand men for Himself. These seven thousand then serve as an illustration of what verse 5 calls a “remnant.”  Verse 5 says:

So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. (Romans 11:5 ESV)

God, even to this day, has kept a remnant of His people. It is sad that only a small percentage of Israelites accept Jesus as their Messiah. However, those that clearly identify themselves as Jewish and believers in Jesus number over 350,000 world-wide. (This would make the current remnant to be at just over 2 percent of the total Jewish population.)

Paul makes it clear about this remnant that they are chosen by grace. In verse 2, he says that God has not rejected His people “whom he foreknew.” Once again, we are confronted with both the foreknowledge and choosing of God. This is important for us to know because as Paul points out, the election or choosing of God is based on grace. God knew (foreknowledge) that Israel would reject Him, but He chose them anyway. This is grace. This is what is referred to in Jeremiah 31:3 when He says, “With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” God’s grace is unfailing.

However, when we choose to reject His grace, there are consequences. We do not derail His plans, but we suffer for our rejection. The remnant reflects God’s unfailing grace, but the consequences of rejection are reflected in the hardening.

This is the second concept we will look at in relation to Israel in God’s plan: the hardening.

Verse 7 starts with a question, “What then?”

As a side note, you might notice that the three concepts we are looking at today are each introduced by a question. Each concept leads to the next as questions arise. 

The whole of verse 7 says:

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, (Romans 11:7 ESV)

Israel was seeking. In Romans 10, Paul said:

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. (Romans 10:2-3 ESV)

In these verses, we see that they were seeking to establish their own righteousness, and they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Romans 11:7 says they “failed to obtain” what they were seeking. The elect, the chosen remnant, did obtain it. We have already seen that there are those who have received the grace of God and who are not trying to establish their own righteousness. Their salvation is by grace alone (Romans 11:6). The non-elect, the rest, it is said are hardened.

Their hardening takes place in two parts. 

First, we see that they are given a spirit of stupor, or eyes that do not see. (Romans 11:8)

When we refuse to receive the message of truth, even what we do receive is quickly lost. In the parable of the sower and the seeds, Jesus likened the truth to seeds that were sown. Seeds that landed on the path, or hardened soil, were soon snatched up by birds. This is what happens when the truth comes to those who are hardened against the truth. 2 Corinthians 4 tells us:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ESV)

This blindness is the first part of the hardening. The second follows after it like floods follow rain.

Romans 11:9 says:

And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; (Romans 11:9 ESV)

Imagine a table laden with good things. How does this become a snare and a trap?

This is a quote from Psalm 69. This Psalm contains a prophecy about the crucifixion of Jesus. To give you more of that context the verses involved say:

They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. (Psalms 69:21-22 ESV)

The “sour wine” is a foretelling of Jesus on the cross. The Israelites who gave up Jesus to be crucified had the Law of Moses. They had the prophets. They had this very Psalm of David that is being quoted. They were partakers in the mighty grace of God. These blessings were and are still theirs. Their table was piled high with blessings. However, these tremendous blessings were the trap that snared them because seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 

If we refuse the grace of God, the very grace we refuse becomes the trap that hardens us to the truth. The hardening of Israel has taken place in two parts. The first part was blindness because they refused the truth, and the second part was to stumble over the grace that would have saved them. 

This hardening brings us back to the original question, “Has God rejected His people?  In Romans 11:11, Paul asks:

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? (Romans 11:11 ESV)

This question is a little different than the question we started with. This is a question of why they stumbled. Therefore, while we are back to the original question, it is with the added purpose of seeking to understand why there is only a remnant and why there is a hardening.

The answer is astounding.

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. (Romans 11:11 ESV)

Here, the purpose of God is revealed in part. “Through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles.”

This is not some sort of backup plan. God foreknew the Israelites and He foreknew you and me. The Church and the salvation of the Gentiles have always been part of His plan. In Daniel, we have the prophecy of the seventy weeks. In that prophecy, we have a precise timetable for the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ took place precisely at the end of week 69. The seventieth week is still to take place. At the end of the seventieth week, Jesus will return and set up His kingdom, and all Israel will be saved.

This is what is meant by Romans 11:12.

Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! (Romans 11:12 ESV)

These words “full inclusion” are referring to the completion of God’s plan for the nation of Israel. “How much more will their full inclusion mean!” It is not a question. It is an exclamation.

While we might become confused and be conflicted about much of what happened to Israel, there is much we can learn about the purpose and working of God in our world and lives.

As we look at our own lives and families, we see the effects of grace and hardening. And, we may wonder about God’s working. However, I want to leave you with two thoughts.

First, Jesus will return, and it is going to be wonderful. Our present suffering will not be worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed.

Second, let’s remember the words of our Lord Jesus:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16 ESV)

A Contrary People

Romans 10

Ancient Israel serves as an example for us.

Their crossing of the Red Sea shows how God rescues His people from slavery. Their journey through the wilderness shows how God provides and cares for His people.

Pharaoh and his army chased the people and when they had nowhere to go, God opened a way through the Red Sea and drowned Pharaoh’s army in that same sea.

In 40 years in the wilderness, they received manna from heaven every day except the Sabbath. In addition, their clothes and shoes never wore out

God rescued and provided for His people.

1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us:

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV)

Both the good and the bad are included in the example. God’s provision and God’s judgment are examples for us. The Israelites’ wanderings and grumblings, as well as their victories are examples for us.

God is not finished with Israel, as Romans 11 makes clear. However, they serve as a picture of what God’s rescue and deliverance of all mankind looks like.

In Romans 10, the Apostle Paul discusses Israel’s failure to apprehend the salvation that God provided. He discusses three bridges they needed to cross in order to receive the salvation God offered.

First, Paul takes us back to the subject that he began in the first verse of chapter 9, his desire for his kinsmen according to the flesh to be saved. He says:

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1 ESV)

In chapter 9, he said that he wished that he could be cursed in order to save them. He was willing to die for them, and here in chapter 10, he is saying he petitions God for their salvation. However, he recognizes that they have not only stumbled over the stumbling stone (Chapter 9), but they also have some obstacles to recognize and cross, for this they need bridges.

The first bridge is knowledge.

His discussion of this is found in verses 2-4.

In verse 2, he recognizes that they have a zeal for God, but the problem with their zeal is that it is not according to knowledge.

Zeal for God is good and necessary. However, ignorant zeal can be dangerous. Zeal without knowledge strengthens us in our ignorance, or in other words, hardens us to the truth.

According to verse 3, Israel was ignorant of God’s righteousness, and therefore tried to establish its own. This is true of all of humanity. We try to establish our own righteousness, and, consequently, do not submit to God’s righteousness.

The important knowledge that Israel remained ignorant of is given in verse 4:

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4 ESV)

The first bridge that anyone who would be saved, Israelite or otherwise, must cross is that of knowledge. We all must come to the truth that we are not saved by any righteousness of our own. Many remain unsaved simply because of ignorance.

However, for those who come to the truth that we are not saved by any righteousness of our own, another obstacle comes up that must be bridged.

The second bridge is the message.

Verse 5-13 cover the message.

Romans 10:5 starts the section on the message by bringing up what Moses writes about the law that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. It is at this place that the message becomes objectionable to many people, because the law makes it abundantly clear that not one of us can ever manage to keep the whole law without stumbling at any point.

Therefore, the message moves forward with the statement:

But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). (Romans 10:6-7 ESV)

The “ascending into heaven” and “descending into the abyss” is about human effort. We make saints out of people who seem to us to be spiritual giants. To us, it seems like our saints have managed to climb all the way to heaven by their great holiness and spirituality. Some even try to emulate saints by talking holy, praying holy and using holy words in all their speech. The message starts with abandoning all efforts at making yourself holy or righteous, not even suggesting it in your heart.

Once we come to this point, the message is simple. Are you ready? Here it is:

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:8-10 ESV)

From this, we gather that salvation is a mouth and heart issue, with the mouth one confesses and with the heart one believes. Notice no works are mentioned here. By believing, we are justified. By confessing, we are saved.

Another obstacle that we humans have to accepting this message is our prejudices. The Israelites thought that since God gave the message through them, they were the only ones to whom the message applied. In other words, they thought they were the only ones who could be saved. We are all tempted to think in these terms. If you are not born into the right family, do not even try. Well, this might be the human way, but it is not God’s way. Romans 10:12-13 says:

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:12-13 ESV)

Salvation is for any person who will believe in their heart and confess with their mouth. Salvation is for any person who will believe.

Understanding this message, is the second bridge that we must cross to enjoy the salvation that God offers. However, along with knowledge and the message, another bridge must be crossed. This bridge is really the determining factor. As Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes and is justified.” The third bridge is the bridge to the heart.

If one is ignorant, knowledge must be given or received before one can even begin to think about salvation. And if belief is required for salvation, then the message must be understood before one can partake of salvation. In the transition to considering the heart, Paul points out the truth of the antecedent bridges of knowledge and the message. Romans 10:14 says:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14 ESV)

A person cannot believe in someone they have never heard of. This is obvious, and it points out the obvious need of a messenger. This is why Jesus told us to preach the gospel to all nations and to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into the harvest.

A person cannot believe in someone they have never heard of. This is why verse 15 says:

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:15 ESV)

While this has much to do with our mission as a church, it does not cross the final bridge. Verse 16 points out the difficulty.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" (Romans 10:16 ESV)

The difficulty is that not everyone believes when they hear and even understand the message. Romans 10:18 makes it clear that Israel heard the message. In addition, it refers to Psalm 19:4 when it says, “Their voice has gone out to all the earth.” Romans 1 already told us that mankind is without excuse because God has made His existence and glory obvious in His creation. However, Romans 10, verses 19-20 addressing whether or not Israel understood the message, do not say that they understood the message. Rather, God says He will make them jealous. Jealousy and the affections are a matter of the heart. While the message addresses the mind and the understanding, the heart must be addressed for one to make a decision.

Therefore, God says:

 “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” (Romans 10:21)

The word translated “contrary” here in verse 21 literally means to “say the opposite.” Another translation would be to “contradict.” Therefore, we have a picture of a people that say the opposite whenever they hear a word from God. God says something is good. So, they say it is bad. God says something is bad. So, they say it is good.

This was true of Israel. Jesus preached a message of repentance to them. Repentance means to change one’s mind and to agree with God. However, while many repented and believed on Him, the vast majority did not.

This is still true in our world today. While Christianity is the largest and fastest growing religion in the world today, the vast majority of people on the earth do not believe in Jesus. Many have not heard, and we must continue to labor until everyone hears. However, most have heard and do hear. The problem is the contrary heart.

People have many different reasons for resisting the Holy Spirit. Psalm 2 speaks of resistance to the Holy Spirit when it says:

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed... (Psalms 2:1-2 ESV)

Not just the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord. The people of the earth do the same. Although the message is almost universally available, the vast majority of people do not believe.

However, we do not need to despair or give up. Two things about this contrary people give us hope. First, we see in Romans 10:20 that those who were not seeking found the Lord. He showed Himself to those who did not ask for Him. You and I fit into this group. However, God can save those whom He chooses, even if they have contrary hearts. Many are yet to be saved. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord. The second thing that gives us hope is as God says in Romans 11:26.

And in this way all Israel will be saved...

We do not know all God plans on doing, but we have His promise that His word does not return to Him without accomplishing that which He has sent it to do. And, we know that He is not willing that any should perish.

So, what are we to do in light of the contrary nature of people’s hearts?

God shows us by example what we are to do. As Romans 10:21 says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” Our tendency is to write people off, or count them as unreachable or beyond hope. However, God never gives up. He continually holds out His hands in invitation. He does not just offer one hand as in a hand up. But, He holds out both hands as in pleading and inviting. Dare we do any less? God tells us to preach the gospel. He holds out His hands to all people everywhere.

Another example we have is that of Paul. He begins chapter 10 with the statement that He petitions God for the salvation of Israel. Do we pray for the lost? Are we burdened with their condition?

What can we do?

We can pray, and we can tell the message.

The Stumbling Stone

Romans 9:19-33

Man has always found God offensive.

Offensive, might not be the right word. However, we just do not get along with God.

For example, what was so hard about not eating the fruit in the Garden?

I mean, really, out of all the different fruit available, would it have been so hard to just leave one of the varieties alone?

Okay, let’s think about this for just a minute. God made the Garden. God planted the Garden. Therefore, it was His garden to do with as He pleased. So, He decided to give it to the man and the woman with only one tiny condition attached. Oh, and by the way, He also made the man and the woman; so, they were technically His as well. Anyway, God decided to give them the Garden with His condition.

That condition was a stumbling stone, a rock of offense. Not literally! I do not mean the fruit was a stone. I mean that the man and the woman tripped over this one tiny condition God had set on their ownership of the Garden. They were “offended.”

The Bible tells us that the serpent tempted the woman by telling her that by eating the fruit she would become like God, knowing good and evil. All they knew up to that point was good, and the serpent failed to tell them that knowing evil is not such a great thing. Perhaps, it was the lure of knowing something they did not yet know. Or, perhaps it was the lure of adventure, new experiences and having something they did not have. But, whatever the reason, the man and the woman tripped over this one condition.

We are their descendants. If they had lived with the tiny provision God made and not eaten the fruit, we would be living in the Garden. However, we are not living in the Garden, and we, their descendants, are always stumbling over the conditions God gives us. He said, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.” The conditions God requires of us are summed up in two statements:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

We, as in humanity, have a hard time with these conditions. These rules, commands or requirements offend us, we chafe at being told what to do. Psalms 2 quotes humanity as saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” (Psalms 2:3, ESV) The ultimate offense or stone of stumbling came in a person, the person of Jesus Christ. While Jesus came to satisfy the conditions that God set, He became the focus of all the hostility of humanity toward God.

In the person of Jesus Christ, more is at stake than the Garden. The stakes are eternal life and heaven. Everybody wants to get into heaven, but few want to meet God’s conditions. Therefore, we find fault with God’s conditions.

Romans 9:19-33 speaks to this issue. The conclusion is given in verse 33, which says:

"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 9:33 ESV)

Verses 19-32 bring us to this conclusion by taking us through three ways in which we stumble in relation to God. These three ways are:

1.       God’s power

2.       God’s ways

3.       God’s plan

First, we stumble or are offended because of God’s power.

We see God’s power discussed in verses 19-24.

In verses 14-18, leading up to this discussion of God’s power, Paul has been speaking of God’s sovereignty. His conclusion was:

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. (Romans 9:18 ESV)

Therefore, the response he anticipates is:

You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" (Romans 9:19 ESV)

This response reflects the response of the man and the woman in the Garden. When God asked if the man ate the fruit the man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12, ESV) Not only does this statement put the blame on the woman, it points the finger at God by saying, “You gave the woman to be with me.”

The first thing Paul does in response to putting the blame for our sin on God is to point out the absurdity of our challenge to God. He says:

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?" 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? (Romans 9:20-21 ESV)

This illustration of the right of the potter over the clay is used a number of times in Scripture to illustrate God’s power. The normal human response to having our sin pointed out is to say, “God made me like this!” God’s power, authority or sovereignty is offensive to us.

Job made a similar complaint against God when he asked why God found fault with him, and he received a similar response from God. God basically said, “Job, you do not know what you are talking about.”

When we try to understand how God is absolutely sovereign and yet we have free will and must make choices, we run up against the offense of God’s power. We come up against the question, “Who are you, O Man, to answer back to God?” However, it is not as though God has not given us insight into how He works. In speaking of the right of the potter over the clay, in another place He says:

"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.” (Jeremiah 18:6-10 ESV)

Here we see an illustration of our ability to make a choice to either rebel against God’s power or repent and live according to the conditions God has set. Saying “God made me like this” is never sufficient as an excuse. We are still responsible for our choices.

However, God is not out to “get” us. His power need not be a stumbling stone. Notice that Romans 9:22 says He “endures with much patience” those who are prepared for wrath. And then, it says He does this “in order to make known the riches of his glory.” In other words, God uses His power to bring grace to us. He is preparing us for glory as it says in Romans 9:23-24.

God is preparing us for glory as a potter shapes clay. We stumble over His power to do this. We also stumble over His way.

God does not do things the way we do. We see this in Romans 9:25-29.

Humanity divides itself into tribes, groups and nations. We are all descended from one man and one woman, but we talk about races. We look out for and fight for the interests of our tribe, group or nation. This is the way we do things.

God chose the nation of Israel and they are known as His people. Therefore, their assumption was that God was like us. Since they were God’s people, naturally God would fight for their interests and they would all be saved. However, God purposed to save people from every language and nation through the nation of Israel. This is God’s way. He works with a purpose to save anyone who will come to Him regardless of tribe, group or nation. This is a stumbling stone for humanity.

”God is for our tribe.”

According to Romans 9:25-26, God promised to call people His people who were once told they were not His people. This is exactly what He has done by creating the Church. The Church is made up of people from every language and nation. God shows no partiality. (Romans 2:11) He does things His way. We rebel against this and do things our way. We gather in our tribe or group and say, “We are the right ones.” But, God says through the prophet Isaiah:

And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah." (Romans 9:29 ESV)

As Romans 9:28 says, the Lord will carry out His sentence, or have His way, on the earth, and this will be done fully, completely, and it also will not be delayed.  If the Lord did not intervene and in His mercy and grace save some of us, we would all end up in hell, along with our tribe, group or nation, in spite of the fact that we convince ourselves that “We are the right ones.”

God is the judge, not us. In Psalm 50:21, He addresses this issue in another way when He says:

These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. (Psalms 50:21 ESV)

In this, we see the charge that we think that God is like us. This is why God’s way is a stumbling stone for us. He is not like us. One more way in which we stumble is because of God’s plan.

In the Garden, when the man and the woman ate the fruit they were not supposed to eat, God made this statement:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15 ESV)

This statement was made to the serpent, and it reveals a small piece of God’s wonderful plan, the offspring of the woman.

We started with the typical response of man to God’s power:

Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? (Romans 9:19)

In Romans 9:30, we come to another question:

What shall we say then?

This is kind of like saying, “What’s the use?” If God’s power is unassailable and His way is inscrutable, how then can we be right with God?

What is said next is so important that we should include it here in full.

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone... (Romans 9:30-32 ESV)

God’s plan has always been to save those who call upon Him and come to Him in faith.

We believe we have to do something, but we are unwilling to let God in His power and His way do something in us. There is a big difference. To us, it looks the same in holiness of life and in self-control and discipline, but it is not the same. The Scripture is clear here and in every place, righteousness is by faith.

In Romans 10:12-13, it says:

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:12-13 ESV

The key, the answer and the stumbling stone are found in the person of Jesus Christ. He was the Word that was in the beginning with God. He is the One who was both God and with God and through whom all things were created. He was the plan of God from the beginning and He is the stumbling stone that men and women either accept and are saved or reject and are destroyed.

Do not stumble over God’s power. He is sovereign over His creation. He does whatsoever He pleases.

Do not stumble over God’s way. He is not like us. He is holy, righteous and just.

Do not stumble over God’s plan. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.

Do not make the same mistake that the majority of the Israelites made and are making even now by rejecting their Messiah because He does not fit into how they think He should be. Come in faith to receive from Him the gift of righteousness that comes by faith.

Mercy

Romans 9:1-18

Do you have family members who are not believers?

Maybe you are the one in your family who is not a believer.

The message of salvation has been clearly presented, everywhere. The simple message of the Gospel is as follows. Each one of us is separated from God because of our sin. However, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, took our sins upon Himself and died in our place. Because of His great love and sacrifice, if we accept Jesus as our Savior, our sins are forgiven and we enjoy the promise of eternal life.

As simple as this message is, many reject this offer of salvation. When it is a family member, it is painful. As family members, we mourn for those who do not believe. The Apostle Paul speaks of this pain in chapter 9 of his letter to the Romans. He says:

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (Romans 9:1-3 ESV)

Let’s focus on what Paul calls “great sorrow and unceasing anguish.” We see in this Paul’s heart as a believer. Of course, we know he was a true believer because he was willing to die for his beliefs. However, beyond his willingness to die, he bent every effort of his life to preaching the gospel. Stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked and beaten; he proved his complete devotion. Hardship did not stop him. In Romans 9:1-3, we see the love that motivated such devotion. His love is so great that he was willing to be accursed and lost for eternity for the sake of his kinsmen. He believed that those who did not believe were lost and therefore his heart was broken on their behalf.

The truth of our salvation from eternal lostness causes us to love God. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” In addition, the truth of the lostness of humanity motivates us to preach the Gospel. Great sorrow and unceasing anguish of heart come because we believe that others are lost. How does your heart respond to John 3:36?

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 ESV)

My heart rejoices at the realization that because of my faith in Jesus Christ I have eternal life, but does it grieve for those who will not see life? Do I mourn for those upon whom the wrath of God remains?

The scary truth of the Gospel is that many are lost.

However, consider all that God does for the sake of the lost.

Let’s start with Israel, Paul’s kinsmen according to the flesh. In Romans 9:4-5, he says:

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 9:4-5 ESV)

Look at all that Paul recites as having been done by God on behalf of his kinsmen. They were adopted as God’s children. They had the visible presence of God with them in the wilderness and in the temple (the glory). They had the covenants that God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. They were the descendants of these men. And, what is more, the Messiah was given through them.  All of these blessings were theirs, and yet most of them remained lost.

The same can be said of many of our family, friends and neighbors. The Gospel is preached everywhere. The Bible is available everywhere. The Gospel is preached so pervasively that many are offended and tired of hearing it.

This brings us to a question. Has the Word of God failed?

This question comes up because not all are saved. If Jesus died to save the world, why are not all the people in the world saved?

Paul makes a statement in Romans 9:6.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed.

He anticipates the question, “Has the Word of God failed?” God has done so much so surely something must have gone wrong. However, Paul takes us through the purpose of God as seen in the promises of God to help us understand what is happening.

First, he shows us that not every person descended from the person Jacob was necessarily a part of the nation of Israel. He says, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel...” He then uses a parallel example of Abraham, saying, “...and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring...” (Romans 9:7) 

The Word of God had not failed because God’s purpose had never been to save every descendant of Abraham or every descendant of Israel. With Abraham, we have the example of Ishmael and Isaac, and with Isaac we have the example of Jacob and Esau. Paul zeros in on the example of Jacob and Esau and how God chose Jacob before they were born. The Scriptures say they “...had done nothing either good or bad” when God made His choice (Romans 9:11). The reason God made this choice is given in the same verse. It says, “...in order that God’s purpose of election might continue.”

At this point, it will be helpful if we consider what God’s purpose of election was. What was God’s purpose? We must remember God’s promise to Abraham. God told Abraham:

“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3 ESV)

According to this promise, God’s purpose was to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham. From our current place in history, we know that this was accomplished through the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lineage of Jesus is given in Matthew and Luke. Jesus was a descendant of Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, David and many others. This was God’s purpose of election that needed to continue, and it is why we can be assured that the Word of God has not failed.

So, we see that God’s purpose was to bring a Savior into the world and this purpose was accomplished through the descendants of Israel, and therefore the Word of God has not failed. However, this raises another question.

Is God unjust?

He chose Jacob, and therefore did not choose Esau. The Scriptures do not shy away from the question of fairness. The Scriptures take us to a statement that God made to Moses. Romans 9:15 says:

For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." (Romans 9:15 ESV)

The question of fairness then is an issue of mercy. Let’s consider it from this angle.

Who among us deserves to be saved?

Who among us deserves to be in heaven?

We began by considering the fact that not everyone is saved. The other side of this fact is that every one of us is lost. We are all sinners. The Bible attests to this fact and we all know it in our hearts. Our consciences condemn us in regard to our faults and shortcomings. We know we are not perfect.

Pharaoh stands in as our example. Pharaoh was lost. Pharaoh opposed God, and we know it does not get any worse than that. We know instinctively that to oppose God is bad, and yet we do it anyway. The Bible says, “There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18) Pharaoh is a good example of this. God told Pharaoh, “Let my people go.” And, Pharaoh said, “NO!” God gave Pharaoh ten chances to repent, and each time Pharaoh said, “NO!”

About this, the Scriptures say:

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." (Romans 9:17 ESV)

Pharaoh’s rebellion did not upset God’s plan, and neither does yours or mine.

The worst rebellion that we ever perpetrated was when we crucified the Son of God. This is what the Scriptures say:

...this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:23 ESV)

The worst that we ever did went according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

God is absolutely sovereign. By this I mean that He does what He wants, when He wants and how He wants. He even numbers our days before there is yet one of them. (Psalm 139:16) Not one of us is saved unless the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see the truth. John 6:44 tells us that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him.

In these matters, we enter in to a realm that it is best if we tread reverently. Pharaoh chose to rebel against God. In some places, it says Pharaoh hardened his heart (Exodus 8:15, 32, 1 Samuel 6:6). And, in other places, it says God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Which is it? It is both. This is why the Scripture teaches both. In Pharaoh, we have an example of how the grace and patience of God allows a person to harden his or her heart. Since punishment is withheld or withdrawn, a person tends to think he has gotten away with his rebellion. Therefore, hardening his heart, he persists in further rebellion.

We started out asking why everyone is not saved. With the question we are looking at, we would be better asking why anyone is saved. We all, like Pharaoh, harden our hearts. With each opportunity to repent, we get a little harder. We harden our hearts until our hearts are like stone.

Why is anyone saved?

This passage has the answer. It is because of God’s mercy.

Only because of God’s mercy is anyone saved. Romans 9:16 says:

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:16 ESV)

Salvation is never the result of our effort. Salvation always comes as a result of God’s mercy.

Lamentations 3:21 says:

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. (Lamentations 3:22 KJV)

The miracle is that any one of us is saved.

When Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem, He said:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Matthew 23:37 ESV)

Notice He says, “...you were not willing!”

We know from Scripture that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13) The question for each one of us is: “Are you willing?”

God warns us:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,” (Hebrews 3:7-8 ESV)

If we ask, God is willing to save us. He pleads for us to come to him. Even Pharaoh was given ten chances to repent and he refused. In all his hardness, determination, power and position, Pharaoh did not manage to upset or change God’s purpose and plan. Why should we resist God? Why would we harden our hearts against God? Pharaoh resisted because he wanted to keep his slaves, he wanted to keep his power and he did not respect God. Why do you resist God? He offers His mercy. He sent His Son. He let you read this message today. He has preserved your life to this day, and I do not know how many chances He has given you. Is it ten chances like He gave Pharaoh, or is it more? God is extending His hand of mercy to you right now. Will you not reach out and take it?