61 AD – Paul is in prison in Rome.

• About the year 53, during Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey, Paul first ministered in Ephesus but did not remain there (Acts 18:19–21 – 08/23/20).
• Two years later, while on his third journey, Paul stayed in Ephesus for at least two years and saw that whole vast area evangelized.[1] (Acts 19 – 08/30/20 & 09/06/20)

 
Sharpening the Focus:

• Ephesus is a free Greek city located at the mouth of the Cayster River, which flows into the Aegean Sea.
• It is the largest city in Asia Minor.
• The population of Ephesus is 225,000, and it has a large Jewish population.
• Ephesus is a seaport and is the first ranking city of Asia Minor in commerce, wealth, politics, and religion.
• It is the New York of the ancient world.
• The city has a central hub that connects the eastern world with the western world, making it a magnificent city of wealth.
• The city’s wealth is reflected everywhere, from its marble-paved main street to the mosaic floors in its aristocratic homes.
• One of the seven wonders of the world is also there: the great temple of Artemis (in Latin her name is Diana; she is a nature-fertility goddess).
• It took 220 years to build this temple. Built out of pure white marble, it is the largest building in existence at this time and is known worldwide.
• The temple is 220 feet by 425 feet. It is supported by 127 columns, each of them 60 feet high, and is adorned by some of the greatest sculptors of the age.
• In the temple resides a statue of Diana, which the Ephesians believe fell from the sky. Ephesus is also the center for magical arts and occult practices in Asia.

 
GREETING
EPHESIANS 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:
To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.

• This is the body of believers that Paul spent 2.5 years with.
• He can talk about deep things with them.
• Paul had to clarify what “saints”… not the ones who referred to themselves as followers of Artemis (Diana).
• The word saint is simply one of the many terms used in the New Testament to describe “one who has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour.”[2]
• When the sinner trusts Christ as his Saviour, he is taken out of “the world” and placed “in Christ.”
• The believer is in the world physically, but not of the world spiritually (John 17:14–16).
• Like a scuba diver, he exists in an alien environment because he possesses special equipment—in this case, the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.
• Every true believer possesses the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20), and it is through the Spirit’s power that the Christian is able to function in the world.
• The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is used twenty-seven times in this letter!
• It describes the spiritual position of the believer: he is identified with Christ, he is in Christ, and therefore is able to draw on the wealth of Christ for his own daily living.[3]

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Grace – “unmerited favor”
• Grace – “the desire and power to do God’s will”
• Grace – “God’s ability in us”
• Grace leads to peace.
• God and Jesus are one.
• When grace is accepted by the believer not only do they have the desire to serve God, but they also have the ability/power to do so.
• This is important for later verses.
• As our knowledge about God/Jesus increases… so does our grace (that comes from them).
• 2 Peter 1:2 - May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

 

• Verses 3-14 are one long Greek sentence.
• It’s as if Paul is overly excited.

GOD’S RICH BLESSINGS
3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

• GOD sacrificed the agony of watching his Son crucified so that:
• 1) Jesus could have a body to express Himself to the universe.
• 2) Spirit would have a temple to dwell.
• JESUS went to Calvary so that:

        1) God can receive a family
        2) Spirit would have a temple to dwell.
 - SPIRIT glorifies:
        1) Jesus by revealing what He
                 accomplished on the cross.
        2) God by glorifying the Son

• Paul continues to teach the church not to be man centered. That is when all the issues occur.
• Think about church organizations today and all the issues they deal with.
• What happens if they are selfless?

who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.

• Comprehend this: Jesus not only came to redeem fallen men, but to give them everything they could possibly need.
• Everything spiritually that we need.
• We are spiritual beings more than we are human beings.
• Not physically… it is not about stuff but identity.
• “Stuff” just messes us up.
• The world is definitely focused on the physical being.

4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,

• God’s timeline & our timeline
• There is absolute importance in living from the view and understanding of where you are “in Christ”.

to be holy and blameless in love before him.

• The believer, based on what Jesus has already done, is made the righteousness of God.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 -  He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. [4]

5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
        - “predestined” for what?
 - to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself,
        - as sons/children
 - Romans 8:23 - Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.[5]
- At the point of salvation, the believer is made into a finished product in his soul and spirit (in his person).

• He is as holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4), justified (Romans 5:1), righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21), forgiven (Ephesians 4:32), complete (Colossians 2:10) and glorified (Romans 8:30) in his person as he will ever be.
• But it is not until the resurrection that body becomes immortal (1 Corinthians 15:53) – becomes a body like Christ possessed after his resurrection.
• Therefore, the resurrection is the final piece of the puzzle that allows our entire being – soul, spirit, as well as the body – to be conformed to the image of God’s son (Romans 8:29).
• To this, we are predestined when we accepted Christ – not beforehand.
• according to His favor and will,
• We’ve already seen that God’s intentions in His relationships are based on what the other party receives.

6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
        - Any response to this verse?
        - Keep reading it until there is a response.
       
 - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 - For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.[6]
 - Try telling that to a 15 year old boy who aches to have an earthly father invest in his life.
 - Or the parent who has lost a child.
 - Or the homeless addict.
 - Or the faithful church-going religious person that can’t do enough to please their church or pastor or family.
 - Or the person who is reaping the pain and consequences because of their selfish acts.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
[7] In Him we have redemption through His blood,
 - The Gospel… His death was necessary.
 - the forgiveness of our trespasses,
        - Hebrews 9:22 – Without the shedding
                 of blood, there is no forgiveness.
        -It has already happened… one time.
        - I John 1:9 -
        - Matthew 6:12 – Lord’s prayer.
 
according to the riches of His grace
 - “according to” is greater than “out of”
 - compare that for a moment… which would you rather have from God?
8 that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.[7]
[8] that He richly poured out (lavished)
        - Some of us need “lavished”
        - “Lavished” covers all sin… all.
on us with all wisdom and understanding.
        - Wisdom – The insight into the true nature of things.
        - Bob says, “The ability to view life from
                 God’s perspective.”
        - Because wisdom is revealed through the
                 Holy Spirit.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 8). Victor Books.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 9). Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 9). Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:21). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 8:23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 4:17–18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Eph). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

In chapters 9 and 10 Paul looked more at the negative; that is Israel itself is responsible for her state, failing to respond to the grace of God and to recognize Christ as the culmination of God’s plan in the history of salvation.[1]
 
ISRAEL’S REJECTION NOT TOTAL
Romans 11:1-10
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not!

• The suggestion is unthinkable.
• To some it may seem the logical result of what Paul has been saying, but to the apostle it is an utter impossibility.
• God is thoroughly reliable, and it is impossible to think of him first choosing and then rejecting a people.[2]

For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

• Paul is playing for the Gentiles but he is actually a Jew.
• Ian Kinsler, a major league baseball player, born in Tuscan, AZ
• His family heritage is Jewish
• He played baseball for Israel team in the Olympics
• 8 NBA players were on France’s basketball team.
• Paul is reminding both the Christian Gentiles and Christian Jews that he is a Jew.

2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

• The verb has the sense of God entering into relationship with people ahead of time.[3]

Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life! (1 Kings 19:10, 14) 4 But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal. (1 Kings 19:18)

• These are men who made a choice to follow the God of Abraham.

5 In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

• At both times the nation as a whole was not obedient to God, but in both also a minority did obey.
• And in both the minority was a standing witness to the truth that God has not cast away his people.[4]

6 Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

• The divider here is whether one is determining that belief is a “work”.
• If belief is a work, then God alone chooses who receives grace.
• If belief is not a work, then grace is purely a way that has been made for salvation.

7 What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that cannot see
and ears that cannot hear,
to this day. (Deuteronomy 29:4, Isaiah 29:10. Matthew 12-13)
9 And David says,
Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a pitfall and a retribution to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and their backs be bent continually. (Psalm 69:22-23)

• What Paul wants to say here is very simple, “Don’t forget, you Roman Christians, that God is continuing to choose Jews to belong to His people.”
• In other words, there are quite a few Jewish Christians in Paul’s day.
• Paul himself is one of them, of course.[5]

 
ISRAEL’S REJECTION NOT FINAL
11 I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

• God’s purpose is to let salvation come to Gentiles, in turn provoking Israel to repentance.
• That way, representatives from all peoples, Jewish and Gentile, could have the opportunity for salvation.[6]

12 Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if I might somehow make my own people, jealous and save some of them.

• Don’t become so arrogant as to believe that God has rejected the Jews and turned only to the Gentiles.
• How does that attitude help reach Paul’s own people?
• Have respect for the Jews.
• Don’t despise their customs.

15 For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

• Paul’s statement here compares to what Jesus did.
• Jesus’ death brought salvation to the world, but even greater was Jesus’ resurrection from the dead because He brought life to believers.

16 Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.[7]

• In reference to the patriarchs of faith (Abraham).
• All those who believe in the coming Messiah and Jesus would be considered the whole batch or the branches.
• The remnant of Jews and believing Gentiles. (grace)

Not those who have made the Law their point of salvation. (works).

[1] Moo, D. J. (2014). NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 398). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[3] Moo, D. J. (2014). NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 401). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
[5] Moo, D. J. (2014). NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Keener, C. S. (2009). Romans (p. 132). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 11:1–16). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Last week we talked about God’s love, God’s sovereignty and even God’s foreknowledge.
This is how it works.

• I am elected.
• Luke Dunnuck is not elected.
• Jim David is one of the chosen.
• Wanda Pontious is not one of the chosen.
• Michelle is predestined.
• I am not predestined.

 

• I am elected to have only one son.
• Luke Dunnuck is not elected to have only one son.
• Jim David is one of the chosen to be on the setup/tear down team.
• Wanda Pontious is not one of the chosen to be on the setup/tear down team.
• Michelle is predestined to do my laundry this week.
• I am not predestined to do my laundry this week.

 

• God did not choose (elect) Israel for the purpose of securing the salvation of any Jew.
• He chose (elected) Israel as His wife to bring the Messiah into the world so she, in turn, could take the news of His coming to the Gentiles—an opportunity she has thus far basically neglected.
• Israel has received an abundance of blessings from her Husband, but her rebellion has caused countless Jews to die void of salvation.
• God bestows salvation to Israelites in the same way He bestows salvation to Gentiles— through making them part of His family once they repent and exercise faith while depraved (a truth Paul’s Jewish opponents vehemently opposed). [1]

 
Romans 9:14-33
GOD’S SELECTION IS JUST
14 What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

• Paul is answering the questions of his critics.
• The theology of the unbelieving Jews contained two lethal flaws:
• (1) They viewed themselves as having been chosen to salvation prior to physical birth—that their eternal destiny was secured by a choice Jehovah made before they were born.
• (2) They considered the works of the Law as eventually validating their righteous standing before God.
• In their minds, once the Law was obeyed according to Jehovah’s standard, they would be ushered into heaven—their righteous behavior and acceptance into heaven confirming God’s previous choice of them to salvation.
• The Law, however, requires perfection (Matthew 5:48; James 2:10).
• Therefore, Paul taught that no person can achieve access into God’s presence through the deeds of the Law (Romans 3:20; 5:20).[2]

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.

• Their perception of Paul’s teaching is that God elected and predestined Jacob (the individual) to salvation over Esau (the individual), granting neither party a choice in the matter.
• Genesis 25:23 refutes such thinking, for it confirms that Paul addresses “nations” rather than individuals in Romans 9:10-13.[3]
• Genesis 25:23 - And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.[4]

• We tend to put the discussion of salvation to be focused on ourselves rather than the provider of salvation.
• Who is saved and who is not saved?
• When God is focusing on the lineage of the Messiah to come.
• God chose the Messiah (Jesus) to come through the Jews and not the Gentiles.
• This verse is not about salvation but whether or not God was going to choose to live among the Jews who were disobedient in creating the fatted calf.
• Yet, some theologians want to make it about salvation.

16 So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. 17 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 the whole earth.

• God had “mercy” upon the nation of Israel when Moses unwisely requested that He (God) dwell in the midst of the people.
• God displayed great “mercy” in resisting, for had He entered the camp in the manner that Moses desired the nation would have been consumed (Exodus 33:5).
• Instead, God’s glory entered the camp on Moses’ face and the nation was preserved. [5]

18 So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

• When God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to further His purposes for Israel and Egypt, to manifest His power more fully, and specifically to complete His judgment upon the gods of Egypt, He was, in fact, only helping Pharaoh to do what that tyrant wanted to do.
• When He sent Moses to Egypt, God declared, “I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go…” (Exodus 3:19).
• This was Pharaoh’s disposition before a word was said about God’s hardening of his heart.[6]
• Chazaq - Hoz-ock - (ḥāzaq) be(come) strong, strengthen, prevail, harden, be courageous, be sore (meaning be severe).
• “Hardens” points to God providing Pharaoh the strength to stand (while Pharaoh exercised his own free will) as He (God) brought destruction upon Egypt.
• It does not point to God giving Pharaoh over to his sin, nor to God creating fresh evil in Pharaoh’s heart.[7]
• The Scriptures clearly teach that God does not tempt nor cause anyone to sin: 
• …for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. (James 1:13)

19 You will say to me, therefore, “Why then does he still find fault? For who resists his will?”

• Answering more questions from his critics.

20 On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” 21 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? 22 And what if God, wanting to display his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And what if he did this to make known the riches of his glory on objects of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory--24 on us, the ones he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

• A God who must cause all things to accomplish His goal (through removing man’s free will) is inferior to a God Who fulfills His purpose while granting man the freedom of choice.
• If a Jew chooses (while depraved) to repent and believe, God makes him a vessel “of mercy.”
• If a Jew chooses blatant rebellion, he remains one of the “vessels of wrath.”
• In no way has God predetermined a single Jew’s destiny from eternity past.
• Yet, the “vessels of wrath” within physical Israel (each possessing a free will) are used of God to bring about His desired end as they prepare themselves “for destruction” (v.22).
• We can conclude, therefore, that God’s ultimate purpose for the world cannot be altered by the free will of man.
• Yet, God’s “purpose” for man can be “rejected” by man (Luke 7:30).
• Losing sight of this truth makes Romans 9 extremely contradictory, reducing God’s sovereignty in the process.
• Paul’s Jewish critic misrepresented Paul’s teaching because it refuted the critic’s belief that God elected Israel to salvation—that Jews are saved due to a choice God made prior to their being born.
• However, the theme of Romans 9 is that Israel was not chosen to be saved but was chosen to bear the Messiah and take the good news of His coming to the Gentiles—a calling she has only partially fulfilled.
• He taught that God was greatly using the Jewish nation to accomplish His strategy without predetermining the salvation of a single person who made up the nation.[8]

25 As it also says in Hosea,
I will call Not my People, My People,
and she who is Unloved, Beloved.
26 And it will be in the place where they were told,
you are not my people,
there they will be called sons of the living God.

• Hosea ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel who had rejected God.
• An event which occurred in 722 BC when Assyria took the northern kingdom into captivity (read Jeremiah 3:6-8 and 2Kings 17:6).  [9]
• Isaiah ministered to the southern kingdom who continued to believe in God and the Messiah to come.
• Later, the southern kingdom would become disobedient and exiled by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
• This would be during Jeremiah’s ministry.

27 But Isaiah cries out concerning Israel,
Though the number of Israelites
is like the sand of the sea,
only the remnant will be saved;
28 since the Lord will execute his sentence
completely and decisively on the earth.
29 And just as Isaiah predicted:
If the Lord of Hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have been made like Gomorrah.[10]

• Paul quotes Isa 1:9 in recognition of God’s grace.
• Israel’s idolatry required judgment, but God did not annihilate them as He did Sodom and Gomorrah[11]
• Some believe that a remnant of Jews were saved in God’s judgment of the Jews in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.
• Some believe that a remnant of Jews will be saved after the tribulation in future.
• But the fact remains that at some point, be it a Jew or a Gentile, there comes a time when your free will comes into play and you are able to choose or reject God.
• As for us today, our salvation comes from believing that Jesus is the Son of God; the Messiah that was anticipated since Genesis 3:15.
• We have to see the bigger picture and how we are a part of God’s purpose and plan.

We can get caught up in the facts of the plan and totally forget the overall purpose is that God provided a way for us to be forever included in fellowship with Him, His Son, Jesus and the Spirit.

[1] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[2] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[3] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ge 25:23). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[6] Dave Hunt, in What Love is This?, page 333
[7] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[8] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[9] Bob Warren. (n.d.). Romans 9.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 9:14–29). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 9:29). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Read Romans 9:1-13
Romans 9:1-13 - 1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit--2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, 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 Christ, who is God over all, praised forever., Amen.
 
GOD’S GRACIOUS ELECTION OF ISRAEL
6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants., On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac., 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. 9 For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son., 10 And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac. 11 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--12 not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger., 13 As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.[1]

• “Yah… I don’t know… thanks for coming!”

 
I’ve never publicly taught Romans 9-16… or Revelation.

• I have taught Daniel 7-12 here at Leavener.
• There is a reason for this.
• For years, there have been multiple interpretations of the Scripture in many passages.
• It is a lot easier to interpret Scripture that is in the past of history and Scripture itself because we have history and Scripture to proof text it.
• But what do you do with Scripture that deals with prophecy that occurs after the Scripture itself was written?
• This is the issue… this is what has been debated and discussed for hundreds of years.
• In this very room we have people that have different interpretations of the Scripture concerning prophetic issues.
• Have all the prophecies already been fulfilled? If not, what prophecies are yet to be fulfilled?
• Is knowing and understanding these passages of Scripture vital to my own spiritual life? Some will say “Yes” and some will say “No”.
• It is similar to anti-vaxers, to pro-vaxers and those in between. What information are you listening to?
• But let me go back to the issue… it causes division because of opinions, knowledge, lack of knowledge, commitment to the understanding or lack of commitment to the understanding.
• Will the evil one use the Word of God to cause division in the Church?
• This is why we have denominations… and even those denominations become divided.
• Are you kidding me? There have been great wars among the god-fearing believers for years!
• So now we come to the part of the text that stirs up many questions… pre-destination, foreknowledge, prophecies fulfilled, prophecies yet to be fulfilled, who is included in the covenants then and now? Have the covenants been fulfilled?, etc.
• In this very room we have highly educated and knowledgeable students of God’s Word… even greater than today’s speaker.

Deuteronomy 29:29 - “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever,…

• Two facts can be extracted from this verse:  (1) God possesses “secret things” that belong to Him alone (2) God has “revealed” certain “things” to man.[2]
• “Mystery” points to truth that God is in the process of revealing
• Any theological position that elevates God’s sovereignty above His love defames His character in the end—for God is “love” (1John 4:8, 16).
• Yes, He is sovereign; but His sovereignty never, under any circumstance, violates His love.[3]
• In this room, we have people who barely know who Jesus is… much less Paul, Romans and all those terms we just tossed out in the previous statement.
• So somewhere in the middle we have to present a difficult passage of Scripture to a wide variety of listeners.
• I will not go into great depths here but do a flyover and hopefully create opportunities for discussion outside of this gathering and further study by each of you.

 
Romans 9
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit--2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

• Paul, a Jew, passionately loved the Jews.
• Consequently, he could identify with the Old Testament writing prophets along with John the Baptist.
• These individuals risked their lives for the sake of the truth, yet few Jews listened to their counsel.
• Sorrow filled their hearts, a scenario that Paul’s “unceasing grief” understood well. [4]

3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

• The audience is the Church at Rome but inside of the letter, Paul is rebutting the Jewish unbelievers; more directly his fellow Pharisees.
• So at some points he is talking to believers of Jesus and at other points he telling them about his discussions with non-believers of Jesus as the Messiah.
• Paul continues answering the questions he received from the unbelieving Jews in Romans 3:1-8—proving, in the process, that a person’s salvation is independent of lineage or good works but totally dependent on whether he has exercised faith in Christ.
• Paul would allow himself to be “accursed” (set apart for destruction) should it mean that his “kinsmen according to the flesh” would find Christ.
• Yes, he was willing to go to Hell and the Lake of Fire in exchange for the salvation of the rebellious Jews.[5]

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.

• Jehovah has blessed the Jewish nation beyond measure.
• First, they are “Israelites” in that they are physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Jacob’s name was changed to “Israel”—all his descendants belonging to physical Israel).
• “The adoption as sons” of Romans 9:4 does not communicate that all Jews are part of God’s “spiritual” family.
• The physical nation of Israel was adopted as the national son of God, not the spiritual son of God.
• To become a spiritual son of God requires repentance and faith while depraved, which only a small percentage of Jews have exercised.
• Therefore, the wife of Jehovah is Israel, whom He married at Mount Sinai.
• The bride of Christ, on the other hand, is the church—made up of Jews and Gentiles alike with no racial distinction, the church having been birthed in Acts 2.
• Israel also received “the covenants and the giving of the Law” (Romans 9:4), one conditional covenant and four unconditional covenants:
• In the case of an unconditional covenant, the one initiating the covenant is responsible to fulfill the conditions prescribed in the covenant regardless of the recipients’ response.
• 1. The conditional Covenant of Law, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
• 2. The unconditional Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-14; 22:15-18; 26:2-5; 28:13-15)
• 3. The unconditional Palestinian Covenant (The Land Covenant) (Deuteronomy 30:1-10)
• 4. The unconditional Davidic Covenant (2Samuel 7:16; 1Chronicles 17:10-14)
• 5. The unconditional New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) [6]

5 The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever., Amen.

• Paul sets out sort of a problem that he’s dealing with in the chapters. Israel has been given all kinds of great privileges by God, but still finds itself not saved as a whole.[7]
• This discussion helps prove the fact that salvation is not based on lineage or good works but faith in Christ alone.
• Simply, this is the discrepancy between the promises and privileges God has given Israel and Israel’s reality.
• God chose Israel to be His people. He blessed them, gave them wonderful things, and yet, at the present time, as Paul looks at the situation in the early church, he finds very few Jews who are coming to Christ.[8]
• Free will - Adam possessed the freedom to accept or reject God’s love—to obey or disobey.
• His descendants have had the same privilege, for God’s character prevents Him from forcing His love on the unwilling.
• Hence, the cross was a necessity.[9]
• Genesis 3:15 - I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.[10]
• Jesus would bruise Satan’s “head” (remove Satan’s authority) through allowing Satan to bruise His “heel” (through submitting to crucifixion), for Satan had gained dominion over the earth through Adam’s sin.
• People perish only because they reject God’s plan (or purpose).
• This reality is sovereignty at its best, for the God of the Scriptures, Who can accomplish His goals with man possessing the freedom of choice, is much greater than a “god” who must program man’s every move to accomplish the same.[11]

 

• In these three chapters, Paul basically addresses how the remnant of believers within the physical nation of Israel relates to both national Israel and the church (which began in Acts 2). [12]

GOD’S GRACIOUS ELECTION OF ISRAEL
6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

• Paul is saying there are two Israels, in a sense.
• Not all who belong to Israel are Israel.
• There is what we might call a physical Israel, as opposed to a spiritual Israel.
• Abraham had two sons. Only one of them inherited.
• Isaac only had two sons, but only one of those—Jacob, not Esau—inherited.
• And so on down through history of Israel there has, in other words, been a selection process going on within physical Israel.
• Jews misunderstood God’s purpose for the nation.
• They were not chosen to be saved, as they incorrectly assumed.
• They were chosen to the very special office of bearing the Father’s Son and taking the news of His coming to the Gentiles.
• Israel was not chosen to be saved, but to function and serve in an extraordinary office.
• She was chosen as “a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5-6) for the purpose of taking the Law and message of the coming Messiah to the Gentile nations.
• Jews alone received the Ten Commandments (read Exodus 20), truth they were to take to the nations.
• The Jews also received the revelation of the coming Messiah through passages such as Isaiah 9:6-7.
• Instead of spreading this magnificent news, they “blasphemed” God’s “name” through disobedience (Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:17-24a).
• Because God’s limitless foreknowledge allowed Him to foresee Israel’s negative response to His truth, He spoke through the prophet Isaiah (in 700 BC) of how Jesus would be a “light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:5-6) and the Gentiles’ “hope” (Romans 15:8-12).
• Thus, after His crucifixion and resurrection, the gospel was taken to the Gentile nations through Jesus’ Jewish followers (Acts 10:1-48; Romans 11:13).[13]

7 Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac., 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. 9 For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son. 10 And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac. 11 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--12 not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger.

• The blessings promised to Abraham, which come to full fruition through the Messiah, Jesus Christ, were passed down through Isaac (Genesis 26:2-5), Abraham’s son through Sarah (Genesis 21:1-7)—not through Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar (Genesis 16:1-16; 21:8-21).
• The blessings of Abraham (associated with the coming Messiah) were also passed down through Jacob, Isaac’s son through Rebekah—not Esau, Jacob’s twin brother (Genesis 28:1-15).
• Note that none of these passages teach that God detested or despised either Ishmael or Esau.
• In fact, God greatly blessed Ishmael according to Genesis 17:20.
• God chose Isaac (over Ishmael) and Jacob (over Esau) for the purpose of bringing the “seed” of Genesis 3:15, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16), into the world.
• Thus, God chose to bless the world through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—a choice that in no way affected the eternal destiny of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, or Esau.
• In each case, their eternal abode was based on whether they accepted or rejected the “seed” of Genesis 3:15, Who is Christ (Galatians 3:16).
• This truth is foundational for the proper interpretation of Romans 9-11. [14]

13 As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.[15]

• Did God really hate Esau (Romans 9:13), never granting him opportunity to be saved?
• Was Pharaoh’s heart hardened by God (Romans 9:17-18) to prevent him from believing?
• Did God prepare “vessels of wrath” (Romans 9:22) on which to display His wrath, never granting these individuals the freedom to exercise faith in Christ?
• Those persons who answer these questions in the affirmative choose to elevate God’s sovereignty above His love.
• In fact, according to their view, God must cause all things if He is to maintain His rightful position as the sovereign Ruler of the universe.
• If so, all events are a direct result of God’s will, making the “war” between Satan and God a sham—actually no war at all, should God be the cause of Satan’s every move.
• The war between Satan and man would also be bogus, for man’s response to Satan’s schemes (either good or bad) would not only be a result of God’s doing, but also God’s will.  For God to hold man responsible for sin He has caused and willed would prove Him doubly unjust.
• Should God will and cause all things, He would will and cause everything that occurs— all sickness, misfortune, calamity, and hardship.  He would also be the source of evil.  Where man spends eternity would also be God’s choice—never man’s.[16]

 
Genesis 27:41 - Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” [17]

• Hate – Miseo (mi-say-o) – Greek word that ranges in meaning from disfavor to detest.
• Some will define hate here as “love less”
• NLT translated it as “rejected”

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 9:1–13). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[3] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[4] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[5] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[6] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[7] Moo, D. J. (2014). NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Moo, D. J. (2014). NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ge 3:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[12] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[13] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[14] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 9:1–13). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Bob Warren. (2014). Romans 9.
[17] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ge 27:41). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.