Tag: Romans 9

Is God Faithful, or Not?

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 21 & 22
Psalms Reading: Psalm 39
* New Testament Reading: Romans 9

Romans 8 ended with the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  But then in the next chapter, we find Paul saying, in Romans 9:2-4, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers… the people of Israel.”

You may be thinking, “Wait a minute, is God faithful, or not?  Didn’t he choose the Israelites as His chosen people originally?  Apparently, that didn’t work out so well, so then God threw them away, and now Christians are His chosen people.  Will God get tired of us too, and throw us away too?”

I’m glad you asked.  Let’s look at that.

God chose the Israelites.  They were His people. God gave the Israelites the law, the temple worship, and the promises, the patriarchs, and the human ancestry of Jesus.   God extended tremendous grace to them.   God was (and is) faithful.  But despite that, many turned their back on God.  Romans 9:6 says, “It is not as though God’s word had failed.  For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”  The problem was with the Israelites.  They weren’t faithful to God.  Even though they had the right ancestor (Abraham), they didn’t have the right heart.

Romans 9:27-28 later says, “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.  For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

This should be a warning to us.  God told us in Romans 8 that nothing external can separate us from the love of God.  But we are free to walk away from Him if we choose.  Even though God extended tremendous grace to Israel, many rejected God, and only a remnant will be saved.  God has now extended tremendous grace to us Gentiles through Christ.  Unfortunately, I fear the same will be true of those of us who call ourselves Christians.

Romans 9:30-32 then stresses again the importance of righteousness by faith, “What shall we say then?  That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.  Why not?  Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works…”

To recap, God is merciful, gracious, and faithful.  He showered His love on the Israelites, but many rejected him.  And many who didn’t reject Him tried to please God by just following a bunch of rules.  I picture their attitude as something like this:  “I’m going to do what God demands, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”  God then rejected those who rejected Him and those who tried to earn their way into his favor.

God has showered his love on us through Jesus, and has invited us to be adopted as His children.  How will you respond?  Will you reject Him?  Will you try to earn His favor by following a bunch of rules?  Or will you develop a loving relationship with Him and live by faith?  Only one of these choices will result in eternal life.  Which will you choose?

-Steve Mattison

Reflection Questions

  1. In this chapter on God’s Sovereign Choice how many times does Paul quote the Old Testament? Why do you think Paul does so?
  2. Are there times you have questioned if God is faithful? Do you find anything in Romans 9 that would have helped you (or did help you) through these times? How can you help someone else who is questioning?
  3. What do we learn about God and His character and roles and desires in our reading of His words today?
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Why Did You Make Me Like This?

Romans 9

May 25

Sweet adolescence.  A time of a personal experiment, finding one’s self, and coming of age. It is a scary season filled with growing feet, growing hair, and new body odors.  During these years we’ll try out more looks, hairstyles, and ideas than the rest of our lives combined.  For many of us, there is some perceived physical flaw, (acne and weight were mine) we try to hide or minimize because we don’t want to stick out or become the source of ridicule (and maybe this is still true today of some of us who are older, too). Why did I have to be made like this?  Why couldn’t my heavenly Father shape me to be more like them over there?

One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us?  For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?  “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Romans 9:19-20

Romans 9 seems to indicate that God has foreseen our identity and placed us to “be” in our present circumstance.  We’re all made out of the same clay, but we each have a different role.  He knows our hearts, and He will use each of us to his advantage.  We don’t even need to be “good.” God foreknew Esua’s flagrant disregard to his birthright and used it to continue his line through Jacob.  God used the hardened heart of Pharaoh to bring about the freedom of the Hebrews for Egyptian captivity.  He used King Cyrus to send the Jews home to rebuild their temple and wall.  The lack of relationship to the Heavenly Father doesn’t remove you from being a character in his story.  God made each of them like this and they fulfilled His purpose.

But let’s provide some contrast.  God used Esther, Joseph, and Solomon in almost identical manners to those listed above.  So, did God predestine the fate of the “good” and the “bad”?  Give some ungodly inclinations so they could move in the direction of wrongdoing, and give others no opportunity to fail at following Him?  Well, I’m not a theologian, but I feel the Bible is consistent about the free choice of man to choose and follow God at any point, including His son, Jesus Christ, who faces his own trials and temptations.  We may have perceived traits, inclinations, chips, chunks, or some other appraisal of malformation in our clay, which again, beg the question, “Why did I have to be made like this?” Well, whether it is the normal stuff or the special stuff (v.21), God has made you to be used for times such as this, according to His plan..

In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offering. Roman 9:8

Because there is no longer a single line of inheritance, Jewish heritage, he is calling all the pottery of different shapes and sizes to follow Him.  Our titled-question I cannot answer. That is the Heavenly Father prerogative and determination. What I can tell you is to spend less time questioning God about the chunky bits, the cracks, the struggles He has placed within you and before you. We have been formed exactly in a way to shine the fullness of God.  To find Him, not ourselves.  To look like Jesus, not everyone else.  For us, His work and craftsmanship, to trust in the Potter’s identity alone.

-Aaron Winner

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. If you could ask Paul to further explain one of his points in Romans 9 what would you ask and why? What might he reply?
  2. What do you love about God’s plan? What do you wonder about God’s plan?
  3. What is the joy in being the clay not the potter?

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