Oct 6, 2009
Romans 9
Continuing my series of meditations on the book of Romans…
Paul has established that there is salvation in Christ mediated through the Holy Spirit in chapter 8. Nothing can separate God’s people from his love. However, there may be a wrinkle in his argument here. That is what he aims to set straight.
If Israel could be described as God’s chosen people, how is it that they were separated from God? Shouldn’t the new Jew/Gentile church expect God’s plan to unravel just as it did for the Jews? Romans 9 marks the beginning of Paul’s discussion of the ramifications of Christ’s salvation for the Jewish people, while also explaining the joining of Jews and Gentiles into one people.
Throughout scripture God always reached out to the rest of creation through a chosen tribe or remnant. Abraham had several children, but only one descendant received the promise. In addition, Isaac had twins, but only Jacob received the promise. In other words, being a descendant of Abraham has never meant instant access to God. The children of God are determined according to God’s gracious action.
Though all of Israel may not have responded in faith, God has a plan to fulfill that has not gone off track. God is still working with a remnant as he has in the past. However, just as Abraham was set apart to be a blessing to all nations, there is a calling among God’s chosen people to do the same. We don’t know why God chooses some and not others, but we can rest in two simple truths from elsewhere in scripture.
For starters, God desires that all people should be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). It’s had to know how to make sense of Romans 9 and the doctrine of election when running into Paul’s letter to Timothy. However, there is a sense in Romans 9 that somehow God’s election sets things into motion that will spread the knowledge of himself and enable him to be merciful. Even Pharaoh was raised up in order to display God’s power throughout the world.
Secondly, when preaching to the Athenians in Acts 17:26-27, Paul says, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 2God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” Therefore, God clearly takes a very active role in his creation and orders our world so that we will reach out to him. Even in God’s election and control of circumstances, God also expects humanity to respond to his salvation and allows even the Jewish people to go astray.
Such notions are hard to compute. Our human effort cannot win God’s favor that is freely given to those he chooses. However, God desires all to be saved and reaches out to all, hoping we will respond. Regardless of the exact mechanics, the correct response is obedience to God’s calling, accepting whatever task he sets before us, whether noble or not.
The point of Romans 9 is to put Christians in their place as the vessels of God. On the one hand, there is tremendous freedom in the notion that no one can earn a place in God’s favor. In fact, for those who continue in faith, there is nothing that can separate them from God’s love. Even those who have given themselves over to sin may receive God’s merciful patience and kindness that will hopefully lead them to repentance one day.
It’s easy to get hung up on a detail or lost in the minutiae of salvation and the way God offers righteousness. It is good to meditate on these things. However, it is not good to miss out on God’s salvation when fretting over the particulars. Don’t miss out on the depth and width of God’s mercy and grace, God’s desire to extend salvation to all people, and even the hope that the Jewish people will one day widely accept Jesus as their saving Messiah.
While the Roman Christians trust in Christ as their rock, Paul turns to the application of everything he’s already shared to the Jewish people of his day. He writes that while he is the apostle to the Gentiles and believes Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the law, he shares God’s commitment to the salvation of the Jewish nation.
