Romans 9

God’s Selection of Israel

9With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it.G3004G225G1722G5547G5574G3756G3450G4893G4828G3427G4828G1722G40G41512My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending griefG3754G3427G2076G3173G3077G2532G88G3601G3450G25883for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters

. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.G1063G1473G2172G846G1511G331G575G5547G5228G3450G80G3450G4773G2596G45614They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God's adopted children

. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.G3748G1526G2475G3739G5206G2532G1391G2532G1242G2532G3548G2532G2999G2532G18605Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

G3739G3962G2532G1537G3739G2596G4561G5547G5607G1909G3956G2316G2128G1519G165G2816Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God's people!G3756G3634G1161G3754G3056G2316G1601G1063G3756G3956G1537G2474G3588G3778G24747Being descendants of Abraham doesn't make them truly Abraham's children. For the Scriptures say, "Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,"

though Abraham had other children, too.G3761G3754G1526G4690G11G3956G5043G235G1722G2464G2564G4671G4690G25648This means that Abraham's physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham's children.G5123G5043G4561G5023G3756G5043G2316G235G5043G1860G3049G1519G46909For God had promised, "I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."

G1063G3778G3056G1860G2596G5126G2540G2064G2532G4564G2071G520710This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins

.G1161G3756G3440G235G4479G2532G2845G1537G1520G2192G2257G3962G246411But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes;G1063G1080G3380G1080G3366G4238G5100G18G2228G2556G2443G4286G2316G2596G1589G3306G3756G1537G2041G235G1537G256412he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, "Your older son will serve your younger son."

G3754G4483G846G3187G1398G164013In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau."

G2531G1125G2384G25G1161G2269G340414Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not!G5101G2046G3767G3361G93G3844G2316G3361G109615For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose."

G1063G3004G3475G1653G3739G302G1653G2532G3627G3739G302G362716So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.G686G3767G3756G2309G3761G5143G235G2316G165317For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth."

G1063G1124G3004G5328G3754G1519G5124G846G1825G4571G1825G3704G1731G3450G1411G1722G4671G2532G3704G3450G3686G1229G1722G3956G109318So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.G686G3767G1653G3739G2309G1161G3739G2309G464519Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what he makes them do?"G2046G3767G3427G5101G2089G3201G1063G5101G436G846G101320No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?"G3304G5599G444G5101G1488G4771G470G2316G3361G2046G4110G2046G4111G5101G4160G3165G377921When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?G2228G2192G3756G2763G1849G4081G1537G846G5445G3739G3303G4160G4632G1519G5092G1161G3739G1519G81922In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.G1487G1161G2316G2309G1731G3709G2532G1107G846G1415G1107G5342G1722G4183G3115G4632G3709G2675G1519G68423He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.G2532G2443G1107G4149G846G1391G1909G4632G1656G3739G4282G1519G139124And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.G3739G2532G2248G3739G2564G3756G1537G2453G3440G235G2532G1537G148425Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, "Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before."

G3004G2532G1722G5617G2564G3450G2992G3756G3450G2992G2532G25G25G3756G2526And, "Then, at the place where they were told, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'children of the living God.'"

G2532G2071G1722G5117G3757G3739G4483G846G5210G3756G3450G2992G1563G2564G5207G2198G231627And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out, "Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.G2268G1161G2896G5228G2474G1437G706G5207G2474G5600G5613G285G2281G2640G498228For the LORD will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality."

G1063G4931G3056G2532G4932G1722G1343G3754G4932G3056G4160G2962G4160G1909G109329And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: "If the LORD of Heaven's Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah."

G2532G2531G2268G4280G1508G2962G4519G1459G2254G4690G302G1096G5613G4670G2532G302G3666G5613G1116

Israel’s Unbelief

30What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God's standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place.G5101G2046G3767G3754G1484G3588G1377G3361G1343G2638G1343G1161G1343G3588G1537G410231But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.G1161G2474G1377G3551G1343G5348G3756G5348G1519G3551G134332Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law

instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.G1302G3754G3756G1537G4102G235G5613G1537G2041G3551G1063G4350G3037G434833God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem

that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."G2531G1125G2400G5087G1722G4622G3037G4348G2532G4073G4625G2532G3956G4100G1909G846G2617G3756G2617