Intro:

In order to understand Romans 9 — you have to understand God’s true relationship with the nation of Israel. Do you know why Protestants in America are so supportive of Israel? Why have presidents from one election to another stood by Israel’s side?

It is said today, that Israel is our closest ally, but why? Because protestant Christianity sees Israel fitting in an end time prophetic event — The end of the world hinges according to them on the temple being rebuilt, Israel regaining it’s position. The middle east is the focus of Prophetic events like the appearing of the Anti-Christ, The battle of Armageddon, and world domination by the Beast power, and ultimately for Protestants Americans it is Israel that will play a key role in bringing about the secret rapture! They believe 144,000 Israelites will accept the Messiah and become Christians before the end…  

The Truth is that Israel has played a key role as God’s people in historical times — It all comes from the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Listen in as God speaks to Isaac repeating the promise he gave to Abraham:

(Genesis 26:3-5 NKJV) “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Literally, God promised Abraham & Isaac an entire nation — Not just a people group, but also a territory, and God even lays out where the territory will be:

(Genesis 15:18 NKJV) …”To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—“

Now this is a huge portion of land stretching from the middle of Iraq to the Red Sea, in what was known in ancient times as Mesopotamia — The Eastern boarders of Egypt and also the Roman Empire, was the Euphrates River!

From Abraham to Jesus, you have an impressive record of God working for the descendants of Abraham. Rivers were parted, Manna fell from heaven, Battles were won, and some of the battles Israel won were fought entirely by angelic forces. The evidence that God had chosen and was with Israel was so indisputable that the Bible says that Rahab the harlot of Jericho bore this testimony of them:

(Joshua 2:8-11 NKJV) … “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who [were] on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. “And as soon as we heard [these things], our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He [is] God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

God blessed His people and did not forget them as they dwelt in Canaan — Through the reign of good kings and bad kings, God kept His eye on His people. Even when in Babylon, they were still God’s people — He saw them there and sent Jeremiah to prophesy that they would come out of Babylon.

(Jeremiah 29:10 NKJV) For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon,

I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.

Even by the time of Jesus, He had this to say about the children of Israel:

(John 4:22 NKJV) “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

Paul describes the blessedness of Israel in this way:

(Romans 9:4-5 NKJV) who are Israelites, to whom [pertain] the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service [of God], and the promises; of whom [are] the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ [came], who is over all, [the] eternally blessed God. Amen.

Paul lists 8 Blessings of Israel:

1. They are adopted as God’s Children
2. The Glory of God is manifest in them
3. They were given the covenants of God
4. They were entrusted with the Law of God
5. They were given the Sanctuary Service
6. They were given many Promises
7. They had a Godly Genealogy of Patriarchs
8. They had a Messianic Genealogy

But here is the problem, both then and now — We think that the reason Israel was chosen is that there is something special about the Israelites. But did Israel have any qualities that set them apart as special outside of what God did for them and through them? Notice that God made them special, and significant! He set them apart and elevated them above other nations! God could’ve done this with any nation He chose — but God chose the weakest and smallest of nations, before they were even a nation, as His people through Abraham.

(Deuteronomy 7:6-8 KJV) For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that [are] upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye [were] the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers…

What is the reason God gives for choosing Israel? — Not because of who they were, but because of a promise which HE made to Abraham… And what was the grand climax of that promise? That the Messiah would be born through Abraham’s lineage…

Paul uses three illustrations to reveal the grand truth concerning Israel and concerning you and me, that we don’t chose our role in life, we can simply fill our role in life to God’s glory or not: 

• Jacob & Esau
• Pharaoh of Egypt
• A piece of clay at the Potter’s wheel

(Romans 9:10-13NKJV) …Rebecca also had conceived by one man, [even] by our father Isaac (for [the children] not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of

God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”

Now does God’s choice for our life, take away our choice for our life? — No!

Unlike Calvanism which teaches that you are predestined according to God’s will to be saved or be lost, and you have absolutely NO choice in the matter — The Bible teaches that we are predestined by God to fill a certain place in history for His glory, but we still have a choice of whether or not we will fill that place given to us by God and bring glory to His name or not. We can choose our lot in life, but we can choose whether we will accept it, live to God’s glory, and fill the purpose that God gives to us.

God gives leaders their place to test them, if they fail the test, they lose their place.

“Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that it might be seen whether it would fulfill the purpose of “the Watcher and the Holy One.” Prophecy has traced the rise and fall of the world’s great empires—Babylon, MedoPersia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with nations of less power, history repeated itself. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded, its power departed, and its place was occupied by another. While the nations rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection wrought their own ruin, it was still manifest that the divine, overruling purpose was working through all their movements.” — Education, 177.

So God gave Esau a place to fill — God said, he will serve the younger. Could Esau have filled that place to God’s glory? Could Esau have been saved? Did Esau still have choices He could make that would affect His eternity?

The same with Jacob — God said, Jacob was supposed to rule. Whether we serve or rule, how we respond to the position God gives us in this life reveals our character and destiny. It is not your position that brings you honor, it is how you choose to fill that position — You can fill the position God has given you right now in your life to God’s glory or to your own, and how you respond to the life God has given you right now will determine whether or not your form a character for heaven or not.

Remember the Parable of the Talents? Jesus said the Master gave 10 to one, 5 to another, 1 to another. You say, but it’s not fair! It is fair, because the prerogative of choosing who gets what is God’s — Our choice is how we use what has been given us. In the parable what happened to those who used their talents to God’s glory? What happened to those who buried their talent?

Another point that Paul brings out, is that not only can we not choose our position in life or the role that God wants us to fill in this life, but God doesn’t even choose our position based on any merit we bring to the table.

(Romans 9:14-16 NKJV) “What shall we say then? [Is there] unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then [it is] not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”

God who knows the end from the beginning and has seen the totality of your life before you were even conceived — He knows the place in life where you can bring the greatest glory to His name and He chooses a place for you — a place where your character will be developed and refined, a place where your influence will be felt, a place where you can truly honor Him — then He leaves the choice with you whether you will fill that place for His glory or not.

Remember what Jesus said about the man born blind?

(John 9:1-3 NKJV) Now as [Jesus] passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

And we ask ourselves, how can someone born blind bring glory to God in their blindness?

Take Fanny Crosby — born blind in 1820, she wrote more than 8,000 hymns — many of which we have in our hymn book today. “Blessed Assurance”, “He Hideth My Soul”, “Pass Me Not O Gentile Savior”, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus”, and many more… which have touched and blessed countless lives of men and women around the world… Can someone born blind still have a position which God has given them in this world? Can they bring glory to God?

At age eight, Fanny Crosby wrote her first poem which described her condition. How did Fanny feel about her condition in this life? Listen to her own words now: “It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.” She also once said, “when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior”.  According to biographer Annie Willis, “had it not been for her affliction she might not have so good an education or have so great an influence, and certainly not so fine a memory”. [1] See link at bottom of notes.

Perhaps today you say: “I just can’t see how my life, my position, my role in life can bring God glory?” Here is just what you need friend. You don’t need to see how your life will bring glory to God, for God is the one who is responsible for seeing it. You only need to believe that it will, and live as if it does, and truly God will bring about the result!

Perhaps you say today: “But I don’t know what God’s will is for my life, or even what position He wants me to fill?” — It is for God to know this as well, He who calls will not keep back His will for your life if you will only walk in the light He has revealed to you today. Do what you know to be true today, work where you are for God’s glory, choose to live for Him in the areas you know that you can and God will open the doors for you and unfold more of His will to you.

Does God ever give people a position that leads someone to be lost? Someone may say, I feel that I am destined to be lost… What about Pharaoh, did God harden his heart?

(Romans 9:17-18 NKJV) For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

What does the scripture say of Pharaoh? God raised Him up to show His power IN HIM. Why? That God’s name would be declared in all the earth. Did Pharaoh listen and submit to God’s will in His life? No… What was the result? Pharoah’s heart was hardened, not that God desired it to be hardened. The word for harden is to become stubborn! God didn’t create a stubborn heart in Pharaoh, but when Pharaoh chose to reject God’s place for Him to fill to His glory and honor, God allowed the heart of Pharaoh to harden.  

The Bible says whom He wills He hardens — What God allows is attributed to what He wills. In other words, It was not the will of God for Pharaoh to harden his heart, but it was His will to allow it to happen. So predestination as taught by Calvanists, and many baptists, can not be accurate! Does God predestinate us with a position and plan for our life? YES. Do we still have a choice over whether or not we will fill that place? YES. Is our Salvation predestined? Are we predestined to be saved or lost without choice? NO

Or else why would the Bible say: (Joshua 24:15 NKJV) “… choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

If you didn’t have a choice, why would the Bible say: (Acts 16:31 NKJV) …”Believe on the Lord

Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

So Israel, according to Paul, was predestined by God to fill a place, an honored position, among all the nations of the earth… and they could either bring glory to God through the position given to them, or they could bring dishonor and lose the position given them by God. The whole purpose of their position among the nations, was to be the heralds of the Messiah! The ones who carried the proclamation that the Messiah would come, and that they would be the ones through whom the Messiah would come! What an honor bestowed by God. What a sacred trust!

This promise was repeated  and given through Moses:

(Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV) “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

Then again to king David:

(Jeremiah 33:17 NKJV) “For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

The truth is that the Messiah didn’t need to come through Israel, for God could’ve chosen another nation — The Messiah could have come from Egypt, could have come from Syria, could have come from Kenya, could have come from Korea… It was not because Israel was significant, and in fact the Bible says “You were the fewest of ALL people” — Jesus made this point crystal clear by saying God could even raise up a nation out of a pile of rocks for Abraham if He wanted to:

(Matthew 3:9 KJV) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

The confusion has come into Christianity over the role of Israel in the last days because they look at the marvelous and miraculous things God did for Israel and naturally assume that Israel must be different, must be superior in some way… I even find this attitude among Adventists today, an almost revering of the Jews. I find some of our own pastors who teach that we must look to the Jewish nation to truly understand how to live close to God.  

It is not anti-Semitic to declare the truth taught in scripture and the truth observed in life that the Jew bleeds the same color blood as you and me, is in need of the Savior just as much as you and me, and must come to God through Jesus just like you and me. But the Jews were given a position of trust by God just as you are given one today, and they as well as you can fill that position to the glory of God or to the glory of yourself.

The continued acceptance of the Jewish nation as God’s people hinged on what they would do with Jesus Christ the long awaited Messiah.

(Daniel 9:24 NKJV) “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

The Lord gave Israel 1,767 years (18 Centuries) from the time of Abraham to Christ, to fulfill their appointed task of accepting Jesus the Messiah. He blessed them, gave them the Sanctuary which pointed to Him, Gave them the prophecies, revealed the time, place, and circumstances of the Messiah’s birth, life, and death, and still the Jews rejected Jesus Christ.

This is where we find Paul now in Romans 9 — He has just unwrapped the gospel in Romans 1-8, and now he moves to answer the question “What about Israel, Paul?” , If salvation is through faith and is open to all people, what about the promises to Israel that they were God’s chosen people? Won’t they have a prophetic end-time part to play in God’s plan? Won’t the temple be rebuilt? Aren’t they still God’s chosen people today?

(Romans 9:1-3 NKJV) I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,

Now why does Paul emphasize 3 times: (1) I’m tell the truth (2) I’m not lying (3) The Holy Spirit would convict my conscience

Because literal Israel, the children of Abraham, the ones on whom God’s favor has been shown for 18 centuries, has forsaken the Christ and missed the Gospel… What were the results of rejecting Christ?

(Romans 9:29 NKJV) And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” What happened to Sodom & Gomorrah?

(2 Peter 2:6 KJV) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned [them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

Unless there was a seed of Israel, Paul says they would have been completely destroyed at this point. And we can see how easily that would have happened historically — in 70AD just a few decades after the crucifixion of Christ Jerusalem and it’s temple were destroyed by the Romans, and literally Israel would have been wiped off the face of the earth.

But Paul speaks of a SEED of Israel! A REMNANT of Israel!

(Romans 9:27 NKJV) Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.

Who is the Remnant of Israel? — Paul answers this question for us in the very next verses in Romans 9.

(Romans 9:30-32 NKJV) What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because [they did] not [seek it] by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

The seed, the remnant of Israel are those who through faith find the righteousness that comes alone through Jesus Christ. The faith that a Paul has been talking about in Romans 1-8 — Putting off the Old Man of Sin, Dieing to Self, Placing our Faith in Jesus — This makes you the Remnant of Israel…

(Romans 9:25-26 NKJV) As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You [are] not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

So is there still a chosen people of God today? — According to Paul, YES — but it is not what it once or who it once was. For the Children of Abraham are those who carry forward the faith of Abraham. Who like Abraham believe God and receive Righteousness which comes from Him through faith.

(Romans 4:11-12 KJV) And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which [he had yet] being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which [he had] being [yet] uncircumcised.

Should we be looking to the Middle East, the rebuilding of the temple, and Israel after the flesh as our prophetic hope? Or should we today by faith be filling the position which God has given us as the new Israel of God?

I tell you the truth, that God has given you a position to fill, just as He gave Israel of old, and it is give to you to choose whether you will bring glory to God as the new Israel?  What is the secret? — Faith! Appeal:

Will you believe that God can use you, and that you can bring glory to God in the position He has placed you? How many today would be willing to say God I accept the position you have given me in my life, and today I choose to live a life of faith in you as part of the New Israel.