Rom. 9:1-16, “God’s Prior Election Of The Nation Of Israel To Be His People: Part 1”

Jim Bomkamp

1. INTRO:

1.1. In our last study, we looked at verses 31-39 of chapter 8.

1.1.1. In that study, we saw that Paul continued his dissertation (that which takes up chapter 8) concerning the security of the believer in Christ by explaining how that there is nothing that can or will ever be able to separate a believer from the Lord.

1.1.2. Paul compiled a list all of the beings that God has created, all of the extreme experiences in life that people go through, all of the spiritual powers in the universe, and even life and death itself. This list was intended to include every possible thing that could ever exist or occur in life. Paul told us then that none of these things will ever be able to separate the Christian from the Lord.

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at verses 1-16 of chapter 9.

1.2.1. As we begin our study, we are struck by the placement of chapters 9-11 which deal with the nation of Israel after Paul’s doctrinal dissertation of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, climaxing in chapter 8 with the assurances of salvation that are laid out for the Christian. However, we must come to understand that Paul is now going to begin to discuss eschatology and God’s plans for His people in the future, and a proper understanding of the place of Israel in God’s plans are central to properly understanding eschatology.

1.2.2. Most of Christianity has missed the boat I believe when it comes to a proper understanding of eschatology, and the basis of this is a misunderstanding of God’s plans both for Israel as well as the church. Most Christian denominations today believe that when Israel rejected Jesus Christ and the Lord established the church that at that point the Lord was now finished with Israel and all of the previous promises made to Israel are null and void and are thus now inherited by the church. So, when the Old Testament is interpreted by churches with this view they replace the various promises made to Israel as now belonging to the church. This is called Replacement Theology.

1.2.3. The churches who misunderstand eschatology in this way fail to understand or interpret Romans chapters 9 through 11 which deal with Israel. It is clear from Romans 9 through 11 that though Israel is now set aside by God as He is working through the agency of the church, there is coming a day when a massive revival will occur in the nation of Israel and fulfill what Paul writes in Romans 11:26, “And thus all Israel will be saved.”

1.2.4. We will study today about how that the Lord chooses or elects those who will come to salvation. This is a truth that many have had a hard time accepting or believing, and many have taken on a fatalistic view on life as a result of this truth of God’s choosing to salvation being in the scripture.

2. VS 9:1-3 - “9:1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing me witness 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,” - Paul tells us that he has great sorrow and continual grief because of his brethren according to the flesh, the Jews

2.1. In chapters 9-11 of Romans, Paul inserts a big parenthesis and deals with questions relating to the Jews. There were evidently many Jews in the church in Rome, plus Paul likewise knew that Jews in every part of the world needed to have the same questions answered which he addresses in these chapters.

2.2. To us who are Gentiles, it is very easy to accept the gospel of grace as presented by Paul to us in chapters 1-8. We see God’s wisdom, how the Old Testament foretold the church age, and we see how that God’s promises apply to us, giving us the means by which we may be “saved” through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. However, to the Jews this was and is to this day, not nearly so easy to understand nor accept. Likewise, the answers which Paul gives to the Jews in chapters 9-11 are many of the very same answers in which Jews today need in order to understand what keeps them from desiring to come to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

2.3. When I began this epistle, I wrote that Paul answers in the book many of the questions that people of all times have concerning their relationship with God. In chapters 9-11, Paul answers many of the questions which Jews had then as well as today.

2.4. Some of the questions the JewISH READERS IN PAUL’s DAY may have asked are:

2.4.1. Well, you’ve presented the gospel of grace and written that “whosoever” believes in Jesus Christ for salvation shall be saved, however how is it that the Gentiles are now allowed to have salvation?

2.4.2. Does the gospel that you’ve presented include the Jews?

2.4.3. Has God rejected the Jews today?

2.4.4. How is a Jew to be saved today?

2.4.5. What happened to the many promises which God made to the Jews in the Old Testament?

2.4.6. How can God be considered to be faithful to keep His Word if He isn’t today keeping those promises made to the Jews in the Old Testament?

2.4.7. Is God just for having rejected the Jews and instituted the church?

2.4.8. What are God’s plans for the Jews in the future?

2.4.9. If God is allowing the Gentiles as well as the Jews into the kingdom in the church age today, what shall be their relative positions in His future kingdom when He returns to the earth?

2.5. Paul has answers for all of these questions in chapters 9-11 of Romans. Likewise, most of the questions that people have concerning God’s sovereignty, election and predestination of believers are answered in these chapters as well.

2.6. The emphasis in chapter 9 is Israel’s past election by God. The emphasis in chapter 10 is Israel’s present rejection by God. The emphasis in chapter 11 is Israel’s future restoration by God.

2.7. Lets take a few minutes and look at some of the many Old Testament scriptures which tell us about God’s choosing of the nation of Israel as well as His plans for her descendants throughout history :

2.7.1. Genesis 17:7-8, "“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”"

2.7.2. Genesis 26:3-5, "“Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”"

2.7.3. Genesis 26:24, "The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham.”"

2.7.4. Genesis 28:13-15, "And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”"

2.7.5. Deuteronomy 4:37, "Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power."

2.7.6. Deuteronomy 7:7-8, "The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt…10:15, "Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day."

2.7.6.1. The Bible Knowledge Commentary makes the following pithy comments on Deut. 7-11 concerning why God would choose Israel and what His purposes were in choosing her as a nation unto Himself, “God’s election of Israel was never to become a source of pride for the nation. For God did not find any intrinsic merit in her which motivated Him to choose her. In fact her small size originally would have served as a hindrance to her election. On the positive side Moses offered two reasons for God’s choice of Israel. First, the Lord loved Israel. Ultimately this divine love is a mystery since it was not motivated by any goodness in the nation. Second, He chose them because of an oath He swore to Israel’s forefathers (cf. comments on 1:35), Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord had promised the patriarchs that their descendants would become a mighty nation and inherit the land of Canaan (Gen. 17:7-8; 26:3-5, 24; 28:13-15), and He would always be faithful to His Word (cf. Heb. 6:13-18). For that reason He brought Israel out . . . from the land of slavery (cf. Ex. 13:3, 14; 20:2; Deut. 5:6; 6:12; 8:14; 13:5, 10). 7:7-11. Moses meant for the Israelites to draw two conclusions from God’s choice and redemption of them. First, the Lord alone is God. He is able to control history, to raise up nations, and to bring them down. Second, He is the faithful God. The thousand generations is a proverbial expression meaning “endlessly” or “forever.” Though He will never abandon His covenant of love (cf. v. 12) to Israel, rebellious individuals within the nation will be judged for their sin just as His enemies in other nations (those who hate Him) are judged by Him. Therefore each individual Israelite needed to be careful to follow His commands.”

2.7.7. Deuteronomy 14:2, "“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth."

2.7.8. Jeremiah 33:24, "“Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight."

2.7.9. Isaiah 41:8-9, "“But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you."

2.8. Many commentators throughout the centuries have believed that in Romans chapters 9-11 that Paul totally deviated from his theme of the gospel of salvation in chapters 1-8. They believe that he simply inserted unrelated material here for the Jewish Christian’s sake. Then, in chapter 12 he takes up from where he left off in chapter 8. However, I believe that chapter 9 of Romans is actually perfectly fitted to follow Paul’s arguments in chapter 8 concerning the fact of the assurance of salvation for believers. In chapter 8, as part of Paul’s argument for assurance of salvation, he enters into the argument from the perspective of God’s election and predestination of people for salvation. Then, in chapter 9 he uses that very argument for dealing with the many questions that the Jews had regarding the past, present and future relationship with God. So, in chapter 9 we see Paul beginning to answer the objections that people of all ages have had to the doctrine of election and predestination as presented by Paul in the scriptures. The fit of chapter 9 with chapter 8 then is not only perfect, but it is also necessary since the doctrine of election and predestination naturally creates many questions in everyone’s minds.

2.9. In beginning this chapter, Paul first of all tells his Jewish readers that he has a very deep seated love for them. Paul desired more than anything in his life that the nation of Israel would come to faith in Christ for salvation. He desires this so greatly that he even makes the comment that he would be willing to suffer the judgment of being sent to hell himself if they would in turn be saved. This is really in a sense a foolish thing to wish for, however sometimes God places a burden upon men and women which will lead them to intercede for the lost in such a way as Paul does. We saw this with Moses when God wanted to destroy the people and start over with just Moses in Exodus 32:32, “32 “But now, if Thou wilt, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Thy book which Thou hast written!””

2.10. Paul shows his sincerity in this real burden that he had for the Jews to be saved by writing that he is not ‘lying’ and, ‘my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit.’

2.11. Paul writes of, ‘great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart,’ which describes the depth of his burden that he has for the unbelieving Jews to become converted Christians. He himself was a Jew, and even though he had suffered so greatly at the hands of his countrymen for his testimony concerning Jesus, he still risked his life constantly in order that he might boldly proclaim the way of salvation in Christ to them. The scriptures do not give the account of the martyrdom of the apostle Paul, however he certainly appears to have perished because of his preaching of the gospel, and, in each city in which he went to preach the gospel, he first went to the Jews with the gospel.

2.12. When Paul writes that he wished that he himself could be ‘accursed,’ this Greek word he uses means to be sent into the eternal punishment of hell. Strong’s Greek Dictionary has the following definition for this word translated as ‘accursed’ :

1) a thing set up or laid by in order to be kept

1a) specifically, an offering resulting from a vow, which after being consecrated to a god was hung upon the walls or columns of the temple, or put in some other conspicuous place

2) a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction

2a) a curse

2b) a man accursed, devoted to the direst of woes

2.13. The other places in which this Greek word is used in scripture by Paul make it evident that when he used this word he was referring to the eternal punishment of hell to be suffered by the wicked who do not know Christ as Lord and Savior :

2.13.1. This word ‘accursed’ is also used in 1 Cor. 16:22, “22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. Maranatha.”

2.13.2. Likewise, the word is used in Gal. 1:8-9, “8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.”

2.14. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER 9: ISRAEL’S PAST ELECTION (questions and objections answered)

2.14.1. God is sovereign and chooses who will be saved.

2.14.2. The Old Testament stories of Isaac and Ishmael and Jacob and Esau reveal God is sovereign and chooses to salvation.

2.14.3. The Old Testament reveals that it is always only a remnant who will be saved.

2.14.4. The Old Testament prophesied that the Gentiles would be saved in this age.

2.15. We Christians need to pray for the lost ones of this world who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. The reason that we do not have a burning burden for the salvation of souls around us is that we do not pray for them. As we pray for the lost, God will place a burden like the one which Paul had for the Jews in our hearts for those in our life who do not know Christ.

2.16. Jesus said in Matt. 5:44-46 that we are to pray for our enemies, “44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you 45 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same?” If we will pray for those who are our enemies, who persecute us, and despitefully use us, then God will cause us to have a great love for them, and we will have a great burden to share the gospel with them. Much prayer always precedes having a burden for the lost. We must continue to be much in prayer in order to continue to have a burden for the lost.

3. VS 9:4-5 - “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.” - Paul tells us that it was to the Israelites that adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and promises were originally given

3.1. In these two verses, Paul enumerates some of the great privileges which were given and entrusted to the Jews when God called them to be His people :

3.1.1. ‘Adoption as sons’ :

3.1.1.1. In Exodus 4:22-23, we see that the Lord told Moses to tell Pharoah that Israel was His adopted son, “22 “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My first-born. 23 “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go, that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born.”’””

3.1.2. ‘The glory’ of God and ‘the things of God’ in their temple worship :

3.1.2.1. God’s very presence with the Israelites was with great glory as we see in scriptures such as Exodus 40:34-38, “34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 And throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; 37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. 38 For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.”

3.1.3. ‘The covenants’ of God :

3.1.3.1. In Gen. 17:2-5 is recorded the covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendants, “2 “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.”

3.1.4. The ‘giving of the Law’ (10 Commandments).

3.1.5. ‘The temple service’ (carried out by the Aaronic and Levitical priests.

3.1.6. ‘The promises’ :

3.1.6.1. The Jews, as Abraham’s descendants, received the promises given to Abraham, especially the one regarding the giving of the Messiah who came from the blood line of Abraham. Peter preached about this in Acts 13:32-35, “32 “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘Thou art My Son; today I have begotten Thee.’ 34 “And as for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no more to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘Thou wilt not allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.’”

3.1.7. ‘The fathers’ (Patriarchs descended from Abraham).

3.1.8. ‘From whom is the Christ according to the flesh.’

3.1.8.1. Jesus is the blood descendant of Abraham as is shown in the genealogies given in Matthew 1 and Luke 1.

3.1.9. ‘the Messiah.’

3.1.9.1. Paul enters into worship as he writes of ‘the Messiah,’ saying that He is ‘God blessed forever, Amen.’ Paul may actually have been remembering a hymn that was sung in his day about the Messiah as he writes this last statement.

4. VS 9:6-8 - “6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” 8 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.” - Paul tells us that they are not all of Israel who are descended from Israel

4.1. In these verses, Paul begins to answer the first of the objections which the Jews might presently have toward the gospel, namely, did God’s Word in the promises made to Israel fail to come to pass, or become rescinded by God?

4.1.1. The answer that Paul gives to this objection first of all involves the fact that in the first place not all of the Israelites were REALLY God’s children. That is, in following his previous argument for eternal security based upon the election and predestination of God, God has always only saved those whom He had personally elected, predestined, and called to salvation. Merely being a physical descendant of Abraham did not make one automatically one of God’s chosen people.

4.1.2. That only a spiritual remnant are truly God’s people was not believed by the Jews in Paul’s day, nor is it believed in ours. The Jews felt that everyone who was physically descended from Abraham was automatically called to become a child of God inheriting all of the promises made to Abraham, including the inheritance of the Messiah Himself.

4.2. We in the church today must not believe that because we were either raised in a church-going Christian family or that we simply attend a church, that we are automatically one of God’s children. Just as with the Israelites, we can put not stock in anything that is an external condition of ours in order to guarantee that we have salvation. We must be called of Christ to salvation. We must come to Christ by means of obeying the gospel message to repent, place our faith in Christ’s work for us for salvation, and trust that our sins are forgiven through Him and that thus we have salvation. Having such a professed faith in Christ as I just described, our good works and holiness will attest to the reality of our very calling by God unto salvation.

5. VS 9:9 - “9 For this is a word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”” - Paul reminds us of the promise made to Abraham that Sarah would have a son

5.1. Paul now seeks to prove that the Old Testament reveals God’s sovereign election of His people. The first example showing God’s sovereign choice of His people is the choice that He made to choose Isaac over Ishmael to be the child of promise.

5.2. Abraham and Sarah had been promised descendants that would be in number as the grains of sand on the seashore, and yet both were in their old age, and, Sarah had never been able to conceive up to this point. Therefore, Abraham and Sarah decided to try in their own flesh (instead of trusting God to do it) to make the promise become fulfilled when Sarah gave to Abraham her handmaid Hagar to conceive a son. Hagar conceived a son and he was named Ishmael. However, God had never intended for Ishmael to be the one who would inherit the promises given to his father. So, God told Abraham that Sarah would conceive a son, and that the promise would be given to this son. Therefore, God rejected the plans of man, and in doing this revealed that He indeed is sovereign and chooses whom He will to come to salvation.

6. VS 9:10-12 - “10 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, in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”” - Paul reminds us also of Rebekah who after she had conceived twins by Isaac the Lord told her that the older one would serve the younger one

6.1. The second case in point in the Old Testament which proved that God sovereignly chooses men and women to salvation is the story of Jacob and Esau. People might have looked at the story of Isaac and Ishmael and simply concluded that God chose Isaac instead of Ishmael since Ishmael was not the son of Abraham’s rightful wife, so Paul gives a much more convincing proof of God’s choice in the story of Jacob and Esau in these verses.

6.2. Rebekah had not even yet delivered the twins, Jacob and Esau, and the Lord told her that the older one would ‘serve the younger.’ In the culture of the day, the full inheritance of the parents was automatically given to the oldest son, however God revealed His sovereign choosing of His people by making this choice of Jacob over Esau, even before they were born.

6.3. Paul emphasizes God’s choice further in the fact that Jacob was chosen over Esau even before either of them had ever done anything good or bad, having not yet been born. Paul writes then that this fact reveals that God’s choice is not based upon works. In other words, there is nothing inherently good in a man or a woman which God, who knows all, sees and thus He chooses them to salvation over someone else. Therefore, Paul writes ‘in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls.’

6.4. In this life, we have no idea why it is that God chooses anyone to salvation over another, we just know that it is because of His purposes which He sovereignly carries out in the world.

6.5. We Christians must never become proud thinking that there must be something that is inherently good within us that has merited God’s favor in our lives. We must realize that quite the opposite is true. We all deserved eternal hell as the punishment for our sins, and that if we have come to salvation through Christ, all of the glory must go only to God for performing this work in such unworthy creatures as us.

6.6. Likewise, the person who does not know Christ must never sit back and think that because God chooses that whether or not he tries to make a choice for Christ for salvation, it will not make any difference in his life. If a person rejects Christ, he will have no excuse before God on the day of judgment, for it will be his fault only that he did not receive salvation, for the scripture has said that “whosoever” calls upon the Lord shall be saved.

7. VS 9:13 - “13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”” - Paul quotes God’s words as He stated that He loved Jacob and hated Esau

7.1. This verse has brought about much discussion and speculation throughout the last 2,000 years since it was written. The verse is a quote from Mal. 1:2. Many people have a hard time understanding how God could be said to hate anyone. Spurgeon once said that what he could not understand was not that God hated Esau, but rather that God loved Jacob.

7.2. There are a few places in the scriptures where this idea of hate is used, and they reveal that the meaning of the word hate in the scriptures may not be identical to that which our 20th century American culture has of hate. For instance, Jesus said in Luke 14:26, “26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” The word ‘hate’ is used there as a type of comparison. It is not a complete repugnance of mother and father that is spoken of in this verse (for this would violate the Law concerning honoring father and mother), but rather a comparison to that to which you really do have a love and affection for. I believe this is the same way in which this word ‘hate’ is used in this verse. If it were the case that God had an utter and complete repugnance of those who are not His people, then John 3:16 would not record Jesus as saying that the Father had such a great “love” for the world that He gave His only-begotten Son so that those in the world might be saved.

8. VS 9:14-16 - “14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” - Paul asks the rhetorical question of whether or not because God chooses some to salvation that He is unjust, and then he answers his own question with a resounding, “No!”

8.1. The next objection that the Jew might have is dealt with in these verses. The Jew might be questioning whether or not God is really unjust by His electing and predestining some to salvation. This is a question that people of the world today often ponder. The people of this world often object to the notion of election and predestination based upon the fact that if it were true then it would make God be unjust. After all, how could God not choose everyone to be saved?! And, is it fair that the lost were not chosen and elected to salvation?! The people of this world of course do not realize that when a non-believer dies, that it shall never be God’s fault that they did not come to salvation, for the door was open to all to enter in to salvation.

8.2. In answer as to whether or not God could ever be considered to be ‘unjust’ Paul says, “God Forbid!” (as the KJV records), or ‘May it never be!’ (our translation). Everything that God does is completely holy, just, righteous, and good.

8.3. Paul writes that the fact is that God is God, and therefore because He is God, He has the right by definition to do whatever He wants to do. We are mere creations of His, and as such, do to our inferiority and the fact that we owe all that we have to Him, we must resolve that He can and will do anything that He really wants to do. Man should never have a gripe with God. Paul writes that God spoke to Moses about His absolute sovereignty over all creation saying, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ The fact is He has absolute power, so He can and will do whatever He desires to do, for He is God, and we are the lowest of creatures before Him.

8.4. In verse 16, Paul writes, ‘So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy,’ and this is the first mention of God’s ‘mercy’ in the book. “Grace” had been mentioned, but not God’s ‘mercy.’ Paul mentions God’s mercy in order to communicate to us that the only reason any man or woman shall ever come to salvation is because God had ‘mercy’ on them, something which He did not have to do. A person could not ‘desire’ to be saved unless God had not worked in their heart in the first place since Paul wrote in chapter 3 verse 11, “There is none who seeks for God.” Likewise, no person could in any way work so as to have the ability to ‘will’ or ‘to run’ and produce works sufficient to gain them salvation. Salvation can only come from God because of His mercy extended toward creatures of His own choosing. He first works within men “to will and work for His good pleasure.”

9. CONCLUSIONS:

9.1. As we consider this study and how we ought to apply it to our lives, we need to see that God’s word can be relied upon. What He has promised, even to Israel, one day He will fulfill. Every word of God shall com to pass in its time, and the faithfulness of God will be revealed.

9.2. We who are saved through Jesus Christ need to give thanks to God for His love and grace in choosing us to come to salvation. We need to give glory to God for reaching down in love, mercy, and grace to sinful people such as we are with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ

9.3. We need to keep our eyes upon Israel for it is in this nation and in the city of Jerusalem that the Lord will one day establish His kingdom, and it is Israel who one day will turn to Jesus Christ and once again be grafted into the vine of His kingdom.

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