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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea. God's Word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.
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Welcome to this period of Bible study. We are thankful for the opportunity to share with you in a consideration of God's Word. As always, if you it is our aim to be faithful to God's Word and to be clear as we present it. And if at any point in this you find us not to be faithful to what God has to say, or not to be clear in the way that we explain it, we would love for you to reach out to us. The best way to contact us is at backtothebiblepodcast.com backtothebiblepodcast.Com There you can find previous episodes of the program. You can find information about us and what we're trying to accomplish and there are other resources, but also there are ways to contact us there forms that you can fill out with your questions or with your comments and we would be happy to hear from you. Of course, our main effort is to glorify and honor God and we want to do that by being faithful to His Word, by going back to the Bible for it all, and by sharing those things with other people, being clear in our efforts as best we can, knowing that God's Word has the power and we are just a reporter trying to make it known to other folks. So we come Today to Romans 9 and we are thankful that we have been able to make it this far through the Letter to the Romans. We are more than halfway through as far as content in the Book of Romans, and we are hopeful that what we have said has been clear and that what we have to say will be faithful and clear as well. I realize that the take that I have presented on the Letter to the Romans is different from what many others and even good, faithful Bible students have presented. But let me say I think there are just a couple of things that I think are at the roots of my take on the Book of Romans and what I think that Paul is communicating to us. First, I would say that I think we need to emphasize that the primary audience of the Book of Romans are Gentiles, particularly Gentile Christians who have either been influenced to fall under a judaizing teacher or for whom Paul is worried that that is something that is on the horizon. That is, these are Gentiles that Paul is trying to show that going back under the old law was not the solution to their problems, but rather that they had all that they needed that God had provided in Christ. So seeing the audience primarily as Gentiles is important because that will. We see that at the beginning of chapter one. I think there's several verses in that first 17 verses that illustrate that we're talking to Gentiles that will shape the way. For example, we read chapter two. For me, it has really shaped the way I read chapter seven. But also I think it will shape how we think about the law. The law was not something that was unrighteous. The law was not something that was a failure in and of itself. It is something that was always pointing to Christ. And it was never intended to be imposed on the Gentiles, especially in view of Christ's arrival. So that audience is important. The second thing that I would say that's different from what a lot of people who I think are good, faithful Bible students would be is that when Paul talks about the righteousness of God being revealed, I take it to be that he is saying that God's faithfulness, his righteousness is demonstrated in keeping his promises, especially in view of keeping his promises, as we see demonstrated in Jesus. That is, it is not as if there was nothing about God's righteousness or his faithfulness in the Old Testament. Of course there was. It testified to God's righteousness, but it was not the revelation. It was not the full demonstration of God's righteousness which we now have in Jesus. And that would lead me to maybe the third thing that would put me at odds with some people who would study the Book of Romans, maybe lots of them, is that when Paul talks about faith versus the law or he talks about faith versus work, he's not talking about obedience versus belief. He is talking about imposing the works of the law on these Gentiles. And it seems to be that it was a specific set of works, things like circumcision, as we'll see, maybe certain days or certain procedures that had to be observed, imposing that on Gentiles versus confidence, obedience, loyalty and faithfulness. Christ. I think that we need to bring to our attention that idea of faith being much more than just mental assent or belief or even more than trust, but allegiance, loyalty. And when we look at how Paul uses faith throughout the Book of Romans, he is not contrasting that with obedience. He is contrasting faith and faithfulness and allegiance to Jesus in contrast to missing Jesus and going back and reimposing the law on people even after Jesus demonstration of God's faithfulness. And so maybe we could say that the Book of Romans is about God's righteousness making it possible for us to be righteous because we see Jesus faithfulness, which calls us to faithfulness. And what we have seen in Romans chapter one through eight is that Paul has made the case that the Gentile world was in a desperate situation of sin, but that the law was not the solution. In chapter three he shows the law wasn't even the solution for the Jews. Not because of the weakness of the law, weak as it was through people's, because of people's flesh, because of people's sin. But the weakness was because of the Jewish rejection of God's offer. God offered them life, he offered them blessing, and they rejected that over and over and over and over. We'll see more of that as we study together today. Then Paul shows that the real model for Gentile inclusion wasn't based on the law of Moses, but rather on the faith of Abraham. That is, Abraham was made right with God on the basis of his loyalty to the Lord even before he was circumcised and well before the law of Moses had come into place. That would produce in the Gentiles those who had given their allegiance to Christ. That would produce in them life changing effects. Romans chapter 5 shows that because of what God has done for us in Christ, we can have hope of what he's going to do eternally. At the end of chapter five he says, just like one man's sin, Adam has led to death for all people. Christ, what his one act did can bring righteousness and life to all people. As a result of that, he calls them in Romans 6 to remember what they had in Christ, that they had died to sin and that they had been raised to walk in newness of life. Now in chapter seven he allows the conversation partner, of course, with whom Paul is creating this conversation for the benefit of his readers. He allows his conversation partner to say, I went under the law. When I was under the law, I found it to be that I was in this terrible conflict. I wanted to do right, but I couldn't. I wasn't doing right. And what is the solution? Who's going to set me free? And Paul says, thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us this opportunity, this freedom from sin and from death and from this bondage. So we come to chapter eight where he says, there is therefore now no condemnation in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. This Gentile did not have to feel trapped under the law or trapped by sin with the law putting a spotlight on it. Because what had happened in Jesus was that the righteous requirement of the law had been met. And now in Christ we can find no condemnation. We can find life in the Spirit, we can find freedom. And he even talks about the fact that we can find a adoption as children. And we have hope, anticipation of ultimate redemption. We have intercession of the Spirit. And as we come to the end of chapter eight, he talks about the fact that God's whole purpose was to conform his people to look like Jesus so that Jesus would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And that what God did in his love was that Jesus died for us so that we can have the confidence that no matter what we face, no external force would be able to remove us from God. Because of his love, because of our love for him. Romans 8, 28. We are being shaped to be like Jesus. And because of his love for us, we can be more than conquerors. That is, we can be overcoming these challenges, but not just making it through them, but being able to be shaped to look like Jesus, accomplishing more as a result of these challenges and persecutions that might come our way. So now we come to chapter nine. And a lot of misinterpreters of chapter nine, I think, have missed the grand narrative of chapters one through eight. They've missed, if I can call it such, the story of Romans. The story of Romans is that Gentiles and come in to Christ and they are right there alongside the people of God, without having to become a Jew, without having to go through circumcision, they can be part of God's family. They are adopted as children. But perhaps the question is rising, what about the Jewish people? Does this mean that God has rejected the Jews? No, it does not. On the whole, up till this point, I think we would say that they had rejected him. But that doesn't mean that God had closed the book on Israel. In fact, he will say in chapter 11 that all Israel will be saved. And because we see that, we have to understand. What is Paul saying? He is saying that those who respond to Jesus in faithfulness, the promised Messiah had come and that if they would be faithful to him, he would save them, they would be saved. Now, let me just say this as we go in, and I hate to have to talk about what Romans 9 is not saying, and I wish that we could just jump right into what it is saying and we will do that in just a moment. But we need to understand that Romans 9, if we understand it, to be talking about an individual arbitrary, unconditional election, then we've missed the point of Romans 1 through 8. Our Calvinist friends will come to Romans 9 and they will read this language and they will say, what it's saying is that God chooses who's going to be saved and God chooses who's going to be lost. And there's nothing that we can say about it. That is not what's happening here. When we look at this text, we need to understand that what Paul is saying is that God always gets to define the boundaries of his people. He gets to define who Israel is, and that God has always made choices and has always used people in light of his purposes in keeping with their responses to Him. We will see that as we go through chapter nine. But also as I'm recording this, there is a lot of controversy about Romans chapter 9 through 11 with regards to the status of the nation of Israel and what their relationship is to the Bible's story, and particularly in chapter 11, that status of all Israel being saved. I take it to be that from Romans 9:11, Paul is showing that Israel is narrower than just genetic descent and that when he talks about Israel, by the time we get to chapter 11, he's talking about the faithful remnant of who has given their loyalty to Christ. It is in that sense that all Israel will be saved. I don't think this is any kind of program or description of what's going to happen in the end times. I think it is a description of God's faithfulness to Israel by sending the Christ the Messiah and saying all along that everyone who gives their loyalty to him will be saved. And, and that is how indeed all Israel will be saved. But that's in chapter 11 and it'll take us some time to get there. So what I want to do now is I want to come to chapter nine and I want to read just the first five verses and see how Paul begins this chapter. This is Romans chapter 9, beginning at verse 1. There Paul says, I am telling the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen. According to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption of sons, the glory and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, whose are the fathers and from whom is the Christ? According to the flesh, who is God over All blessed forever. Amen. Paul was brokenhearted at the spiritual position of the Jewish nation. Notice, he says, I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. He was even willing. Listen. He was even willing and ready to give up his right standing with Christ for the sake of his fleshly kin. That shows that Paul believes that Israel as a whole, national Israel or the Jewish nation. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had given up their status with Christ. Now they had so many reasons to be in a good position when Jesus came, they should have been right on the brink of accepting the gospel. When Jesus arrived, they had been adopted as sons. Initially, they had the glory and the covenants. They had seen God's glory descend on on the tabernacle. They had the covenants, the agreements that God had made with them. They had received the law in a way that nobody else had. The temple was in their midst. And they had all of the promises that God had made to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to David and the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed promised king. He had come from, from their family line, from God, who is blessed forever. Amen. Notice Paul's high view of Christ. He says, from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is God over all? Blessed forever. Amen. Look at verse six. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who descended from Israel, nor are they all children, because they are Abraham's seed. But through Isaac, your seed will be named. That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed. For this is the word of promise. At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but. But there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac. For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to his choice would stand not because of works, but because of him who calls. It was said to her, the older shall serve the younger, just as it is written. Jacob, I loved, but Esau I hated. Now Paul says, my heart is broken because of the status of Israel. But notice, he says, it's not as if God's word had failed. It's not as if God has been unfaithful to Israel. It's not as if God has abandoned them in favor of the Gentiles. What he says is, is that God had narrowed what Israel meant so that it wasn't just based on fleshly Descent, but on God's purposes. So what you see there is that God, for example, from Abraham said, in your seed all nations of the earth will be blessed. But Abraham had other seed. Abraham had other sons. He had Ishmael. Later he will have the sons of Keturah. But where did the promise come? It came through Isaac. And then Isaac and Rebekah, they were going to have two sons. They were going to have twin boys, Esau and Jacob. But Esau was not the son of promise. Jacob was Israel. The nation was always defined in a more limited way than all the descendants of Abraham. It had been narrowed to Isaac, and then it had been narrowed to Jacob and his children. The point is, is just because they were descendants of Jacob didn't mean they were the children of promise. And the promise was never defined by physical descent. Now, we need to say a couple of things. First of all, when Paul talks about the older serving the younger, he's citing Genesis chapter 25 of ESAU serving Jacob. And when we come to verse 13, he's talking about Malachi, chapter one. Jacob I love, but Esau I hated. This is really, really important. We need to see that God was not talking about which one would be saved individually, personally, and which one wasn't. All right, He. He is not saying, Jacob I loved, so he's going to be saved. And Esau I hated, so he's going to be lost. That is not the point of Romans 9, 6, 13. The point here is, is that God got to chose who he would use as Israel as his nation. Now why is that significant? It's significant because we need to see that this is not individual, arbitrary, predetermination about who's going to be saved and who's going to be lost. Right? This is about who qualifies as the nation of Israel that God is using to bring about the Christ, who is blessing with all of these gifts, as Paul mentions in Romans, chapter nine. Now, how do I know that Paul is not talking about individual salvation, but usefulness as a nation? Because go back to Genesis chapter 25, from which Paul quotes there. This is in Genesis 25:23, the Lord speaks to Rebekah, Isaac and Rebecca. They go more than 20 years without children, very similar to Abraham and Sarah. We don't get the narrative with Isaac and Rebecca, but they've gone a long time. And God says, this is in verse 23, two nations are in your womb. Wait a second. How are two nations, Jacob and Esau are in her womb, but there's two nations and two Peoples will be separated from your body. And one people shall be stronger than the other. And. And the older shall serve the younger. We need to see this. There is never a time recorded in Scripture that Esau, the man, individual man, Esau serves under the. The master, his younger brother, Jacob. Never. What we have is Jacob goes away to mesopotamia for what, 14 years, comes back and really Esau and Jacob live separately. So what is God talking about here? This is about looking towards the nations that are coming from these families. That is, the older shall serve the younger. Is not about Esau serving Jacob personally. It's about the nations. Israel, the nation, will dominate Edom, the descendants of Esau. That is extremely important. God is not talking about Esau being saved or lost when he says he's hated. He is saying that that nation is not what's being chosen for his purposes. Do you see that? I hope so. Going over to Malachi, chapter one. Now, Malachi one. This is the last book of the Old Testament. And what's happening is the people of Israel, having returned from captivity, are still not really living in faithfulness as they've returned. And supposedly, it seems they. What I mean supposedly is Malachi is presenting them as asking, you say God loves us. Supposedly God loves us. How have you loved us? This is in chapter one and verse two. I have loved you, says Yahweh, or says the Lord, but you say, how have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? Declares the Lord, Yet I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau. And I have set his mountains to be a desolation and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness. Though Edom says, we have been demolished, but we will return and build up the waste places. And thus says Yahweh of hosts, they may build, but I will pull down. And men will call them a territory of wickedness. And the people toward whom Yahweh is indignant forever. And your eyes will see this and you will say, yahweh be magnified beyond the territory of Israel. Now, this is really important because who is the Lord talking about in verses 1 through 5 of Malachi 1? He's not talking about Jacob and Esau personally. Israel, the nation is saying, how have you loved us? And God says, I have loved Jacob and hated Esau. Not talking about them personally, he's saying, his evidence is, look at Edom, look at the nation of Edom. This is a demonstration that I have chosen you as. And I have not chosen them as my special people. Now, this is important. I have no idea what Esau's final eternal status is personally. And to understand Romans 9 as giving us some indication of Esau personal, his eternal salvation, I think is a mistake. I think it's a failure. Because what God is saying here is that Israel as a nation has been chosen over the descendants of Esau, and that that definition has gotten narrower as time went on. Now let me say this. Is it a benefit? Is it a good thing? Is it a blessing to be a part of the nation of Israel? At the time, 100%, of course it was a blessing. Paul mentions all of those things in nine verses three and following. But it didn't require being part of the nation of Israel to be somebody who was in right standing with the Lord. Think about Naaman. Think about people like Rahab. Think about people like Ruth. These people are demonstrations that God is welcoming to people from the nations. He just hasn't chosen any of those nations to be used for his purposes. Like he chose Israel. Now look at verse 14 and following, and we'll have to notice these verses pretty quickly. In verses 14 and following, he says, what shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the one on whose wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I raised you up in order to demonstrate my power in you and in order that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. So then he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. Now Paul is saying here, this is not as if God's been unrighteous. This is not as if God hasn't shown mercy. He simply chose Jacob over Esau. And again this. The point is national choice, not individual salvation. God allowed Pharaoh to follow the desires of his corrupt heart and thus be hardened. In fact, the text tells us that God hardened his heart. But if you work your way through the plagues, you will see that at the same time, it's saying God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It's saying that Pharaoh hardened his heart. How is God doing that? By continually presenting him with the evidence that he is God. And it continually hardens, sharpens Pharaoh against the Lord. But even when Pharaoh hardens his heart, God is using him to accomplish his will and his purposes. This is what is happening with Israel. They are being hardened. They are being hardened. And Yet God is still going to use them for his purposes. The idea here that God would choose some and not choose others for his purposes is not in keeping with a question of whether or not he is merciful or not. He is going to show mercy on those whom he will show mercy and he will show compassion on those whom he will show compassion. But when someone hardens their heart, he can still use them for for his purposes. And that's exactly what he was going to do with the nation of Israel. Well, our time is about used for this program. Lord willing, next time we will be able to pick up in verse 19 and continue to demonstrate that what God is saying is that with all the blessings that Israel had had available to them, they rejected the one to whom all of this was pointing. And as a result they would have to be brought back in and that would be conditioned on their faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Thank you for your kind attention. Until next time we bid you a pleasant good day.
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Back to the Bible Let it be our plea. God's word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.