Open Your Bibles Romans 9: 6-13

Welcome my friends to the Grave two Gospel Podcast where we encourage you to not only know what you believe, but. Why you believe it. I'm your host Will Hunsaker, and in this episode of our Open Your Bible series, this will be, uh, season eight, episode two. We're going to, uh, continue to examine Romans nine specifically today we're gonna look at verses six through 13, and we're going to see here.

How Paul confronts, uh, the great anguish and confusion really that resides within him on a co on account of his, uh, brothers, the Jews. Now, if you recall at the beginning of chapter nine, this last episode verses one through five, Paul conveyed to his audience to us that. The unbelief of his fellow Jews has left him with a very heavy heart, and, and he reflects on that.

He, how, on how the people, uh, his brother and sister Jews have received these unique, uh, blessings from God, how they could turn their backs on their own prophesized Messiah. So this raises the question then, how does God deal with such a profound, uh, rejection of faith? Well, Paul's going to address this and he is going to do it, emphasizing God's sovereignty in salvation.

He writes this beginning of verse six, but it is not as though. The word of God has failed for. They're not all Israel who are descended from Israel. They're not all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but. Through Isaac, your descendants shall be named. 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 the promise.

At this time, I will come. And Sarah will have a son. And not only that, but there was also Rebecca 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 God's purpose, according to his choice, would stand not because of works, but because of him who calls.

It was said to her, the older will serve the younger just as is, is it is written. Jacob, I have loved but Al I have hated Romans nine, six through 13. So we can see there right away that at first glance, God's promise to Israel had fallen away because he had promised to bless them. They, they had been given the covenants and the promises of God throughout the patriarch.

However, they forfeited this blessing because they refused to believe it was because of their unbelief. So the significant point to Paul's making here is that Israel's failure was indeed Israel's failure, but that did not affect God's word. It was not due to God's word failing. They failed on their own God's word.

Still solid. That's what Paul was saying, he said in verse six, but it is not as though the word of God has failed. This is essentially Paul's thesis for the next three chapters, nine, 10, and 11, and he's making a very significant point with this. The power of God's word as well as his promises and covenants are all related.

It is not contingent upon a human response what we do. Likewise, we can apply that today. The effectiveness of preaching or preaching today or or communicating the message of the Bible does not rely solely on our efforts. I would even go as far to say, it doesn't rely on us at all other than just the proclamation of it.

Just as the people of Israel could not control the impact of God's word, neither can anyone today dictate how it affects someone else. We just can't. It is God sovereign act. His message, he takes his message and he reaches into people's hearts with it. His word is destined to accomplish its intended purpose.

We learned that in Isaiah. God alone disseminates. He determines where his message will go. He alone does that. This EnCap encapsulates essentially Paul's assertion in these verses. Even if some people do not believe, it does not alter the truth of God's word, even though the Jews rejected the prophesize Messiah.

It did not alter the truth of what God was declaring, I guess you could say. Um, a similar perspective can be applied to an atheist today. Simply declaring that God does not exist does not make it reality. You could say it all you want won't change anything. So then we see Paul share a pretty painful truth with his Jewish brothers and sisters in Rome.

He writes this for, they're not all Israel who are descended from Israel. That's a heavy blow, nor are they all children because they're Abraham's descendants. That's verses six and seven. So you can see why the Jews always wanted to kill Paul because he's basically taking a large chunk of them out of the equation.

And the wording here, if you remember, uh, last week's episode when I, I talked about, uh, Douglas Moo, uh, and his commentary on Romans. He asserted that when Paul, who is a Jew, by the way, refers to his brothers and sisters. The Jewish brothers and sisters, when he refers to them as Israelites, he's directly connecting them to the Divine Covenant, not the geopolitical Israel.

He, he'll call them Jews then, but when he refers to 'em as Israelites, that's the connection with that divine promise. Now, Paul knows here. He's swimming upstream with this, uh, especially with regard to the Jewish perspective of salvation. Their whole idea of, of salvation or being right before God is, is anchored in biology.

They believe that through the physical Israel, they would be redeemed. And Paul's making a distinction that's different here. He's saying there's a distinction between a physical nation of Israel and a spiritual one. So he provides some more in info information, a little more detail to him here. He says that is, it is not the children of the flesh.

So he said Not all, uh, descendants of Abraham are, are Israelites. Not all of Israel Israelites are, are, are of Israel. Now. He's narrowing it down here. He says It is not, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God. But the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. That's verse eight.

So he takes that geopolitical part out of the equation, but he maintains the covenant. Very important. And this is important because the Jews believed they were special and considered children of God just because they were born Jewish. You have a similar circumstance today. It's not a bad thing for us to see that, but that's how they believe.

This is why they struggle to accept the gospel. They did so then and they do so today. However, Paul explains that being a true child of God isn't solely based on ancestry. Instead, it's about being a part of a promise. In simpler terms, I guess you could say being a child of God comes through faith in the covenant that God made not merely being born into a certain family Jewish.

So Paul emphasizes that just because someone is a descendant of Abraham, it doesn't automatically mean they're destined for heaven. He points out that Ishmael, who is also Abraham's son, was not considered a child of promise. And Paul reminds his audience of this by citing Genesis 1810, that Isaac, another of Abraham's sons is the one who the promise of God continues.

So there's a specific path he has chosen. Not any fault of anyone else, nothing we've done right or wrong. God's will. He said for, this is the word of the promise. At this time, I, God will come and Sarah, wife of Abraham will have a son. That's Romans nine, nine. That was Isaac. So God does not place any condition on who he chooses to include in his covenant promise.

The teachings in Romans, uh, chapter eight and nine provide some of the clearest examples of the co of the, uh, concept of unconditional election. That is the belief that God chooses some for salvation without any conditions on their part. There's some other aspects to that, but we're, we're honing in here with Paul's idea that God or his teaching, that God is sovereign even in redemption and salvation.

And it always surprises me that some Christians, when they read these chapters eight, nine, still reject this important truth that God does elect predestined some to salvation. There are, uh, uh, there is another approach to this that is also in scripture, but right here and in Romans the last. Chapter eight and chapter nine, we're gonna continue to read.

We're going to see the sovereignty of God in salvation, which is another path that God has chosen to use. And one common way people attempt to make the idea of being chosen by God a little more acceptable is to, uh, claim that God knows in advance how people will respond to his promises, and then he chooses accordingly based on him already knowing.

Well on the surface that makes sense 'cause he's all knowing and he is sovereign. However, Paul Demolishes that, that he takes that view and just throws it out the window. In the very next verses, he emphasizes God's sovereign rule. He writes this, and not only that with the birth of Isaac, but there was also Rebecca.

When she had conceived twins too, by one man, our father, Isaac. So you see in that covenant continue went from Abraham Isaac. Now it's gonna go through one of his boys, but he's got two for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad. So they had done nothing. No conditions so that God's purpose, according to his choice, would stand.

It was purposely done that way so that no one could point to anything they had done or any biology, and was not because of works, but because of him who calls. So it was all about God. That's Romans, uh, nine 10 through 11. So the twins mentioned here are Jacob and Esau. Okay. They were the sons of the promised Seed, Isaac.

However, as I said, only one son will the covenant proceed. That's gonna be Jacob who would later be renamed by God as Israel. So you see Abraham through Isaac. Through Jacob, and then we'll keep following this as you read through Genesis, but that's the point Paul is making. God chose this path for his promise, his covenant with the, with the, uh, pro, uh, the patriarchs to continue for no other reason than his own good pleasure through certain people.

Paul reminds his readers here that God had declared this path. To the mother of these twins, Rebecca, before they're ever born. He told them, he said, it was said to her, the older will serve the younger. Just as it is written. Jacob, I have loved but Al, I have hated Romans nine, 12 through 13. Now, in Jewish culture, it was traditionally believed that the eldest son would receive the most important blessings and promises from the old man, from the dad.

However, in a surprising twist here, before they were ever born, had never done anything good or bad, no works involved. God decides to flip this on his head, and he chose to reverse that whole expectation. Why? Because he's sovereign in everything, especially here. Paul, Paul's pointing out in redemption, salvation.

So in the story, Esau is the older brother. Ultimately, he ends up serving his younger brother Jacob. And it shouldn't have been that way, but this was God's decision. And this happened not because their actions or choices as we've all recovered, but simply because God decided to continue the covenant that he had established with Abraham through Isaac and now through Jacob.

And it's also important for us not to get too confused with some of the language that was used there about God hating one and, and loving another. When the Bible talks about loving one and hating one, especially in this context, it's more about making a choice, which is the emphasis Paul is making rather than any kind of malice.

It wasn't an emotional response, it was a response of choice. That's the significance of Paul's declaration here, and the text reveals that God's choice regarding which branch of Isaac's family would eventually lead. To Christ the promised one. So what are the key takeaways here, folks? Well, from the text, it underscores the belief that God is sovereign.

Controls all things. We can talk about all the, the challenges to wealth. If God's sovereign controls this, why this? We can talk about all that another time. But when we're talking about this right here, Paul's message to the Romans about. Specifically the Jewish Christians here, his brethren about how concerned he is about them going back to their own ways and rejecting the Messiah.

He's saying God is in control. You guys, just 'cause you're Jews, doesn't mean you make it the Messiah. That's the path, and this is the message Paul is conveying to the church in Rome. The blessings and covenants bestowed upon the Jews did not cease. The Nation of Israel didn't stop there. Rather, they found their fulfillment in Christ.

The covenant promised followed along to Christ, and that was all in alignment with God's will. So essentially, there was no plan A for salvation. And when that didn't work, God went to plan B in Christ. No. There was always only one plan, the plan of redemption, and it was always and still is through Christ.

And this is evident even in the, the early Jewish Christian community. They did not believe, just look at the works of the Apostles Reed Acts. They did not believe that Christ, uh, brought a new religion. They believed that he Christ fulfilled the promises of God. That was the Old Testament scriptures for them.

That's where the covenants and the prophecies were. They believed that Christ fulfilled, those now didn't bring something new, uh, as far as a new religion goes. So in a sense, the Jewish Christians of the first century were more Jewish than their brethren who refused then and today to believe in the prophesize Messiah, their own prophecies.

So Paul is attempted to explain here that it is God who chooses the correct path to salvation, not the Jews, and God chose Christ. This is the way it was always gonna be. Paul is stressing that the Israelites are covenant people and she'd understand that they're of that divine promise. They're the first to receive the blessings and the promises, and it is through them that the Messiah will come.

The Messiah, namely Jesus, who will redeem God's people. The Israelites are very special folks, but not all of Israel are of the promise. God's people are those of the promise folks, those who not only believe in God, but also believe God. All that he had promised. That's why Christ said, believe in me and have ever everlasting life.

I am the fulfillment of all this, and this is where faith rests on the fulfillment of the promise. Jesus Christ. Faith does not rest on our ethnicity. Doesn't or our family title or any background we could hope to ever have whatever kind of job we might hold, the church we attend. That's a big one. The spiritual fruit we produce, not even contingent upon that.

It's not even contingent on our obedience. Our faith rests in Christ, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of every promise, every covenant God ever laid down, because in him is where God fulfilled his word. Paul wrote this very thing to the churches in Corinth. He said, for however many are promises of God, their yes is in Him.

Jesus. Therefore, the Amen from us also us today goes through him to God for glory. That's one Corinthians one 20. Ultimately, folks, the, the only path to redemption is through Jesus Christ, Jew, Gentile. It doesn't matter, regardless of whether you're from any faction of life, it's through Jesus Christ.

That's what Paul's saying, and he hopes everyone's listening. So thank you for listening today. And if you think, uh, that Paul's finished discussing, uh, the idea of God's sovereignty, yeah, you might wanna think again because he's just getting warmed up. Next week we're gonna look at Romans nine 14 through 23.

And this is where Paul opens up with a very anticipated question from a lot of this, especially from Jews. He says, so is God unjust, grace and peace. We'll see you next week. God bless.