Paul's Sorrow for His Kinsmen Romans 9 - Pt. 1 Commentary Romans 9.1-23 Matthew Janzen Romans 9:1-5 (1) I speak the truth in Christ I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit (2) that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. (3) For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood. (4) They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. (5) The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen. I. Introduction - We finished going through Romans 8 in its entirety last Sabbath, and sometimes when chapter divisions are placed in Scripture the thought continues on... but not here. A. While Paul's letter is cohesive as a whole, he does begin here a new line of thought and thus a new line of writing. B. He begins by speaking of a certain number of Israelites (and we will see that he references physical, flesh and blood Israelites) that have not embraced Yeshua as their Messiah. C. Paul here is centering in on Israelites that have not believed, that have not placed their faith in Yeshua as Messiah, Son of Yahweh. In speaking or writing about them, his heart is heavy because he knows that they do not have salvation when rejecting Messiah. D. Now, sometimes we think about Israelites living before the time of Yeshua. And we ponder and say, "Well, there were saved Israelites before Yeshua ever came, so why would these Israelites Paul speaks of be lost for not believing in Yeshua?" 1. We must recognize that every Israelite that has ever been saved is saved from his or her sins by faith in Yeshua.
2. The concept of the "Son" is taught not just in the NT, but also in the OT. a. *Psalm 110:1 - "Yahweh declared to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool." b. *Psalm 2:2,12 - "The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against Yahweh and His Anointed One... Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion." c. *Proverbs 30:4 - "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son if you know?" d. *Genesis 3:15 - "I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." e. *2 Samuel 7:14 - "I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me." f. *Isaiah 53:5-6 - "But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and Yahweh has punished Him for the iniquity of us all." 3. Many Israelites in the OT believed in the Son by looking forward to the Son that would one day come. The fuller revelation of the Son though, was not taught until the Son was born and then the Israelites looked upon him literally and saw him fully. 4. We today are similar to the OT Israelites in that we do not see the Son, but yet we believe in him by looking backwards instead of forwards. Peter writes to people like us in *1 Peter 1:8 - "You love Him, though you have not seen Him." E. So... let's get into the text... II. *Romans 9:1-2 - "(1) I speak the truth in Messiah I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit (2) that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart."
A. Paul begins here by stating that he is telling the truth. He not only says he speaks the truth, but he also says he is not lying. Just 2 ways to emphasize Paul's honesty here. B. He then goes on to further validate his honesty by mentioning his conscience. In other words he has a clean conscience and what he is writing is coming forth from his intellect and his internal awareness. He really feels what he is about to share, it's weighing heavy on his heart and he feels that it is the Holy Spirit of Yahweh inside of him that is causing these feelings. C. What is going on in Paul's inner man? He is having a very intense sorrow and continual anguishing in his heart. His heart is constantly heavy and sad for certain reason. 1. Have you ever had a person or even circumstance on your heart so heavy that you can't quit thinking about it? 2. Have you ever seen someone in unrepentant sin and you want so badly to be able to show them the proper path, but they refuse to take heed and you pray and pray and pray and just can't stop praying and thinking about them? 3. This is what Paul is experiencing here. He hurts in his heart. III. *Romans 9:3 - "For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood." A. Now we begin to see who Paul is hurting for. 1. He hurts so badly that he writes he could almost desire to be cursed himself and cut off from Messiah if it meant that his brothers could be saved. 2. I personally, if I'm honest, don't know of anyone that I love enough to trade my salvation so that they could be saved... but that's appears to be exactly what Paul is saying here. He's almost to the point of giving up his status as a believer and being cut off from Messiah so that his brothers could have salvation. B. Now, before we move on, do you notice here how Paul is talking about (1) individual Israelites, and (2) eternal salvation? Paul is not just talking about national Israel or temporal benefits or earthly blessings. You don't use words like cursed and cut off from Messiah to describe you losing an earthly benefit. And you don't speak of yourself personally and individually if your not talking about individual salvation.
C. So, who is Paul talking about here? Well, he's told us, it's his brothers, and he refers to them as, "my own flesh and blood." So he is talking about his physical flesh and blood kinsmen. 1. See, Paul was a physical Israelite. He tells us in *Romans 11:1 - "For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin." So Paul is speaking literally, physically, and not metaphorically or spiritually. 2. Paul isn't talking here about just any person of any nationality. His brothers are those flesh and blood Israelites that have not believed in Yeshua. They are his physical brothers even though they've not believed. IV. *Romans 9:4 - "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises." A. Here Paul confirms my understanding of verse 3. He states that his brothers, the ones he calls his own flesh and blood are Israelites. 1. Paul here speaks of those people that physically descended from Jacob/Israel. 2. Remember back to Genesis. Think about Abraham. His chosen son was Isaac, and then Isaac's chosen son was Jacob whose name was later changed to Israel. Israel had a total of 12 sons and these sons fathered children, and their children fathered more children and so on. Thus these people are all called Israelites because of their ancestry in Jacob/Israel. B. Paul then lists several benefits that the Israelites had. Take note here that the Israelites experienced these benefits because of God's choosing. They each had no power over whether or not they were born an Israelite. They had no consciousness prior to their conception in their Mother's womb to say, "I'm going to be birthed into a physical Israelite family." To be born a physical Israelite and thus a person that was in a special relationship status to Yahweh was completely by grace. 1. Adoption - Now, I taught much about the concept of adoption in a sermon through Romans 8. Romans 8:15 speaks of being adopted into the family of Yahweh, thus being his child. While individual Israelites do experience this Romans 8:15 adoption I do not believe that this Romans 9:4 adoption is the same. a. Here is why. The Romans 8:15 adoption is speaking of saved people. People who have been regenerated by the Spirit of Yahweh and place faith in Yeshua.
b. Romans 9:4 is speaking of Paul's brothers in flesh and blood who are cursed because they've not been regenerated and they've not put faith in Yeshua - yet they still have adoption pertaining to them. So we have to see two different senses for the word adoption here. c. The Romans 9:4 adoption is speaking of Israel's status as God's chosen people above all the other peoples of the earth. The nation of Israel was, and still is, set aside as a chosen people by the Almighty. This is something Yahweh did not do with any other nation. d. Let me quote *Deuteronomy 7:6 - "For you are a holy people belonging to Yahweh your God. Yahweh your God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth." e. Yahweh says in *Exodus 4:22-23 - "Then you will say to Pharaoh: This is what Yahweh says: Israel is My firstborn son. I told you: Let My son go so that he may worship Me, but you refused to let him go. Now I will kill your firstborn son! f. This blessing of adoption for Israel does not include the salvation of every single individual Israelite (a point I will get into next week) but nonetheless it is a blessing to be the chosen physical people on the earth above everyone else. 2. The Glory - I think this is a reference to the glory of Yahweh being with the people of Israel in a special way. Yahweh's glory was not manifest to any other people like it was to Israel. a. Remember when Moses' face shown brightly with the glory of Yahweh? b. And also how the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle so thick that the priests were not able to minister therein? c. This glory rested upon Israel, and only Israel. 3. The Covenants - Here Paul uses the word in the plural to denote all the special agreements made throughout the history of the world. Even the covenants made prior to the birth of Jacob-Israel were made with Jacob/Israel's progenitors like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, etc. Take note that this plural word covenants also includes the New Covenant which is made exclusively with Israel. Jeremiah 31:31-36 and Hebrews 8:8-12 make this abundantly clear.
4. The Giving of the Law - *Psalm 147:19-20 - "He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel. He has not done this for any nation; they do not know His judgments. Hallelujah!" The law, the Torah, was only given to the nation of Israel. The Canaanites, Philistines, Jebusites, Egyptians, etc. never had the law given to them. This again shows the special relationship God had with Israel. 5. The Temple Service - Only the Israelites, specifically from Levi through Aaron, had the privilege of serving in the Temple. 6. The Promises - All of God's promises were made to His special people. C. This is quite a list, and Paul mentions each of these here to focus in on who they are physically. They are his brothers, and he weeps for them because they do not know Messiah even though they have such physical benefits as each of these things listed in verse 4. V. *Romans 9:5 - "The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen. A. The "ancestors are theirs" is in the KJV "of whom are the fathers." I believe what Paul is saying here just continues to validate Israel's status as a special people to Yahweh. The ancestors or the fathers is probably referring to those patriarchs prior to Jacob/Israel. The important people in Genesis that came before Jacob/Israel. B. Then Paul mentions that from them (Israel) by physical descent came the Messiah. Paul wraps up his argument by speaking of the fact that the Messiah descended from Jacob/Israel, and we know that his descent is from the line of Judah because we can trace his lineage in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 and we also have Hebrews 7:14 saying that it is obvious he came from Judah. C. Then we have a phrase I want to take some time with to close out this sermon and that's the end of *Romans 9:5. Reading it in the HCSB makes it sound like the Messiah is God over all to be praised forever. In other words, Yeshua is Yahweh God. I do not believe this is what the verse originally stated or meant. Why? 1. What we have here is a translational debate even amongst scholars of the NT. About this verse Robert H. Mounce wrote: The meaning of (v. 5b) is one of the most hotly disputed questions of the New Testament. (The New American Commentary, Vol. 27, p. 349.) 2. Some Bibles translate the Greek in support of Yeshua being God. Other Bibles translate the Greek in support of the last phrase being a doxology to
God. Doxology basically means a phrase that gives God glory because of His marvelous work. 3. Let's compare two opposing translations here. NIV RSV Theirs are the patriarchs, and To them belong the patriarchs, from them is traced the and of their race, according to human ancestry of the the flesh, is the Christ. God Messiah, who is God over all, who is over all be blessed for forever praised! * Amen. ever. Amen. *Footnote in NIV - "Or Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised!" 4. Notice how the NIV translates the text as though Messiah is God over all, while the RSV translates the text as saying God, separate from Christ, is over all and blessed forever. Which is right? Well, it really depends on the punctuation, and I pick the punctuation which keeps Yeshua the Messiah as God's Son and not God. 5. What we have here with most people is a case that happens so often in Bible study that it really is ridiculous. To many people it doesn't matter if you have 500 clear verses saying one thing and then 5 grey verses apparently saying something else. People will overturn the 500 clear verse to keep the 5 grey verses instead of interpreting the 5 in light of the 500. 6. Let's step back and look at something for a second. Look at all the times in Romans 8 (the chapter just before Romans 9) that Paul emphasizes Yeshua as God's Son separate from God. a. Romans 8:3 - God sent His own Son b. Romans 8:17 - Heirs of God and Co-heirs With Christ c. Romans 8:29 - He (God) predestined us (elect) to be conformed to the image of His Son. d. Romans 8:31-32 - God did not spare His own Son e. Romans 8:34 - The Son has been raised from the dead by God. f. Romans 8:34 - The Son is at the right hand of God. g. Romans 8:39 - The love of God in Messiah Yeshua our Master.
h. Here we have 7 times in one chapter where God and His Son are distinct. Not just the Father and the Son that are distinct (like Trinitarianism teaches) but God and His Son. i. What happens then is people run into a verse like Romans 9:5 (a verse which can be rendered in English in a way that continues to separate God and His Son) and they overturn a myriad of clear verses elsewhere. People do the same thing with verses about the law. 7. Let me now quote to you the observation of some modern day Christian theologians that also feel it is best to see this verse as a doxology to God. a. J. Schneider, God in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 2, ed. Colin Brown, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), p. 80. "Rom. 9.5 is disputed. After Paul has expounded the position of Israel in salvation history and has emphasized as an especial advantage the fact that Christ according to the flesh, stems from this people, he adds a relative clause, which runs lit. who is over all God blessed for ever. Amen. Even so, Christ would not be equated absolutely with God, but only described as a being of divine nature, for the word theos has no article. But this ascription of majesty does not occur anywhere else in Paul. The much more probable explanation is that the statement is a doxology directed to God, stemming from [Judahite] tradition and adopted by Paul. Overwhelmed by God s dealings with Israel, Paul concludes with an ascription of praise to God. The translation would then read, The one who is God over all be blessed for ever. Amen. or alternatively, God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen. b. R. S. Franks, The Doctrine of the Trinity, (Gerald Duckworth and Co., London, 1953), pp. 34-36. "It should be added that Rom. 9:5 cannot be adduced to prove that Paul ever thought of Christ as God. The state of the case is found in the R.V. margin He [Paul] never leaves the ground of [Judahite] monotheism. It has been pointed out that Rom. 9:5 cannot be brought in, to question this statement. On the contrary, God is spoken of by the Apostle as not only the Father, but also the God of our Lord Jesus Christ 8. What we have then in Romans 9:4-5 is a declaration of all of the exclusive promises to Israel. God gave Israel the adoption, His glory, the covenants, the Torah, the temple service, the promises, they are descended
from the patriarchs, and Yeshua the promised Messiah is physically descended from Israel. Because of God's great doings and love upon this people, the apostle gives God glory and honor here at the end of verse 5. He praises Him for His mighty works. 9. But... in all that God has done for Israel, does that mean that every single individual Israelite will come to faith in Messiah? Well... you'll have to wait until next week to find that out. Not All Israelites are Israelites Romans 9 - Pt. 2 Text: Romans 9:6-13 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Neither are they all children because they are Abraham s descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac. That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring. For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son. And not only that, but also Rebekah received a promise when she became pregnant by one man, our ancestor Isaac. For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God s purpose according to election might stand - not from works but from the One who calls - she was told: The older will serve the younger. As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau. I. Review - You must follow the flow of the chapter as a whole... A. In the last message we dealt with... 1. Paul's intense sorrow for his brothers in Israel. His PHYSICAL brothers, but not his SPIRITUAL brothers. 2. Paul's heart was so heavy that he could ALMOST desire that he would be cursed if it meant his brothers would be saved. 3. Paul then went on to describe all of the benefits that the physical Israelites received because of being the chosen physical people of Yahweh above all other peoples on the face of the earth. All of the benefits belonged to them exclusively: adoption, glory, covenants, giving of the law, temple service, promises, the fathers, and even the Messiah came through the line of Jacob-Israel. B. I believe what is going through Paul's mind is this...
1. If national, physical Israel has all of these benefits then one might wonder how it is that an individual in national, physical Israel is cursed or unbelieving. In other words, why does an individual physical Israelite not believe in the promised Messiah? 2. Remember, Paul began this section of his letter by expressing just how heavy his heart was for his own flesh and blood brothers. 3. The reason he felt this way was because of their rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah. We know this from Romans 9:2 where Paul says he would rather be the one cut off from Messiah (if it were possible) if his physical brothers could take his place. C. So... has the word of God about Israel failed? Well, of course God's word has not failed, but how we do reconcile the fact that many physical Israelites were unbelieving and thus not saved from Yahweh's wrath? II. *Romans 9:6 "But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." A. So... Paul answers our question very quickly. He tells us that even though many in physical Israel do not believe this doesn't mean that the word of Yahweh has failed. B. He then gives us the reason why we can know Yahweh's word has not failed. He explains it. How is it that the word of Yahweh has not failed? It is because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. C. Now, here's where you often see a major mishandling of a NT text. 1. Most of the time this verse is read all alone, by itself (it's okay to read verses alone, but read them according to their context) by people who make it mean something like this: "Romans 9:6 tells us that there are people that although not from physical Israel are nonetheless spiritual Israel." 2. But this is not what the text is teaching. In context, the verse is telling us that not everyone who is a physical Israelite is also a spiritual child of Yahweh or a spiritual Israelite. 3. In other words, you can be a descendant of Jacob-Israel physically, and thus part of Yahweh's physical chosen people, but at the same time NOT BE one of Yahweh's spiritual children.
4. As the text says, listen carefully - not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Not all who physically come from Jacob-Israel are genuinely spiritual Israelites. 5. This would explain how the word of God has not failed. We might think that if every single individual Israelite was not saved then God's word indeed has failed. But Paul explains that God has chosen physical Israel for many earthly benefits, but that does not mean He has also chosen every individual within Israel for salvation from their sins. 6. If we are OT students then we should already know that many times in the OT we see where physical Israelites did not follow Yahweh spiritually. a. For example, Exodus 32 tells us about 3,000 Israelites who were killed because they did not want to be on Yahweh's side. b. In Numbers 11 we see that Yahweh slaughtered many in Israel because of their continuous complaining and also their gluttony. c. In Numbers 21 Yahweh sent fiery serpents amongst Israel and killed many within Israel for complaining and desiring to go back to Egypt. d. In Numbers 25 there were 24,000 people, mostly Israelites, who died by a plague from Yahweh because they had joined themselves to a heathen, idolatrous people. e. Israel is Yahweh's chosen physical people, but that does not mean that every single individual Israelite is Yahweh's chosen spiritual people. III. *Romans 9:7 "Neither are they all children because they are Abraham s descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac." A. Here Paul will begin to go to the Tanak to prove his point. B. It is amazing at how anti-paul adherents are always trying to say that Paul did away with the teachings in the Tanak. The more I take the time to actually study Paul intently (verse-by-verse meticulously) the more I see that he always bolsters his arguments by citing points from the Tanak, or the OT. Don't be lazy, study Paul meticulously. C. Here Paul proves that not all physical Israelites are spiritual Israelites by going back in time to an earlier patriarch in Genesis named Abraham. He assumes his readers know the Tanak.
D. He points out that back in Abraham's day, just because you were a physical descendant from Abraham didn't mean that you were the chosen spiritual people of Yahweh. E. Why is this? Well Paul points out what the Scripture says to Abraham. "Your offspring will be traced through Isaac." 1. This is a direct quote from *Genesis 21:12. This is where Abraham was disturbed after letting the handmaid of Sarah leave with his son Ishmael. 2. Remember, Ishmael was Abraham's son too, through Hagar. In Genesis 21:13 Yahweh promises Abraham that he will make great nation of Ishmael because he was a son of Abraham, but was he the chosen son? 3. No. The chosen son was the one that Abraham had through Sarah, and this child was a miracle child being born to Sarah when she was around 90 years, and to Abraham at 100. Now according to Genesis 16:16 Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael, but Abraham thought that his being 100 years old was too old for him to produce a child because he said in *Genesis 17:17-18 - "Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth? So Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael were acceptable to You! 4. Yahweh's response to Abraham was this in *Genesis 17:19-21: "But God said, No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. *As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year. F. So we see here that although Abraham had more than one physical son, this did not mean that all physical sons of Abraham were the spiritual covenant children of Yahweh. IV. *Romans 9:8 "That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring." A. Here Paul explains in further detail what he has just written in Romans 9:7. B. He says that his point is this: it is not the physical children who are the children of Yahweh, but rather the children of promise (or spiritual children) that are considered to be the offspring of Yahweh.
1. And this makes sense. You can be a physical descendant of Abraham, but that doesn't mean Yahweh has birthed you by His spirit. 2. What makes one a child of Yahweh? Yahweh has to birth you. Let's take a look at one other passage that shows this - John 1:13. 3. *John 1:13 "Who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God." 4. Now there's much more prior to this verse that we could get into, as well as after, but I just want to center in on for a moment that this text speaks of children of Yahweh, spiritual children of Yahweh. 5. The first part of the verse speaks of them being born, and then we have a list of negatives, a list of things that these children are not born of. They are not born of... 1. Blood - it doesn't matter if you've got thoroughbred Israelite blood running through your veins. This doesn't make you an automatic spiritual child of Yahweh. 2. Will of the flesh - it again does not matter who you are in your physical, fleshly descent. 3. Will of man - this upsets a lot of people but these children in John 1:13 are not born from the will of man. 6. Then we have what they are born of... God. See if you take out all the negatives and just read the positive in John 1:13 what you have is, "Who were born... of God." God births his children. 7. Abraham fathered both Ishmael and Isaac. They both had Abraham's blood, but only one of these children was the child of promise, i.e. the spiritual child of Yahweh. 8. Catch this, neither child had a choice in being born to Abraham by physical descent. Likewise, Isaac didn't have a choice in being the promised child of Yahweh by spiritual happening. It all depended upon Yahweh's free will. C. Now, before we move on let me point something out here in *Romans 9:8. 1. I recognize that this text says that it is not the children of physical descent that are God's children, but rather those children of promise are God's children."
2. The understanding of this must be though: "The children of physical descent ONLY are not God's children, but it is rather those that ALSO are spiritually birthed by Yahweh that are His children." 3. Many interpret Romans 9:7-8 focusing in on the fact that being a fleshly descendant of Abraham doesn't automatically make you a child of Yahweh (and this is true) but they go too far with the text. They go too far when they speak of the spiritual children, and they want to include any and every person that has ever been born into Romans 9:8. 4. But... the point Paul makes is not to dismiss physical descent altogether, because the spiritual child of Yahweh by promise - Isaac - was STILL a physical descendant of Abraham! 5. In other words Paul is telling us that JUST being a physical descendant of Abraham doesn't make you a child of Yahweh; you must also be chosen by Yahweh as His spiritually birthed child. Both physical descent and spiritual birth are graces bestowed upon people by the Creator. D. Let me now comment on *Romans 9:9 - "For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son." 1. This verse quotes Genesis 18:10 and 14. See not only did Yahweh speak to Abraham about Sarah having a son back in Genesis 17, but He again promised it in Genesis 18. 2. Let's read it in *Genesis 18:10-14 "Yahweh said, I will certainly come back to you in about a year s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son! Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him. Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. So she laughed to herself: After I have become shriveled up and my lord is old, will I have delight? *But Yahweh asked Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Can I really have a baby when I m old? Is anything impossible for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son. 3. So... Romans 9:9 speaks of the promise made to Abraham and Sarah by Yahweh. Yahweh promised that he would come back to them at an appointed time and Sarah would have a son. Paul quotes Genesis 18 here in Romans 9:9 to further the point that God's spiritual children are birthed by spiritual promises outside of the realm of man's power. 4. In Abraham and Sarah's mind... they laughed. I believe this is why they named the child Isaac (although Yahweh had already given the child this name back in Genesis 17:19-21). The name Isaac means laughter, and in *Genesis 21:5-6 we read, "Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac
was born to him. Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me." 5. God performed the spiritual, and he still performs the spiritual every time a person is birthed by Him. He does something unique, and it is something only He can do. You cannot do it. V. *Romans 9:10-13 "And not only that, but also Rebekah received a promise when she became pregnant by one man, our ancestor Isaac. For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God s purpose according to election might stand not from works but from the One who calls she was told: The older will serve the younger. As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau." A. Now this is where it gets even plainer, but this is also where it gets more difficult for people to accept. B. Just in case you read what Paul writes about Abraham's children and you think to yourself, "Well, the reason Isaac was chosen was because he came through a different mother than Ishmael," Paul gives yet another example of two children that came from the same mother. C. These two children are Jacob and Esau and according to Genesis 25:20-26 they were twin brothers. 1. So this is what Paul centers in on here when he says in Romans 9:10 that "she became pregnant by one man." Do you see that? The Greek is literally rendered into English like this: "Rebekah from one conceiving" or "Rebekah from one conception." Paul's main point is not that the boys had the same father (they did, but this was the same as Isaac and Ishmael), Paul's main point is that through one act of conception these boys were born. They were twins. 2. Jacob and Esau not only had the same father (like Isaac and Ishmael) they had the same mother too. D. Paul's point in verse 10 is that Rebekah received a PROMISE when she conceived by Isaac. Remember Isaac was the child of promise, and here Paul speaks of Rebekah receiving a promise. What was the promise? (NOTE: The Greek does not read "received a promise" but rather just "also" referencing back to the promise Abraham and Sarah received, so it is not incorrect here in the HCSB.) 1. Well, let's read a little bit in *Genesis 25:21-23 "Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife because she was childless. Yahweh heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, Why is this happening to me? So she went to inquire of Yahweh. *And Yahweh said to her: Two nations
are in your womb; two people will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." 2. So Rebekah feels this tension inside of her stomach and she goes and asks Yahweh what is going on. Yahweh replies to her that there isn't just one child in her, but two, and of these two there are actually two nations and two people that will be separated on earth. One of these children will produce a stronger nation than the other. The stronger one will be the younger child. The older will serve the younger - that's the promise - and if you look at *Romans 9:12 (at the end) it says she was told "The older will serve the younger." And we know that Esau was born before Jacob. Esau was the older of the twins. *Genesis 25:24-26 "When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born." 3. So Paul is just furthering the point he's been making. He goes on to make even more of an exclusion. Just because you are a physical descendant of Isaac doesn't make you the promised seed because Isaac had twin sons born of the same mother but one was chosen spiritually (Jacob) and the other (Esau) was not. 4. Do you see how Paul has built upon his point he made in *Romans 9:6? Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Starting with Abraham, we have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob later named Israel. Paul's point is that just because you are a physical descendant of these men doesn't make you a child of promise. You must ALSO be chosen by Yahweh spiritually, birthed by Yahweh to be a child of promise. 5. This is why the non-salvation of individual Israelites does not mean the word of God to Israel has failed. So long as we recognize what has always been true - there is a remnant of spiritually birthed children within Israel - these are the true Israel of Yahweh. E. Then we go back to *Romans 9:11-12, a very difficult scriptural "pill" for people to swallow. It says again - "For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God s purpose according to election might stand - not from works but from the One who calls - she was told: The older will serve the younger." 1. Paul here is centering in on Yahweh's sovereign free will to choose whomever He wants to for His own purpose and glory.
2. Paul points out that when Yahweh chose Jacob through the promise made to Rebekah, neither Jacob nor his twin brother Esau had even been born. They had not done anything good or bad. a. So you can't say, "Well Jacob was chosen by God because God knew the future." God did know the future, and I have to ask people who tell me God knows the future... why do you think He knows the future perfectly? It's because He created the future, that's why. b. No, Paul points out that this choosing by Yahweh was BEFORE anything good or bad was done by the children, before they were born. This is so Yahweh's purpose according to election would stand - not of works but from the one who calls, that is Yahweh. c. So God's choice was not made because of anything - good or bad - done by the children. 3. See, the children of promise are not children of promise because they do good. They are the children of promise because of Yahweh's purpose according to election. They do good because Yahweh has chosen them to do good. He's chosen them and passed over the others, and that is His right. a. People hear this and say things like "That's not fair!" or "I wouldn't serve a God like that!" b. First of all... it's fair whether we understand it or not because it's Yahweh Almighty the Creator that is doing this. Secondly... people are so wrapped up in their own god that they've not taken the time to actually read about the God in Scripture. c. Our responsibility is to read and study the Scriptures and then believe in the God that is presented in Holy Scripture. When we attribute characteristics to Yahweh that are not truths about Him, then what we've done is make up another god in our own minds. We then are not really believing in Yahweh God of Scripture, but we instead are believing in this false god we've concocted because we really do not like the God of Scripture, we'd rather believe in this false god that makes sense to us, or seems fair to us. d. But listen... Yahweh chose Isaac, not Ishmael. Yahweh chose Jacob, not Esau, and Yahweh chooses individuals within Israel to save and the rest He passes over and they remain lost in their sins.
e. And we shouldn't marvel about Yahweh passing over sinners, we should marvel about Yahweh showing mercy upon sinners. F. As *Romans 9:13 says "As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau." 1. We say to ourselves sometimes, "How could God hate Esau?" When what we should be saying is "How could God love Jacob?" 2. Both Jacob and Esau turned out to be sinners, and you all, after you were born, turned out to be sinners, and every person that has ever been born (minus one) turned out to be a sinner after they were born even at an early age like 2 and 3 years old. 3. Yahweh would be just in condemning or hating all sinners. Yahweh would be righteous in putting everyone to death that dishonored their parents, or coveted their neighbors belongings, or broke an oath, or violated His Sabbath. 4. But... he does show mercy upon some of His creation. He showed mercy upon Jacob and loved Jacob, but Esau... Esau didn't get anything unfair, Esau got exactly what he deserved. And if Yahweh chooses to show mercy upon one man and pass over the other man it is completely up to His sovereign choice to do so. 5. We should not marvel at how Yahweh hated Esau, that one's easy. We should marvel at how Yahweh loved Jacob, and how Yahweh loves sinners like you and me. G. Of course we have been told that Yahweh doesn't hate anyone, or that Yahweh loves everyone equally, but that's just not true. 1. Look, you've got to come to grips with resolving to read Scripture and believe Scripture instead of clichés, anecdotes, quips, sermonettes, soothing words, etc. 2. Where are the men and women who will stand up for Scripture rather than take up for their favorite pet doctrine, or favorite preacher? 3. YAHWEH is the one who said, "I loved Jacob, and hated Esau." Are you going to believe Him? 4. And don't believe the attempt that people make to try and get around this verse. The "loved less" attempt. Your "problem" will still be there because that would still mean that Yahweh loved one person more than another person.
H. We can understand what Paul meant by "loved" and "hated" by what we've read so far in Genesis 25, and by looking at where Paul was quoting from in Romans 9:13. Remember, he said "As it is written." 1. *Malachi 1:2-3 - "I have loved you, says Yahweh. But you ask: how have you loved us? Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? declares Yahweh. Even so, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals." a. In the context of the prophet Malachi we have a series of questions coming from the people of Israel. They are blind to their sin and they are so blind that they ask a stupid question to Yahweh, "How have you loved us?" b. Yahweh gives them the answer by pointing out to them that Esau was the TWIN BROTHER OF JACOB. Esau was the flesh and blood kin of Jacob; same Mother, same Father, same skin, same look, same race. c. Does anyone know the alternate name for Esau in Scripture? Right... Edom. It's taken first from *Genesis 25:30 - "He (Esau) said to Jacob, Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted. That is why he was also named Edom." d. The word red here comes from the Hebrew word adam (#122 in Strong's taken from #119) which means "rosy." The name Edom, is #123 in Strong's and is the EXACT same word as Adam, minus the vowel pointing. e. We see, I believe, another evidence for the name Edom at the very birth of Esau. We read it earlier, but let's read *Genesis 25:24-25 again, "When her (Rebekah's) time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out redlooking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they name him Esau (meaning "rough")." The word "red" in this verse in Strong's #132 admoniy which means "reddish, of the hair or the complexion." f. My point in bringing all of this up is to show you what Yahweh was saying in *Malachi 1:2-3. He was speaking to Israel like this: "Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother?!?!" WELL OF COURSE HE WAS! Yet, even though he was Jacob's twin brother, I loved Jacob, but hated Esau, and the meaning is I elected or chose Jacob but I passed over Esau. That's the meaning of love and hate here, they are opposites. g. And yes, Esau-Edom went on to produce a people who were not the covenant people of Yahweh, who did not serve Yahweh, and
who did many wicked and evil things, but PLEASE DON'T FORGET *Romans 9:11-12 - ""For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God s purpose according to election might stand - not from works but from the One who calls - she was told: The older will serve the younger." 2. One more point before we close. Some people believe that Paul's quotation of Malachi 1:2-3 shows us that Paul is only talking about nations and physical benefits in Romans 9 rather than individuals and salvation. a. And to this I say... WAKE UP! Quit trying to get around the very bright obvious intent of the text! b. Paul's whole point in writing this section of his letter is to explain (1) his sorrow for individuals in Israel, but (2) his realization that not all Israelites are Israelites. c. So, why is Paul sorrowful in Romans 9:1-3? It is because many of his flesh and blood brothers are not saved. They don't believe in Messiah. d. And, even though Israel as a nation of physical people experience benefits (Romans 9:4-5) he realizes that this doesn't mean all of physical Israel are automatically the spiritual children of God. e. Paul quotes Malachi, not to get us to think he is speaking about national, physical benefits. He quotes Malachi to bring up the part about Jacob and Esau (as individual people) were twin brothers yet one was chosen and the other was not. 3. Closing - I hope you can see the big picture in the text today. One way to sum it up is with the underlined words from Romans 9:11-12 on the screen. Our salvation is not based upon the working of man, but rather upon God's purpose according to His election. If you are saved today, it is because chose you to be saved. You were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. a. You know how people respond to this? They say things like, "That's not fair!" or "That's not right!" or "That would mean God is unjust!" b. And if I get these responses from people after this sermon today then I can know that I have preached the text properly. c. Come back next week to see what I mean...
We are the Clay. You are the Potter. Romans 9 - Pt. 3 Romans 9:14-23 What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For He tells Moses: I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. For the Scripture tells Pharaoh: I raised you up for this reason so that I may display My power in you and that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth. So then, He shows mercy to those He wants to, and He hardens those He wants to harden. You will say to me, therefore, Why then does He still find fault? For who can resist His will? But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this? Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor? And what if God, desiring to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath ready for destruction? And what if He did this to make known the riches of His glory on objects of mercy that He prepared beforehand for glory I. Introduction and Review - We left off by stating a common objection or objections to what I preached last week. A. Take note FIRST that I believe what I preached was directly in line with Scripture. So for someone to object, it is an objection to Scripture. Now, I could be wrong, I've been wrong before (I'm human) but I have really, really delved into this text meticulously. B. Secondly, what was the objection? When you explain to someone that the Bibl teaches God loves/chooses certain people for salvation and others he hates/does not choose, they respond by saying things like: 1. God is not just! 2. That is not fair! 3. I'd never believe in a God like that! 4. Sometimes very learned theologians do their best to distort and twist a passage like Romans 9 just so they can continue to believe in their own view of God, and I see how this is tempting.
5. I'll say this: I'd personally like it better if it weren't true. What I talked about last week in Romans 9:6-13 does not sit well with my fleshly man, but... I cannot allow what I want or think to over ride Scripture. And I cannot honestly see how it could be any other way than what I presented to you in the last sermon. 6. What do most do? Most don't want to deal with Romans 9 and they'll use philosophy, or human reasoning, or scramble to a few other verses and quote them out of context. C. So... what are we to say to people who object to this doctrine of absolute predestination. When we tell people that God both loves and hates individual people based upon His own free will choice and purpose and glory and then they object to all of this, what are we to say? 1. Well, I would say that you should ask them if they would like to have a Bible study on Romans 9:1-13, our text from the last two weeks. 2. Secondly, I would say that you should also walk them through Romans 9:14-23, our text today. 3. Thirdly, always remember (and this goes for all subjects) to remain honest with Scripture and humble and patient with the objector. Yahweh's people, His true saints, do not argue for the sake of an argument or just to be right. Yahweh's people genuinely want to know the truth, and this means that they present what they believe to be true in a humble, gentle manner with others. Also, answer objections intelligently and not flippantly. Love Yahweh your God with all your MIND. II. *Romans 9:14 - What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! A. Now, notice how Paul anticipates the objection. He knows that what he has written thus far (specifically about Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, and Esau) will cause people to "kick back." B. Therefore, if we are in line with the apostle in our teaching that means that we should receive the same objection from the people we speak this doctrine to. If we twist the text, making it say something different and then do not receive this objection, this should tell us we have explained the passage wrongly. IOW, if we get a different response - we have not taught Romans 9 properly. C. So Paul knows that some people are going to say that what he's presented means that God is not just. What does injustice here mean?
1. The Greek word (adikia) literally has to do with a violation of divine law. We can understand it as to transgress the Torah (in human terms). 2. Here, used in reference to the law-giver we should take it to mean legal injustice. In other words, it's like God is the judge and he's declaring a verdict. The objection given here in Romans 9:14 is that God's verdict is not righteous. People are saying that God has messed up in His court case. D. How does Paul answer this? He says Absolutely not! He answers by first just declaring that what he has said thus far in this chapter does not make God unjust. III. *Romans 9:15 - For He tells Moses: I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. A. Here Paul is bolstering his "absolutely not!" B. We know this because he begins with the word "for." In other words he is saying this is why what I have written does not make God unjust or incorrect in His verdict. C. What does Paul do? Well, just like he went back to Abraham and his two sons, and then to Isaac and his two sons, he now quotes more Scripture. He bolsters his argument not by appealing to human reasoning, or assumptions, he just quotes Scripture that proves what he is saying is accurate. 1. What does he quote? He quotes a text where God speaks to Moses. Notice the beginning of verse 15 - "For He tells Moses..." This text is found in Exodus 33 and we are going to start at verse 17 in this chapter. 2. *Exodus 33:17-23 17 Yahweh answered Moses, I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name. 18 Then Moses said, Please, let me see Your glory. *19 He said, I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. *20 But He answered, You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live. 21 Yahweh said, Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock, *22 and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face will not be seen. 3. We see that the direct quotation Paul pulls from is Exodus 33:19. Moses has asked to see the glory of Yahweh (in some capacity). After his asking