Romans 9

Paul grieves over his fellow Jews, most of whom have not accepted Jesus, and asks whether God’s promises to Israel have failed. He answers that God’s word stands, because it was always the children of promise who counted, and that God is free in showing mercy. The chapter ends with Gentiles receiving righteousness by faith while Israel stumbles over Christ.

Romans 9:1-2

Paul begins with an oath-like assurance that he is telling the truth. His inner conscience, guided by the Holy Spirit, backs him up. What follows is no cold argument. It comes from deep and constant grief over those who have not received Christ.

BSA: conscience (“moral awareness, inner guide”): Paul’s inner sense of right and wrong, shaped by the Spirit, bears witness that his sorrow is real.

Romans 9:3

Paul says he could wish himself cursed and cut off from Christ if that would save his people. He knows it cannot happen, but the wish shows a heart like Moses’, who asked to be blotted out for Israel. His love mirrors the love of Christ.

BSA: cursed (“devoted to destruction, anathema”): The word means handed over to God’s judgment, so Paul is picturing the most terrible loss for the sake of others.

Greek: ἀνάθεμα (anathema, G331) — “something set apart for destruction, accursed.” It is a strong word for being placed under God’s judgment and separated from him. Paul chooses it to show how far his love would go.

See also: Exodus 32:32.

Romans 9:4

Paul lists the privileges God gave Israel: adoption, the glory of God’s presence, the covenants, the law, temple worship and the promises. These make Israel’s unbelief all the more sad, because they have received so much from God.

BSA: adoption (“with full rights and privileges”): Israel was brought into God’s family as his own son, with a son’s place and inheritance.

Greek: υἱοθεσία (huiothesia, G5206) — “placing as a son.” It means formally giving someone the standing of a son. God called Israel his son long before the church shared that same standing.

See also: Exodus 4:22.

Romans 9:5

Israel also has the patriarchs, and the Messiah himself came from them as a human being. Paul then breaks into praise of Christ, who is over all and blessed forever. Israel’s greatest gift is the very one many of them have refused.

BSA: God (“the supreme Deity, over all things”): Paul calls the Messiah God over all, so Christ is both truly human by descent and truly divine.

Romans 9:6

Paul answers the obvious worry: has God’s promise to Israel failed? No. The promise was never to every physical descendant. Within the nation there has always been a true Israel, those whom God’s word actually reaches.

BSA: word (“message or promise”): What is at stake is God’s own promise to Israel, which cannot fall to the ground.

Romans 9:7

Being descended from Abraham did not by itself make someone his child in the promise. Abraham had other sons, such as Ishmael, yet God said the line would be counted through Isaac. From the start God did the choosing, not biology.

BSA: reckoned (“counted, considered”): God himself counts who belongs to the promised family.

See also: Genesis 21:12.

Romans 9:8

Paul sums up the point. Natural birth does not make anyone a child of God. Those who belong are the children of the promise, born because God spoke and acted. This is the same principle by which believers from every nation join Abraham’s family.

BSA: promise (“a commitment or assurance from God”): Belonging rests on God’s own commitment, not on human descent or achievement.

See also: Galatians 4:28.

Romans 9:9

Isaac’s birth shows the principle at work. Abraham and Sarah were far too old, so Isaac came only because God had promised him. The child of promise was the gift of God’s word, not the result of human strength.

See also: Genesis 18:10.

Romans 9:10

Paul gives a second example, and a sharper one. Rebecca’s twins had the same father and the same mother and were conceived at the same time. No difference in descent can explain why God dealt with them differently.

See also: Genesis 25:21.

Romans 9:11-12

God spoke before the twins were born, and before either had done good or evil. So his purpose rested on his own call and not on their works. The older would serve the younger. Christians understand the details of election differently, but all agree that salvation starts with God’s initiative.

BSA: election (“selecting, choosing”): God’s choice is his own, made freely and not earned. calls (“summons, invites”): The deciding factor is God’s summons, not anything the person has done.

Greek: ἐκλογή (eklogē, G1589) — “a choosing out, selection.” The word describes God picking out for himself. Paul’s point is that this choice rests on the one who calls, not on works.

See also: Genesis 25:23.

Romans 9:13

Paul quotes Malachi, where Jacob and Esau stand for their descendants, the nations of Israel and Edom. God’s love for Jacob is his free choice to bless him with the covenant. Hatred here speaks of choosing one over the other, not of spite.

BSA: hated (“detested, loved less”): In Hebrew idiom, hate can mean to love less or to set aside in favor of another.

See also: Malachi 1:2-3; Luke 14:26.

Romans 9:14

Paul knows this raises a question: is God unfair? He rejects the idea at once. God owes no one salvation, and whatever he does is right. His answer comes from God’s own words to Moses.

BSA: unjust (“unrighteous, morally wrong”): Paul will not allow any charge of moral wrong against God.

Romans 9:15

God spoke these words to Moses just after Israel had worshiped the golden calf. They deserved judgment, and yet God showed mercy. Mercy is a gift that God gives freely, and nobody can demand it as a debt.

BSA: mercy (“show compassion, pity”): God’s mercy is real compassion for those who are helpless, freely given.

See also: Exodus 33:19.

Romans 9:16

Salvation cannot be won by wanting it hard enough or by working at it. It rests on God’s mercy. That is good news for the weak, since our rescue does not hang on our own strength.

BSA: effort (“attempt, running”): The picture is a runner straining to win, and Paul says no race can earn mercy.

Greek: τρέχοντος (trechontos, G5143) — “of the one running.” Paul literally speaks of the runner. Even the most determined sprint cannot earn what God gives as mercy.

See also: Ephesians 2:8-9.

Romans 9:17

God spoke to Pharaoh through Moses. He had placed Pharaoh on Egypt’s throne, and through the plagues and the Exodus God’s power was displayed and his name became known to the nations. Even a tyrant’s rule served God’s saving purpose.

BSA: raised you up (“put you on high”): God set Pharaoh in his high position, and God’s purposes were at work in it.

Greek: ἐξήγειρά (exēgeira, G1825) — “I raised up, I brought onto the stage.” The word can mean raising someone to a place of prominence. Pharaoh stood where all could see how God acts.

See also: Exodus 9:16.

Romans 9:18

Paul gathers both sides of the Exodus story. God shows mercy as he chooses, and he hardens as he chooses. In Exodus, Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and God also hardened it. Christians read the balance differently, but all agree that God is just.

BSA: hardens (“makes stubborn, unyielding”): God gives a person over to the stubbornness they already have.

Greek: σκληρύνει (sklērynei, G4645) — “makes hard, makes stiff.” The same root gives us sclerosis, a hardening. It describes a heart that has become unresponsive to God.

See also: Exodus 8:15; Exodus 9:12.

Romans 9:19

Paul imagines an objector. If God’s will rules everything, how can he still blame anyone? It is an honest question, and Paul does not make it go away. He answers by reminding us who God is and who we are.

BSA: resist (“oppose, withstand”): The objector thinks no one can stand against God’s will, so blame seems pointless.

Romans 9:20

Paul does not give a neat explanation. He puts the question in its place. We are creatures, and God is the Creator. A pot has no standing to cross-examine its maker. This does not forbid honest questions. It calls us to approach God with humility.

BSA: formed (“molded, created”): We are shaped by God’s own hands, and that is a good reason for trust and humility.

See also: Isaiah 29:16.

Romans 9:21

The potter works with one lump of clay and shapes it as he sees fit. Paul uses the old picture from the prophets to show God’s right over his creation. The scene should lead us to trust the Maker’s wisdom.

BSA: potter (“a craftsman, skilled in shaping clay”): The potter is a skilled craftsman, so his work is purposeful and not random.

Greek: κεραμεύς (kerameus, G2763) — “potter.” A potter was a familiar worker in every town. His right to shape clay was obvious to everyone, which is exactly Paul’s point.

See also: Jeremiah 18:6.

Romans 9:22

God has shown great patience with those headed for judgment instead of destroying them at once. Paul says they were prepared for destruction, and he does not say who prepared them. Their end shows God’s justice, and his patience gives space to repent.

BSA: patience (“longanimity, fortitude”): God holds back his anger for a long time before judgment falls. prepared (“fitted, made ready”): The vessels were made ready for judgment, and the wording leaves open how they came to be so.

Greek: μακροθυμίᾳ (makrothymia, G3115) — “patience, long-temperedness.” The word literally means to be long in passion. God is slow to anger, even toward those who resist him.

See also: Romans 2:4.

Romans 9:23

God also shows the riches of his glory in vessels of mercy, those he prepared beforehand for glory. Their salvation is the work of his kindness from start to finish, and it displays how generous he is.

BSA: in advance (“beforehand, from the beginning”): God was preparing his people for glory long before they knew him.

Romans 9:24

These vessels of mercy include Paul’s readers, whom God called from both Jews and Gentiles. The church is one family drawn from every nation. God’s mercy was never meant for one people only.

BSA: called (“to invite, to summon”): God’s call is an active summons that reaches people of every background.

Romans 9:25-26

Hosea’s words first spoke of unfaithful Israel, whom God would restore. Paul sees them reaching further, to Gentiles who were once outside God’s people. Those who were not a people become sons of the living God.

BSA: My Beloved (“one loved and cherished, My dear one”): Those once outside are now cherished as dear to God.

See also: Hosea 2:23; Hosea 1:10; 1 Peter 2:10.

Romans 9:27-28

Isaiah cries out that though Israel is as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved. God’s judgment is real and he will carry it out. Yet a remnant means that God has not abandoned his people.

BSA: remnant (“a small remaining group”): A faithful few are kept safe, and through them God’s promises go on. sentence (“judgment, decree”): God’s verdict is certain and will be carried out in full.

Greek: ὑπόλειμμα (hypoleimma, G9577) — “what is left behind, remnant.” It describes the small group that survives judgment. This is God’s way of preserving a people for himself.

See also: Isaiah 10:22-23; Romans 11:5.

Romans 9:29

Isaiah also said that without the descendants God left, Israel would have been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. Survival is mercy. The remnant is a sign of God’s grace, not of human merit.

BSA: descendants (“a seed, offspring”): A seed left behind is the start of new life, and it shows God’s mercy even in judgment.

See also: Isaiah 1:9.

Romans 9:30-31

Here is the surprise. Gentiles were not pursuing righteousness, yet received it by faith. Israel pursued a law of righteousness and did not reach it. A right standing with God cannot be earned. It is received by trusting him.

BSA: pursue (“follow after, chase”): Israel chased after righteousness with real effort, but chased it the wrong way. attained (“arrive at, reach”): Israel never arrived at the goal that the law itself pointed to.

See also: Romans 10:3-4.

Romans 9:32

Israel failed because they sought righteousness by works instead of faith. They tripped over the stone that God had set in their path. The stone is Christ. The cross offended those who wanted to earn their standing with God.

BSA: works (“actions, deeds of the law”): Israel tried to build a standing before God from obedience to the law.

Greek: προσέκοψαν (prosekopsan, G4350) — “they struck against, stumbled.” It pictures a foot hitting a stone in the road. Christ was in their path, and they struck him because they were looking elsewhere.

Romans 9:33

Paul joins two sayings from Isaiah. God lays one stone in Zion. For some it is a cause of stumbling, and for those who trust in him it is a sure foundation. The believer will never be put to shame.

BSA: put to shame (“disappointed, ashamed, disgraced”): Those who rest on Christ will not find their trust let down.

Greek: σκανδάλου (skandalou, G4625) — “a snare, an offense.” The word is the root of our word scandal. The cross offended pride, yet for faith it is the firm place to stand.

See also: Isaiah 8:14; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6.