“Romans 9”

Thursday, February 09, 2017

Paul begins Chapter 9 by expressing his sorrow that his own people, the Jews, have rejected Jesus. He refers to “great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.” Of course, some Jews did not reject Jesus, but most of them did.

It was stated early in the ministry of Christ that His own people (don’t forget that Jesus was Jewish also) would not accept Him as the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Jesus told several parables to show that the Jewish people, as a whole, did not accept Him. The parables of the Wicked Vinedressers and the Great Banquet are two examples of this.

And when the Jews decided not to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the gospel was taken to the Gentiles.

Some of the material in Romans 9 can be a little difficult, but only because we have been introduced to the Calvinistic concept of election which states that God determines ahead of time which individuals will be saved and which people will be lost, independent of their own choices and actions.

This chapter shows us that this election is for groups of people, not individuals. Those in the group who choose to obey and follow the Lord are elected for salvation (here, it is primarily the Gentiles). Those in the group who choose to deny and disobey Christ are elected for condemnation (here, mostly referring to the Jews).

A teacher in school can tell ahead of time who will get A’s, B’s, etc. in the class. It will be based on what their performance in classes, on assignments and papers, etc. determines. Everyone who does what is required can get an “A” in the class. That has been predetermined.

--Roger Hillis

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