Today we come to a section of the Scriptures that is perhaps the most debated section in the entire Bible. No doubt, because many of you have told me so, you have anticipated these chapters ever since you heard we were going through Romans. You have anticipated hearing how I would speak about election and you have anticipated hearing how I would speak about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and you have looked forward to hearing what I would say about the eternal destiny of the nation of Israel. I will tell you from the start that you will not be disappointed over these next weeks as we will discuss all three of those issues as well as many other issues brought up by this text. But from the outset, I also want to make clear to you that those issues – as important as they are – are not the fundamental issues of Romans 9-11. The fundamental issue in these chapters is the character and trustworthiness of God. As Thomas R. Schreiner writes in his commentary on Romans, “The central issue in the chapters is not predestination, nor is it even the salvation of Israel. At the forefront of Paul’s thinking is God’s faithfulness to his promises.1So, as we talk about these chapters over the coming weeks, our emphasis will remain squarely on the character and plan of God and our proper response to that person and plan.
The Place of Romans 9-11 in Paul’s Argument
Before examining the text itself, we might ask ourselves why this discussion comes up at all at this point in Romans. Has not Paul been expounding the glorious realities of being justified by faith in Christ? Paul has been speaking about the hope that believers have in Christ. Why does he now turn his attention, seemingly at random, to this discussion of Israel? The answer, in line with what I have already said, is that God’s very character is at stake. As we have gone through Romans 5-8 we have seen numerous things that are already true of those who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We have seen that they have peace with God. We have seen that they are justified in Christ. We have seen that they are free from the power of sin and from the condemnation of the law. And we have seen that they have the promised Holy Spirit to aid them in life. But we have also seen a number of things that remain in the future. We have a hope of future glory. We await the final crushing of sin. We await an eternal glory that cannot be compared with the suffering of this world. In short, we await numerous things that God has promised to those who love Him. And this is the connection with the current discussion of Israel. Even a cursory reading of the Old Testament reveals that God made promises to Israel. He promised Abraham land and a great name and a great posterity and great blessing. He promised the nation of Israel great blessing as His chosen people. He promised David a son who would reign forever on the throne. And through the prophets, he promised the nation of Israel a day of future glory the likes of which they had never seen! But now, Paul is ministering as the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul wrote in Romans 2 that the Law and circumcision now mean nothing! It seems that the promises of God have failed. Christians are declaring that Christ is the Messiah and yet the vast majority of Jews have rejected Christ! Would God’s plan really be a plan that resulted in the condemnation of vast numbers of Jews? If so, how is it that God can remain faithful to all the promises of the Old Testament? And if God is not faithful to his promises to Israel, how can we know he will be faithful to his promises to the church? This is the main issue for Paul. The question, at its very foundation, is not whether Israel will be saved or how the Gentiles fit into God’s plan. The foundational issue is whether God can be trusted, and that issue concerns not only Israel but the church as a whole. John Piper says it this way, “The unbelief of Israel, the chosen people, and their consequent separation from Christ (Rom 9:3) seem to call God’s word into question and thus to jeopardize not only the privileged place of Israel, but also the Christian hope as well.” 2 So this issue is important to Paul because the very things he has been writing in chapters 1-8 depend on the very character of God, which he will defend in chapters 9-11.
Having seen the place of these chapters in the flow of Romans, let us look at our text. We must make a division of sorts at this point because the first 5 verses of our text really serve as an introduction to the entirety of Romans 9-11. In these verses Paul begins by saying, “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” (9:1-2). Let’s stop here and get our bearings for just a moment. No doubt, if you have any experience with discussions about election or predestination or the future state of Israel, you are aware that these debates often become very cold, detached and emotionless. The discussion becomes a debate about particular theological systems and is removed from its proper context which is the situation and salvation of lost humanity. Paul is about to stake out a firm stance on the concept of God’s total sovereignty in salvation and yet this belief does not result in his not caring about those who are lost. On the contrary, Paul is able to say, “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. 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” (9:3-5). This is not a man debating the merits of a theological system. This is a man burdened by the fact that people around him are dying and going to hell who is thinking through how such a reality can bring glory to God.
And so, as we look at this text, let me say from the beginning that if the truth of God’s sovereignty causes us not to care about those who are lost, then we have misunderstood the truth. Paul has “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” in his heart for those who do not follow Christ even though – as we are about to see – he knows that God elects certain people to salvation and not others. Likewise, our hearts should be burdened for the lost while we worship the totally sovereign God who saves a remnant. We must not forget the heart of verses 1-5 as we look at the truth of verses 6-29. They are inseparable.
Paul begins this section with a clear thesis statement: “But it is not as though the word of God has failed” (9:6a). Here we see the root of Paul’s issue. Paul is writing this section of Romans because the rampant unbelief that he pictured in 9:1-5 seems to call into question the very promises of God. Piper writes, “…the problem posed in 9:1-5 was that God’s word of promise, his saving purpose with Israel, seems to have fallen because many of Paul’s kinsmen according to the flesh are accursed and cut off from Christ.” 3 This is the issue that we discussed earlier. And Paul address this problem and issue directly by saying God’s word has not failed.
But how can Paul make such a statement? What is the proof for his unqualified statement in 9:6a? The proof is given in the rest of verse 6: “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” Here is Paul’s answer: the promises of God regarding blessing and salvation for Israel have not failed because God never gave those promises to every physical Israelite without exception. As Schreiner writes, “God never pledged that every individual Israelite would experience eschatological salvation.” 4 In order to prove his argument, Paul goes all the way back to the beginning of Israel’s national history. God called Abraham to himself and promised him that through his offspring all the nations would be blessed. It would be logical to think, therefore, that the people of God – chosen in Abraham out of all the people of the earth – would include all of Abraham’s descendants. And yet, that is not what happened in Genesis. Paul writes, “…and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: ‘About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son’” (9:7-9). Paul wants to make clear that, from the very beginning of Israel’s history, the promise was not given to Abraham’s physical descendants (in this case, Ishmael) but to descendants of promise (Isaac). The point is that Ishmael was not chosen to be the recipient of God’s promise of blessing and salvation. Isaac was so chosen. But the objection could be made that Ishmael was born to an Egyptian woman – Sarah’s servant, Hagar. Indeed, Genesis makes clear that it was because of a lack of faith that Ishmael was even born: Abraham and Sarah were trying to fulfill God’s promise themselves because they did not see how the promise could come true. Paul brings up another example to prove his point even further. He writes, “And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call – she was told ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’” (9:10-13). Here, Paul goes out of his way to make clear that Jacob and Esau were exactly the same. They had the same parents and had done nothing either good or bad. God did not look down the corridors of time and see that Jacob would obey and Esau would disobey. These two were identical twins, and God chose the younger to be blessed and the older to be cursed. Why did he do this? Paul says it was “in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call.” God did this so that his will and his purpose would remain preeminent. He did this so that Jacob might take no credit for the blessings he received from God. He did this so that mercy might be seen to be mercy because it is totally unmerited and free. And so Paul makes his argument in this way. The fact that some Jews do not believe in Christ does not mean that God’s promises have failed because God never intended to save every Jew without exception. Rather, from the earliest days of their history, God chose certain Jews to be saved and others to be condemned. No, according to Paul, God’s promises have not failed. In fact, they stand and continue as strong as ever (v. 11).
Having made clear that God’s Word has not failed by pointing out that God’s intention was never to save ever single Jew but only to save those whom he had elected, Paul turns his attention to some particular objections that might arise from that reality. Thankfully, Paul recognizes that the sensibilities of finite and fallen human beings might recoil at the very thought that God would elect certain individuals over others. Perhaps Paul had heard these very objections from people before. Whatever the reason, Paul addresses two particular issues that might arise because of the truth he has just laid out.
Is There Injustice on God’s Part? (9:14-18)
First Paul writes, “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!” (9:14). The first objection is that God is unjust to choose some individuals over others. Notice that Paul does not deny that God does such a thing, he emphatically denies that God is unjust to do such a thing. But what is the grounding for Paul’s emphatic denial? He gives reason for it by using two Old Testament quotes from the book of Exodus. The first thing Paul writes is, “For he [God] says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’” (9:15). At first glance, this does not seem like an answer at all! But to understand Paul’s point, we must understand the context of this verse from Exodus 33:19. At that point in Israel’s history, the nation had just committed gross idolatry by worshiping a golden calf. Moses interceded for the people and averted God’s wrath. God had also told Moses that he would still gave the promised land to Israel, but he was not going to go with them to conquer it. At this thought, Moses intercedes again and pleads for the Lord to reconsider and go with them. In Moses’ words, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Ex. 33:15). God does agree to go with them, and at that point, Moses asks to see God’s glory. It is in that context that God says, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Ex. 33:19). It is in that context that Paul’s quote can be understood. How does God’s statement to Moses’ support Paul’s point that God is not unjust? It does so because part of God’s very nature and identity is his sovereign ability to show mercy and compassion to whomever he chooses. It is his sovereign right as God to do this, and he exercises this right accordingly. God is not unjust because it is his prerogative. As Schreiner writes, “The righteousness of God is defended…by appealing to his freedom and sovereignty as the Creator.” 5 And Paul draws a conclusion from this reality as he writes, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (9:16). God is not unjust; he is righteous and sovereign. He gives mercy to whomever he pleases, and thus mercy does not come by human effort but by God’s sovereign grace. Paul’s second example is the person of Pharaoh. He writes, “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’” (9:17). Here Paul gives support to his claim that God is not unjust by giving a somewhat different reason than the one he just gave: here he points out that God is not unjust to inflict punishment on some because of the sovereign freedom of which he just spoke. God has every right to raise up someone like Pharaoh with the purpose of demonstrating his power in them by judging them. We will address why God would ever do such a thing in just a moment, but Paul’s point at this juncture is simply to make clear that God had every right to do as he pleased with Pharaoh and he did just that.
From these two reasons, Paul derives a conclusion about the sheer sovereign will of God as he writes, “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills” (9:18). God is not unjust because he is free to do as he pleases – it is his right and prerogative as God. As Piper notes, “…in Rom 9:15-18 Paul is defending the righteousness of God in predestination by referring to two Old Testament texts which reveal that God proclaims his name (i.e. his character) and demonstrates his glorious power in the world by exercising his sovereign freedom to show mercy and to harden.” 6 Before we move on to a second objection that Paul addresses, I want to mention one assumption that stands behind Paul’s thought in this passage. I do this because I am convinced that most of the people who take issue with this passage do so (whether consciously or unconsciously) because of assumptions they hold that simply are not true to Scripture. One such assumption is that all individuals have some equally inherent right to salvation. Paul’s assumption in this passage is the exact opposite – we know that because of what we saw in Romans 1:18-3:20. Paul assumes that all individuals have an equally inherent right to condemnation. It is as if Paul is thinking, “Are you accusing God of being unjust?! You do not want him to be just for justice would mean condemnation for everyone!” God is not unjust; he is merciful. This becomes clear even in the quote to Moses as God brings to the forefront his mercy and compassion. Schreiner speaks of this concept in this paragraph this way, “…the stunning thing for Paul was not that God rejected Ishmael and Esau but that he chose Isaac and Jacob, for they did not deserve to be included in his merciful and gracious purposes. Human beings are apt to criticize God for excluding anyone, but this betrays a theology that views salvation as something God ‘ought’ to bestow on all equally.”
Such a thought is foreign to the Scriptures and foreign to Paul, and we will not understand this passage rightly as long as we hold such a presupposition.
Why does He still find fault? (9:19-23)
Paul articulates a second objection that flows from what he has just said in verse 19: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’” This is a question that centers on the question of human responsibility. If God makes us in such a way, how can we still be held responsible for the things we do? How can I be judged for something that I was made to do? It is fairly clear from the text that this objection is not being offered by a humble individual who is actually willing to submit to God and is just meekly attempting to understand the purposes of God in this world. Rather, this is an boldly arrogant individual questioning the very character and heart of God. And Paul responds rather caustically: “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 honored use and another for dishonorable use?” (9:20-21). At first, it seems that Paul’s response is no answer at all, but – upon further review – we realize that Paul does indeed answer by making clear that human beings are in absolutely no position to stand in judgment of God. It is ludicrous to think that the thing that is created can stand in critique of the one who created it. Such a response assumes that God is in need of justification and we human beings stand as judge. In reality the exact opposite is the case. Schreiner says it this way, “Paul’s response to the protestor…is this: How can finite, frail, and weak human beings venture to dictate to God how the world should be run? Who do we think we are that we presume to call God to account and pass judgment on him?” 8 The inherent problem with this protest is at root the very attitude that places God on the witness stand and demands that he justify his actions while placing us in the seat of the judge waiting to pass judgment. In Paul’s mind, such a reality is absurd, irreverent and wrong.
But just like with Paul’s last point, there is an assumption that lies behind this objection and it is this: if God is absolutely sovereign, then we are not responsible for the things that we do. Such a thought is foreign to the Scriptures and to Paul in particular. Scripture declares two things to be true: 1)God is absolutely sovereign and 2) human beings are morally responsible for their actions. You see, we are morally responsible because we do the very things we want to do. Would anyone object that Esau was acting against his will by being a rogue? Would anyone object that Pharaoh was acting against his will by holding the Israelites captive? We do what we most want to do. God holds us accountable because we choose to rebel. So, if you are here today, and you are not a believer, and you are thinking: how can God judge me if he has made me this way? Is it not God’s fault that I do not believe? To that I would ask this question: do you want to believe? If not, how can you blame God because he has said that his wrath rests on those who do not believe. If you do want to believe, then believe – you will be given mercy and compassion and you will be saved. 9 We do not judge the infinite and almighty God by our own feeble human minds. But we might go on to ask: why would God make someone for the sheer purpose of pouring out his wrath on them? What purpose could possibly be served by such an act. Paul answers this question in 9:22-23. Having demonstrated that God is not unjust or unfair, Paul is now demonstrating God’s purpose in doing things this way. God is not arbitrary, but He has a distinct plan. Paul writes, “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, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (9:22-23). Here is the answer. Paul has been laying out for us the fact that God, by very nature of being God, has the right to do as he pleases: to save whomever he pleases and to harden whomever he pleases. He has made clear that God need give us no reason for his actions; He owes us no explanation. And yet, having said those things, “in verses 22-23, he lifts the veil and provides an explanation.” 10 And the explanation he gives is actually quite logical and understandable: God desires to show his sovereign power in judging sinners and pouring out his wrath on them. But that is not the end: he desires to do this so that he might “make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy.” This is it: God’s incredible mercy shines brightest against the backdrop of his wrath. The knowledge of what could and should have been makes the reality of what is all the more glorious for the people of God. Schreiner states it this way: “When the vessels of mercy perceive the fearsome wrath of God upon the disobedient and reflect on the fact that they deserve the same, then they appreciate in a deeper way the riches of God’s glory and the grace lavished upon them. The mercy of God is set forth in clarity against the backdrop of his wrath.” 11 God’s goal is that the riches of his glory might be clearly seen by the vessels that he prepared beforehand for glory, and this goal is achieved through the destruction of vessels of wrath.
Let me stop here a moment and point out that this momentous reality should cause us to be humbled to the very depths of the dust. If you are here and you are a follower of Christ who has placed your faith in him, your salvation is entirely an act of grace. You did not deserve it, and God had every right to make you a vessel of wrath. But he has chosen to make you a vessel of mercy before you had ever done anything good or bad. There is no place in that reality for pride. There is no place for anything but heartfelt praise and devotion to the sovereign Lord who has called us. May we never, for a second, even entertain the thought that we are in any way superior to anyone else in this world. Everything we have is by grace. It is not by human will or exertion but by God’s mercy – so that his purpose of election might stand. Moreover, this should move our hearts to break for the lost. We should weep over their rejection of Christ because we were once in such a state. And we should diligently and fervently speak the gospel to them and implore them to believe so that they might avoid the wrath to come and see the riches of God’s glory. If you are a Christian, rejoice in your God and speak the gospel boldly. Have the humility that comes from knowing that God is sovereign in your salvation and the boldness and seriousness in evangelism that comes from knowing that people choose to believe or not believe – just like Paul.
Up to this point, Paul has focused entirely upon the Jews. He has made clear that the failure of many Jews to believe does not mean God’s promises have failed. The promises have not failed because God never intended to save every Jew but only those whom he selected for salvation. And Paul has made clear that God has every right to choose some for salvation and others for judgment because he is God. Moreover, his judgments are just, and we are in no position to stand in judgment of the almighty God. That said, in this last section of our text, Paul introduces a new dimension to his argument. He points out that God’s elect – those whom he has chosen to be saved and to be the vessels of his mercy – are drawn both from the Jews and the Gentiles. He writes that God desires to “make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory – even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles[.] As indeed he says in Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people I will call “my people,” and her who was not beloved I will call “beloved.”’ And in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” there they will be called “sons of the living God”’” (9:23-26). Here Paul uses some specific quotes from Isaiah to make clear that the purpose of God from all the way back in the Old Testament was that salvation would extend beyond the borders of Israel. The intention all along was to include the Gentiles. This is why God told Abraham, “…in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). This promised reality has seen its fulfillment in our day as the gospel goes to the ends of the earth.
And Paul also makes clear something he has pointed out already: it was God’s intention all along to save a remnant of the Jewish people. He demonstrates this through the prophet Isaiah as he writes, “And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.’ And as Isaiah predicted, ‘If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah’” (9:27-29). Paul wants to make clear once again that God’s electing purposes were demonstrated even in the prophets of the Old Testament. And this elect people is made up of both Jews and Gentiles.
So, in this jam-packed section of the letter to the Romans, Paul has made some pretty weighty statements. He has expressed his deep anguish over the lost state of his fellow Jews. But he then made clear that the fact that so many Jews are lost does not mean God’s promises to them have failed. God never intended to save all of them – only those whom he had selected for salvation. This is clear even from Isaac and Jacob. The fact that God has done this does not mean he is unjust for his position as sovereign God means he can do as he pleases. Moreover, his pure justice would demand that everyone be destroyed apart from Christ because everyone has sinned. God is absolutely sovereign in salvation. As we saw this week (and will see again next week) this does not mean that humans are not responsible. God has every right to judge those who reject Jesus Christ, and he will do so because the riches of his glory that are poured out on his vessels of mercy shine all the brighter when seen against his just condemnation of vessels of wrath. And these glorious riches will be poured out on a grand people of God – both Jews and Gentiles. So how should we respond to these truths? First, if you are not a believer, I would exhort you to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ. I do not know who God has chosen and neither do you. You are responsible for your response to the person of Jesus Christ. If you believe that he died and was raised from the dead and submit to him, you will be saved. If you do not believe, God’s wrath will be poured out on you. Do not reject God because you do not understand him. Can a human being understand God? Would he be God of he could be understood by finite human beings? You are in no position to pass judgment on God – submit to him or he will pass judgment on you. Second, if you are a believer (as I said before), root out every instance of pride in your life. In light of our text today, there is no place for it in the lives of God’s elect because your salvation is not a result of your own striving but of God’s mercy. And just as I told the unbelievers here, do not stand in a place of judgment over God. You are in no such position. Humbly submit yourself to the God of the Scriptures. Worship him, obey him and honor him. Do not use this text to bolster some theological system but use it to move your heart to worship God. The world does not need theological systems; it needs the gospel, and it needs to know our God.
As we come to the table, may we stand in awe of the glorious work of Christ. May we stand in awe of the fact that God has done such a glorious work as choosing a people for himself before the foundations of the world and then ensuring their salvation by the work of Christ. May we worship our God rightly in Spirit and in truth. Amen.