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Romans 9:1 – 10:21

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Romans 9:1 – 10:21 WEEK 8 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 1 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:1-29 – The ultimate reason for the rejection of the greater part of Israel and the calling of the Gentiles to salvation is God’s sovereign election. ○ 9:1-5 – Paul is saying, I would give up all the benefits of knowing Christ that I have been speaking of in the last eight chapters if somehow that meant my Jewish brothers and sisters were saved. 2 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:4-5 – Jewish rejection of Christ is surprising because… ○ (1) Their Sonship – their adoption as sons (Exodus 4:22) ○ (2) Glory – The divine glory – God’s visible glory cloud, dwelling in their presence in the tabernacle and temple ○ (3) Covenants – God establishing a relationship with them through Abraham (Genesis 15) ○ (4) The Law – God gave them the ten commandments ○ (5) Worship – the temple worship was a visible order of service (Hebrews 9:1-5) ○ (6) Promises – OT prophecies promising the Messiah ○ (7) The Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David ○ (8) Their race – the human ancestry of Jesus comes 3 through them SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:6-13 – The rejection of national Israel, the Jews according to the flesh, was not a failure of God’s promise to save Abraham’s seed ○ 9:6-8 – God’s promise to save Abraham’s descendants did not apply to Abraham’s natural descendants but applied to his spiritual seed. ○ 9:9-13 – Paul illustrates God’s sovereign election of some Jews and rejection of others as heirs of the promise by citing examples from the immediate descendants of Abraham. 4 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:9-13 – Paul illustrates God’s sovereign election of some Jews and the rejection of others. ● God chose to bless Jacob and not Esau prior to their birth. ● The choice was not made based on what He knew about how the two boys would turn out ● The choice was made before the twins had done anything good or bad ● The only difference between Esau and Jacob was God’s purpose in election (9:11) ● The only reason Jacob received the promise was because of God’s gracious choice. Does this mean that God is arbitrary? No. Paul is not saying that God has no reasons, merely that the reasons aren’t in us. 5 Hagar Abraham Sarah Ishmael Isaac Rebecca (rejected) (chosen) Twins Esau Jacob (rejected) (chosen) 6 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:14-24 – After having established the fact of unconditional election, Paul defends it. ○ 9:14-18 – The first objection: It would be unjust for God to show mercy to one and not to another. ○ Paul’s central argument is that God has mercy on those He chooses. ○ Exodus 33:18-19 - God says to Moses, “ I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” ○ Mercy by definition cannot ever be an obligation. It is undeserved and totally free, so the argument that it is unfair for God only to have mercy on some is a self- contradictory statement. ○ God is free to give mercy to all, some or none. It is His gift, not our right. 7 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:17 – Paul uses Pharaoh as a case study. ● On one hand we’re told that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. ● On the other hand, we’re told that Pharaoh hardened his heart. ● God tells Pharaoh in Exodus 9:13-18 that he is being punished because he set himself against God’s people. ● God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was a giving him over to his own stubbornness. ● God gave Pharaoh what he chose. 8 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:19-23 – The second objection: Since the destiny of all men is in the hands of God and He extends mercy to one while withholding it from another, why does God still hold men responsible for their actions? ○ Paul makes a further case for why God is not unfair to have mercy on some and to pass over others. ● First, God made us and has rights of ownership. ● Second, God is the author of our salvation and we are the authors of our own damnation. ● Third, God is showing the riches of His glory by having mercy on some and passing over others. 9 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:24 – Conclusion: God, who has mercy on whom He chooses to have mercy, is now calling men from among the Gentiles as well as from among the Jews. ○ In summary, in election God comes in, softens our hearts and makes us good. In hardening, God simply passes over and lets people have the way they have chosen. 10 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:25-29 – Paul shows that the salvation of the Gentiles and the rejection of the greater part of Israel was foretold by the prophets. ○ These verses are quoted from Hosea to establish that God has always worked to make and keep promises and this often involved surprising reversals. ● God blesses those who don’t deserve it and could not have predicted it. ● Old Testament history shows that God has not promised to bless all ethnic Israel. 11 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:30 – 10:21 – The immediate cause of Israel’s rejection and of the Gentiles’ salvation was the different manner in which they were responding to the gospel. ○ 9:30 – The Gentiles who had not sought after righteousness were now obtaining it through faith. ● The ones who knew the most about God did not come to know God, while the ones who knew the least about God came to know God best. ● The ones who most wanted to be righteous ended up dead in their sins, while the ones who least wanted to be righteous ended up holy and blameless in His sight. 12 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 9:31-10:4 – The Jews who had tried to work out a righteousness of their own based on obedience to the law had failed to obtain righteousness because they sought it by works instead of faith. ○ Paul is showing us that God’s sovereignty and human responsibility stand in relationship to each other as an apparent contradiction. ○ The Bible never says, “This event happened totally in accord with God’s plan, therefore the human beings were not responsible for their actions”, nor does it say, ○ “The human beings were responsible for their actions, therefore the event was not certain to happen according to God’s plan.” 13 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ The Bible holds two truths together: ○ (1) The complete sovereignty of God over all history and ○ (2) Complete responsibility of every human being for his or her behavior. ○ Two examples: ● Joseph’s brothers sold him of their own free will, but God ordained to save Israel during the famine. Genesis 50:20 ● The Jews crucified Jesus of their own free will, but God ordained His death to save all who came to Him as their Lord and Savior. 14 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ The Jews were zealous, but ignorant and they stay that way because it suits them to do so. ○ They should know better and are without excuse because ○ (1) Christ has come and ○ (2) Scripture told them even before He came that Christ’s work shows that the law as a way of righteousness has ended – faith is now the way to righteousness. ○ Election alone accounts for the saved ○ Rejection of the gospel accounts for the lost. 15 SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 10:5-13 – The legal and gospel methods of justification are contrasted to show that the legal method is beyond the reach of sinful men, but the gospel method is simple and easy and adapted to all men without distinction. ○ 10:5 – The legal system demands perfect obedience to God’s law. ○ 10:6-11 – The gospel method of justification requires heart faith and open confession of Christ as the risen Lord. ○ 10:9 – We must believe in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for our sins. We are to trust our whole self to the person and work of Christ as our 16 righteousness. SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 10:12-13 – Justification is offered to all men on the same terms. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. ○ 10:14-17 – The Gospel of Christ is not only for all men, but must be preached to all men if they are to be saved. Note the chain of reasoning set forth by Paul in vss 14-17: ● Sinners must call upon Jesus as Lord to be saved ● They cannot call upon him unless they believe in Him ● They cannot believe with hearing about Him ● They cannot hear unless the message of Christ is preached ● Therefore the message must be sent ● Evangelism also requires persuasion, helping a person understand the importance of what they hear ● It also requires that they understand this is not a person’s 17 opinion but rather the authoritative revelation from Christ and His apostles SAVING FAITH ROMANS 9:1 – 10:21 ○ 10:18-21 – The Old Testament prophets foretold of the universal spread of the Gospel and of the including of Gentiles as God’s people as well as of the rejection of the Gospel by Israel.
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