WHO IS
Romans 9:1-13
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When
I was a lot younger, there was a television show called, “To Tell The Truth.” It was a
game show which would have three guests, each claiming a single person’s
identity and the object of the show was to determine who was
the real “Mister X.” When all the
clues had been evaluated and all of the questions asked, the announcer would
then say, “Will the real Mister X please stand up?” And the true owner of that identity would
stand. As we come to this chapter, we
could ask a similar question, “Will the real The
Bible teaches that God set out to bless the world through a single man. His name was Abram. It meant, “Father of high places,” because in
his day people went to the nearest high place to try to get closer to their
pagan gods. But his name was changed by
God to reflect this promised blessing.
His name was changed to Abraham, meaning “Father of a multitude.” Why was he called this? It was because of the promise that he would
be the father, both physically and spiritually, of a great many people. And through him, the entire world would be
blessed. It
was through Abraham that the nation of PAUL’S
PASSION 1 I am
telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my
conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I
have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I
could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of
my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are
Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants
and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose
are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is
over all, God blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5).
Paul
was concerned about people. It was a
part of what drove him in ministry. And
there was something that filled his heart with sorrow and which brought him
continuing grief. It was the fact that
his own people — the Jews — had not come to faith in Jesus. Paul
was the apostle to the Gentiles. God had
called him to take the gospel to the Goyim.
And he did so. But he never
stopped caring for his fellow Israelites.
He never stopped trying to convince them of the truth of the
gospel. He never stopped wishing for
their conversion - even to the point of wishing that he could take their place,
that he could be damned in their place. In
verses 4-5 he lists the blessing which have been awarded to the Jewish people. 1. They are Israelites (9:4). This was a name originally given to Jacob. It wasn’t his original name. He had been given the name “Jacob” as a
child. “Jacob” means “heel-grabber” —
someone who is out too “trip you up.” Jacob had been like that. Always looking to make a
deal — to trip up someone. But
then he met the Lord. After an all-night
wrestling match that mirrored his inner turmoil, Jacob was tripped up by the
Lord. He was given a new name that
night. A nickname. He was renamed 2. To them belongs the adoption as sons (9:4). The Lord describes the nation of 3. To them have been given the glory and the covenants and the
giving of the Law and the temple service (9:4). It was the Jews who were witnesses of the glory of
God. It was with them that the covenant
was made. The Law of Moses was entrusted
into their keeping. The temple services
were to be found only in their land. 4. They are the Recipients of the Promises (9:4). All of the prophets were Jewish. The promises of God had their name stamped
upon them. They were both the objects
and the recipients of the promises of God. 5. The fathers are their Fathers (9:5). We read of the patriarchs - Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob and we might identify with them to some degree. But the Jews were able to all the more for
they were THEIR forefathers. They were
family. The story of the Old Testament
was THEIR story. 6. They are of the same kin as the Son (9:6). Jesus was Jewish.
His genes were Jewish genes. He
grew up in a Jewish household and His earliest lessons were in a Jewish home
and in a Jewish synagogue. A
Christian should never be anti-Semitic, for it would be the same as being
anti-Christ. Unfortunately,
anti-Semitism has often been evident within the church.
Paul’s
attitude toward the Jews was one of love and concern. He has just finished teaching how there is
nothing that can separate us from the love of God (8:39). But now he wishes that he were himself
separated from that love rather than that the Jewish people would be separated
from it. This
brings up a question. It is a question
that deals with the main theme of the book of Romans. It is the question of the righteousness of
God versus the unbelief of THE
QUESTION: HAS GOD’S WORD FAILED? But
it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are
not all In
giving this statement, Paul presumes a question. It is the question which naturally arises
when we look at the fact of Jewish unbelief.
Here it is. If
The
answer is not that there is some failure in God’s promises. The answer is to be found in the true
identity of It
has been popular in recent years for Jewish rabbis to discuss the question of
“who is a Jew?” Paul approaches the same
question in this passage. Who is THE
ANSWER To
answer the question of who is
1. Not All But
it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all The fact that “not all Abraham had been promised that he would have a son who
would become a great nation. There were
several problems with this promise. Abraham
and his wife were both well past the age where it was possible to bear
children. The fires of their youth had
long since gone out and there was no heat left in the furnace. The coals were stone cold dead. Even
when they had been younger, Sarah had been barren and unable to bear children. Abraham and Sarah put their heads together and they
came up with a plan to “help God.” The
plan was named Hagar. Abraham lay with
Hagar and had a son by her named Ishmael.
But God had needed no help. And
He said that Ishmael would not be the son of the promise. Sarah would have a son. Sarah chuckled over this, but God got the
last laugh and when it was over, Sarah’s belly began to swell and she gave
birth to Isaac - his name means “laughter.” The point that Paul is making is that being the son of
Abraham didn’t automatically connect you with God since Abraham had two sons
and only one of them was of the chosen line.
Although Ishmael was just as much a son of Abraham as was Isaac,
although he was the firstborn, the promise and the inheritance was not given to
him. This brings us to our next point. 2. Children of the Promise are the Only Legitimate Descendants. That
is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the
children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For
this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a
son.” And
not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she
had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for
though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so
that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works
but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” Just
as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:8-13). Abraham and Sarah are not the only examples of fleshly
children who were not chosen by God.
There is also the example of Jacob and Esau. They were twins. They had the same father and the same
mother. They were born only minutes
apart. They were born into the same
household and had the same upbringing.
But God chose one and not the other.
Specifically, God chose the younger over the older. This was contrary to popular custom. It was normally the older brother who was
accorded the birthright and the blessing and the double portion and the
leadership over the family. But God
chose the younger. He chose Jacob over
Esau. It wasn’t that Jacob was nicer. He wasn’t.
Jacob was actually a con artist.
That is what his name meant. “Heel grabber” — one who trips you up when you aren’t looking. Jacob lived up to his name. He conned his brother out of his
birthright. He tricked his father into
giving him the family blessing. He
swindled his father-in-law out of the family fortune. Why did God choose Jacob? It wasn’t because he was better than
Esau. Indeed, Paul says that Jacob was
chosen before either of the twins was even born and before they ever had opportunity
to do good or evil. God’s choice had nothing to do with their
goodness. It was made... So
that God's purpose according to His choice would stand. Because
of Him who calls. Who is the real The
following lessons are taught within this passage: (1) Being a true Israelite is not synonymous
with being a physical Israelite.
Relationship with God does not come on the basis of who are your parents
or of what church you are a member. There were those in The issue is not that of physical ancestry but rather
SPIRITUAL ancestry. There is a spiritual
seed going back all the way to the Garden - it is the seed of the woman which
is over against the seed of the serpent.
The latter leads to those who are descendants of
Satan. The former are culminated
in the One who is THE Seed - Jesus Christ. To become a part of this spiritual seed requires a
spiritual birth - a divine regeneration brought about through the ministry of
the Holy Spirit. (2) Those who are
of the spiritual seed are those whom God has chosen. Receiving this election is not the results of
one’s works but a gift given to those whom God has sovereignly
chosen. (3) This election is individual. Some seek to water down Paul’s words and the
doctrine of election by suggesting that the election spoken of here and
elsewhere is the election of a nation, a group, and not individuals. This is
quite contrary to Paul’s teaching. In fact, the very concept of group election
is the error Paul is trying to correct here. Many Israelites thought they were
assured a place in the Paul’s examples, used to prove his point, are cases of
individual election. Isaac
was chosen over Ishmael. Jacob
was chosen over Esau. Moses
was chosen to worship God. Pharaoh
was hardened. (4) This passage teaches double election. Some try to take the edge off of election by saying
that God’s election is only of those whom He will save. The fate of the non‑elect is not a
matter of God’s sovereign choice, they say. This simply cannot be true. It is not logical, and
more importantly, it is not biblical.
For God to choose to save some when He is capable of saving all, and
when He alone is capable of saving any, is to choose that the rest will perish. Paul speaks of both sides of the coin. It was Isaac,
not Ishmael (inferred). It was Jacob, not Esau. It was Moses, not Pharaoh.
There are “vessels of wrath” and there are “vessels of mercy” (9:22‑23).
The fate of the lost, as well as that of the saved, is first and foremost a
decision made by our sovereign God. Having said this, we must point out that the EMPHASIS
of Biblical teaching is upon those whom God has chosen for salvation - and this
should be our emphasis, too. (5) Divine sovereignty does not exclude or
reduce human responsibility. Paul does
not start the epistle to the Romans with the doctrine of election. He begins
instead showing that man is willingly rebellious against God. It is true that God has not chosen certain
men. But it is also true that men have
not chosen God. (6) The sovereignty of God means God is in
control. All of God’s promises are based upon one fact: God is
in control. If there is one message
which permeates biblical prophecy, it is this:
God is sovereign. The sovereignty of God is our assurance that He will
do what He has promised. If God is not
in control of everything, including man’s salvation, then God is not sovereign,
and His promises are not certain. The good news is that God IS sovereign. And He is able to keep all of His promises. Return to Stevenson Bible Study Page |
