Text -- Romans 9:17-33 (NET)

9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 9:18 So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. 9:19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 9:20 But who indeed are you– a mere human being– to talk back to God? Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? 9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory– 9:24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 9:25 As he also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, ‘My beloved.’” 9:26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” 9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, 9:28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.” 9:29 Just as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

9:30 What shall we say then?– that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 9:31 but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. 9:32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 9:33 just as it is written, “Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble and a rock that will make them fall, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Rom 9:17

To Pharaoh ( tōi Pharaō ).

There is a national election as seen in Rom 9:7-13, but here Paul deals with the election of individuals. He "lays down the principle that God’ s grace does not necessarily depend upon anything but God’ s will"(Sanday and Headlam). He quotes Exo 9:16.

Robertson: Rom 9:17

Might be published ( diaggelēi ).

Second aorist passive subjunctive of diaggellō .

Robertson: Rom 9:18

He hardeneth ( sklērunei ).

Pharaoh hardened his own heart also (Exo 8:15, Exo 8:32; Exo 9:34), but God gives men up also (Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26, Rom 1:28). This late word is used by the Greek physicians Galen and Hippocrates. See note on Act 19:9. Only here in Paul.

Robertson: Rom 9:19

Why doth he still find fault? ( ti eti memphetai̇ ).

Old verb, to blame. In N.T. only here and Heb 8:8. Paul’ s imaginary objector picks up the admission that God hardened Pharaoh’ s heart. "Still"(eti ) argues for a change of condition since that is true.

Robertson: Rom 9:19

Withstandeth his will ( tōi boulēmati autou anthestēken ).

Perfect active indicative of anthistēmi , old verb, maintains a stand (the perfect tense). Many have attempted to resist God’ s will (boulēma , deliberate purpose, in N.T. only here and Act 27:43; 1Pe 4:3). Elsewhere thelēma (Mat 6:10).

Robertson: Rom 9:20

Nay, but, O man, who art thou? ( O anthrōpe , men oun ge su tis ei̇ ).

"O man, but surely thou who art thou?"Unusual and emphatic order of the words, prolepsis of su (thou) before tis (who) and men oun ge (triple particle, men , indeed, oun , therefore, ge , at least) at the beginning of clause as in Rom 10:18; Phi 3:8 contrary to ancient idiom, but so in papyri.

Robertson: Rom 9:20

That repliest ( ho antapokrinomenos ).

Present middle articular participle of double compound verb antapokrinomai , to answer to one’ s face (anti̇ ) late and vivid combination, also in Luk 14:6, nowhere else in N.T., but in lxx.

Robertson: Rom 9:20

The thing formed ( to plasma ).

Old word (Plato, Aristophanes) from plassō , to mould, as with clay or wax, from which the aorist active participle used here (tōi plasanti ) comes. Paul quotes these words from Isa 29:16 verbatim. It is a familiar idea in the Old Testament, the absolute power of God as Creator like the potter’ s use of clay (Isa 44:8; Isa 45:8-10; Jer 18:6). Mē expects a negative answer.

Robertson: Rom 9:20

Why didst thou make me thus? ( ti me epoiēsas houtōṡ ).

The original words in Isaiah dealt with the nation, but Paul applies them to individuals. This question does not raise the problem of the origin of sin for the objector does not blame God for that but why God has used us as he has, made some vessels out of the clay for this purpose, some for that. Observe "thus"(houtōs ). The potter takes the clay as he finds it, but uses it as he wishes.

Robertson: Rom 9:21

Or hath not the potter a right over the clay? ( ē ouk echei exousian ho kerameus tou pēlou̇ ).

This question, expecting an affirmative answer, is Paul’ s reply to the previous one, "Why didst thou make me thus?"Pēlos , old word for clay, is mud or wet clay in Joh 9:6, Joh 9:11, Joh 9:14. The old word for potter (kerameus ) in N.T. only here and Mat 27:7, Mat 27:10.

Robertson: Rom 9:21

Lump ( phuramatos ).

Late word from phuraō , to mix (clay, dough, etc.).

Robertson: Rom 9:21

One part ( ho men )

- another (ho de ). Regular idiom for contrast (meṅ̇de ) with the old demonstrative ho (this), "this vessel (skeuos , old word as in Mar 11:16) for honour, that for dishonour."Paul thus claims clearly God’ s sovereign right (exousian , power, right, authority, from exesti ) to use men (already sinners) for his own purpose.

Robertson: Rom 9:22

Willing ( thelōn ).

Concessive use of the participle, "although willing,"not causal, "because willing"as is shown by "with much long-suffering"(en pollēi makrothumiāi , in much long-suffering).

Robertson: Rom 9:22

His power ( to dunaton autou ).

Neuter singular of the verbal adjective rather than the substantive dunamin .

Robertson: Rom 9:22

Endured ( ēnegken ).

Constative second aorist active indicative of the old defective verb pherō , to bear.

Robertson: Rom 9:22

Vessels of wrath ( skeuē orgēs ).

The words occur in Jer 50:25 (lxx Jer 27:25), but not in the sense here (objective genitive like tekna orgēs , Eph 2:3, the objects of God’ s wrath).

Robertson: Rom 9:22

Fitted ( katērtismena ).

Perfect passive participle of katartizō , old verb to equip (see note on Mat 4:21 and see 2Co 13:11), state of readiness. Paul does not say here that God did it or that they did it. That they are responsible may be seen from 1Th 2:15.

Robertson: Rom 9:22

Unto destruction ( eis apōleian ).

Endless perdition (Mat 7:13; 2Th 2:3; Phi 3:19), not annihilation.

Robertson: Rom 9:23

Vessels of mercy ( skeuē eleous ).

Objective genitive like skeuē orgēs .

Robertson: Rom 9:23

Afore prepared ( proētoimasen ).

First aorist active indicative of proetoimazō , old verb to make ready (from hetoimos , ready) and pro , before, in N.T. only here and Eph 2:10. But same idea in Rom 8:28-30.

Robertson: Rom 9:24

But also from the Gentiles ( alla kai ex ethnōn ).

Paul had already alluded to this fact in Rom 9:6. (cf. Gal 3:7-9). Now he proceeds to prove it from the Old Testament.

Robertson: Rom 9:25

In Hosea ( en tōi Hōsēe ).

He quotes Hos 2:23 with some freedom. Hosea refers to the ten tribes and Paul applies the principle stated there to the Gentiles. Hosea had a son named Lo-ammi = ou laos . So here ho ou laos mou "the not people of mine."Ou with substantives obliterates the meaning of the substantive, an idiom seen in Thucydides and other Greek writers. See also Rom 10:19; 1Pe 2:10.

Robertson: Rom 9:25

Which was not beloved ( tēn ouk ēgapēmenēn ).

The lxx rendering of Lo-ruhamah (not mercy, without mercy or love), name of Hosea’ s daughter. The use of ouk with the perfect passive participle is emphatic, since mē is the usual negative of the participle in the Koiné.

Robertson: Rom 9:26

Ye are not my people ( ou laos mou humeis ).

Quotation from Hos 1:10 (lxx Hosea 2:1).

Robertson: Rom 9:26

There ( ekei ).

Palestine in the original, but Paul applies it to scattered Jews and Gentiles everywhere.

Robertson: Rom 9:27

Isaiah ( Esaias ).

Shortened quotation from Isa 10:22 (lxx).

Robertson: Rom 9:27

It is the remnant that shall be saved ( to hupoleimma sōthēsetai ).

First future passive of sōzō . Literally, "the remnant will be saved."Late word from hupoleipō , to leave behind (Rom 11:3), here only in N.T. Textus Receptus has kataleimma , but Aleph A B have hupoleimma . Isaiah cries in anguish over the outlook for Israel, but sees hope for the remnant.

Robertson: Rom 9:28

Finishing it and cutting it short ( suntelōn kai suntemnōn ).

Present active participles and note sun - with each (perfective use of the preposition, finishing completely as in Luk 4:13, cutting off completely or abridging and here only in N.T.) The quotation is from Isa 28:22.

Robertson: Rom 9:29

Hath said before ( proeirēken ).

Perfect active indicative of proeipon (defective verb). Stands on record in Isa 1:9.

Robertson: Rom 9:29

Had left ( egkatelipen ).

Second aorist active indicative of old verb egkataleipō , to leave behind. Condition of second class, determined as unfulfilled, with an egenēthēmen and an hōmoiōthēmen as the conclusions (both first aorist passives of ginomai and homoioō , common verbs).

Robertson: Rom 9:29

A seed ( sperma ).

The remnant of Rom 9:27.

Robertson: Rom 9:30

Attained ( katelaben ).

Second aorist active indicative of katalambanō , old verb, to grasp, to seize, to overtake (carrying out the figure in diōkō (to pursue). It was a curious paradox.

Robertson: Rom 9:30

Which is of faith ( tēn ek pisteōs ).

As Paul has repeatedly shown, the only way to get the God-kind of righteousness.

Robertson: Rom 9:31

Did not arrive at that law ( eis nomon ouk ephthasen ).

First aorist active indicative of phthanō , old verb to anticipate (1Th 4:15), now just to arrive as here and 2Co 10:14. The word "that"is not in the Greek. Legal righteousness Israel failed to reach, because to do that one had to keep perfectly all the law.

Robertson: Rom 9:32

We must supply the omitted verb ediōxa (pursued) from Rom 9:31. That explains the rest. @@They stumbled at the stone of stumbling ( prosekopsan tōi lithōi tou proskommatos ).

The quotation is from Isa 8:14. Proskoptō means to cut (koptō ) against (pros ) as in Mat 4:6; Joh 11:9. The Jews found Christ a skandalon (1Co 1:23).

Robertson: Rom 9:33

@@Paul repeats the phrase just used in the whole quotation from Isa 8:14 with the same idea in "a rock of offence"(petran skandalou , "a rock of snare,"a rock which the Jews made a cause of stumbling). The rest of the verse is quoted from Isa 28:16. However, the Hebrew means "shall not make haste"rather than "shall not be put to shame."In 1Pe 2:8 we have the same use of these Scriptures about Christ. Either Peter had read Romans or both Paul and Peter had a copy of Christian Testimonia like Cyprian’ s later.

Vincent: Rom 9:17

Saith

Present tense. " There is an element of tirelessness in the utterance. If the scripture ever spoke at all, it continued and continues to speak. It has never been struck dumb" (Morison).

Vincent: Rom 9:17

Pharaoh

The original meaning of the word is now supposed to be the double house or palace . Compare the Sublime Porte .

Vincent: Rom 9:17

Raised thee up ( ἐξήγειρα )

Hebrew, caused thee to stand . Sept., διετηρήθης thou wast preserved alive . Only once elsewhere in the New Testament, 1Co 6:14, of raising from the dead. The meaning here is general, allowed thee to appear ; brought , thee forward on the stage of events , as Zec 11:16. So the simple verb in Mat 11:11; Joh 7:52. Other explanations are, preserved thee alive , as Sept., excited thee to opposition , as Hab 1:6; created thee .

Vincent: Rom 9:17

Might be declared ( διαγγελῇ )

Published abroad , thoroughly (διά ). So Rev. See on Luk 9:60. " Even to the present day, wherever throughout the world Exodus is read, the divine intervention is realized" (Godet).

Vincent: Rom 9:18

He will ( θέλει )

In a decretory sense. See on Mat 1:19.

Vincent: Rom 9:18

Hardeneth ( σκληρύνει )

Only here by Paul. See on hard , Mat 25:24; see on Jud 1:14; see on Jam 3:4. Three words are used in the Hebrew to describe the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. The one which occurs most frequently, properly means to be strong , and therefore represents the hardness as foolhardiness, infatuated insensibility to danger. See Exodus 14. The word is used in its positive sense, hardens , not merely permits to become hard . In Exodus the hardening is represented as self-produced (Exo 8:15, Exo 8:32; Exo 9:34), and as produced by God (Exo 4:21; Exo 7:3; Exo 9:12; Exo 10:20, Exo 10:27; Exo 11:10). Paul here chooses the latter representation.

Vincent: Rom 9:19

Hath resisted ( ἀνθέστηκεν )

Rev., more correctly, with - standeth . The idea is the result rather than the process of resistance. A man may resist God's will, but cannot maintain his resistance. The question means, who can resist him?

Vincent: Rom 9:20

O man

Man as man, not Jew.

Vincent: Rom 9:20

That repliest ( ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος )

Only here and Luk 14:6. Lit., to contradict in reply: to answer by contradicting . Thus, in the case of the dropsical man (Luke 14), Jesus answered (ἀποκριθεὶς ) the thought in the minds of the lawyers and Pharisees by asking, " Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" Then He asked, " Who of you would refuse on the Sabbath to extricate his beast from the pit into which it has fallen?" And they were unable to answer Him in reply: to answer by contradicting Him . So here, the word signifies to reply to an answer which God had already given, and implies, as Godet observes, the spirit of contention.

Vincent: Rom 9:21

Power ( ἐξουσίαν )

Or right . See on Mar 2:10; see on Joh 1:12.

Vincent: Rom 9:21

Lump ( φυράματος )

From φυράω to mix so as to make into dough . Hence any substance mixed with water and kneaded. Philo uses it of the human frame as compounded. By the lump is here meant human nature with its moral possibilities, " but not yet conceived of in its definite, individual, moral stamp" (Meyer). The figure of man as clay molded by God carries us back to the earliest traditions of the creation of man (Gen 2:7). According to primitive ideas man is regarded as issuing from the earth. The traditions of Libya made the first human being spring from the plains heated by the sun. The Egyptians declared that the Nile mud, exposed to the heat of the sun, brought forth germs which sprang up as the bodies of men. A subsequent divine operation endowed these bodies with soul and intellect, and the divine fashioner appears upon some monuments molding clay, wherewith to form man, upon a potter's wheel. The Peruvians called the first man " animated earth;" and the Mandans of North America related that the Great Spirit molded two figures of clay, which he dried and animated with the breath of his mouth, one receiving the name of First Man, the other that of Companion. The Babylonian account, translated by Berosus, represents man as made of clay after the manner of a statue. See Francois Lenormant, " Beginnings of History."

Vincent: Rom 9:21

To make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor ( ποιῆσαι ὃ μεν εἰς τιμὴν σκεῦος , ὃ δὲ εἰς ἀτιμίαν )

Rev., more correctly, to make one part a vessel unto honor , and another part , etc. For vessel , see on 1Pe 3:7; compare Mat 12:29; Act 9:15. The vessel here is the one which has just come from the potter's hand. Those in Rom 9:22 have been in household use.

Vincent: Rom 9:22

Willing ( θέλων )

Although willing, not because . Referring not to the determinate purpose of God, but to His spontaneous will growing out of His holy character. In the former sense, the meaning would be that God's long-suffering was designed to enhance the final penalty. The emphatic position of willing prepares the way for the contrast with long-suffering . Though this holy will would lead Him to show His wrath, yet He withheld His wrath and endured .

Vincent: Rom 9:22

Vessels of wrath ( σκεύη ὀργῆς )

Not filled with wrath , nor prepared to serve for a manifestation of divine wrath ; but appertaining to wrath . Such as by their own acts have fallen under His wrath. Compare Psa 2:9.

Vincent: Rom 9:22

Fitted ( κατηρτισμένα )

Lit., adjusted . See on mending , Mat 4:21; perfect , see on Mat 21:16; see on Luk 6:40; see on 1Pe 5:10. Not fitted by God for destruction , but in an adjectival sense, ready , ripe for destruction, the participle denoting a present state previously formed, but giving no hint of how it has been formed. An agency of some kind must be assumed. That the objects of final wrath had themselves a hand in the matter may be seen from 1Th 2:15, 1Th 2:16. That the hand of God is also operative may be inferred from the whole drift of the chapter. " The apostle has probably chosen this form because the being ready certainly arises from a continual reciprocal action between human sin and the divine judgment of blindness and hardness. Every development of sin is a net-work of human offenses and divine judgments" (Lange).

Vincent: Rom 9:23

And that He might make known

The connection is variously explained. Some make and that dependent on He endured: " If, willing to show His wrath.... God endured... and also that ." Others make that dependent on fitted : " Vessels fitted to destruction and also that He might make known ," etc. Godet supplies He called from Rom 9:24 : " And called that He might make known," etc. The difficulty is resolved by the omission of καὶ and . So Westcott and Hort, on the single authority of B. See Rev., in margin.

Vincent: Rom 9:23

His glory

See on Rom 3:23. Godet thinks the phrase was suggested by Moses' request, " Show me thy glory," Exo 33:18.

Vincent: Rom 9:23

Afore prepared ( προητοίμασεν )

Only here and Eph 2:10. The studied difference in the use of this term instead of καταρτίζω to fit (Rom 9:22), cannot be overlooked. The verb is not equivalent to foreordained (προορίζω ). Fitted , by the adjustment of parts, emphasizes the concurrence of all the elements of the case to the final result. Prepared is more general. In the former case the result is indicated; in the latter, the previousness . Note before prepared, while before is wanting in Rom 9:22. In this passage the direct agency of God is distinctly stated; in the other the agency is left indefinite. Here a single act is indicated; there a process . The simple verb ἑτοιμάζω often indicates, as Meyer remarks, to constitute qualitatively ; i.e., to arrange with reference to the reciprocal quality of the thing prepared, and that for which it is prepared. See Luk 1:17; Joh 14:2; 1Co 2:9; 2Ti 2:21. " Ah, truly," says Reuss, " if the last word of the christian revelation is contained in the image of the potter and the clay, it is a bitter derision of all the deep needs and legitimate desires of a soul aspiring toward its God. This would be at once a satire of reason upon herself and the suicide of revelation. But it is neither the last word nor the only word; nor has it any immediate observable bearing on the concrete development of our lives. It is not the only word, because, in nine-tenths of Scripture, it is as wholly excluded from the sphere of revelation as though it had been never revealed at all; and it is not the last word, because, throughout the whole of Scripture, and nowhere more than in the writings of the very apostle who has faced this problem with the most heroic inflexibility, we see bright glimpses of something beyond. How little we were intended to draw logical conclusions from the metaphor, is shown by the fact that we are living souls, not dead clay; and St. Paul elsewhere recognized a power, both within and without our beings, by which, as by an omnipotent alchemy, mean vessels can become precious, and vessels of earthenware be transmuted into vessels of gold" (Farrar). See note at end of ch. 11.

Vincent: Rom 9:24

Called - of

Compare Rom 8:30. For of , read from (ἐξ ), as Rev. From among.

Vincent: Rom 9:25

That my people which was not my people ( τὸν οὐ λαόν μοῦ, λαόν μοῦ )

The Greek is much more condensed. " I will call the not-my-people my-people." See Hos 1:6-9. The reference is to the symbolical names given by the prophet to a son and daughter: Lo Ammi not my people , and Lo Ruhama not having obtained mercy . The new people whom God will call my people will be made up from both Jews and Gentiles. Hosea, it is true, is speaking of the scattered Israelites only, and not of the Gentiles; but the ten tribes, by their lapse into idolatry had put themselves upon the same footing with the Gentiles, so that the words could be applied to both. A principle of the divine government is enunciated " which comes into play everywhere when circumstances reappear similar to those to which the statement was originally applied. The exiled Israelites being mingled with the Gentiles, and forming one homogeneous mass with them, cannot be brought to God separately from them. Isa 49:22 represents the Gentiles as carrying the sons of Israel in their arms, and their daughters on their shoulders, and consequently as being restored to grace along with them" (Godet).

Vincent: Rom 9:27

Crieth ( κράζει )

An impassioned utterance. See on Luk 18:39; compare Joh 7:28, Joh 7:37; Act 19:28; Act 23:6. Mostly of an inarticulate cry. " The prophet in awful earnestness, and as with a scream of anguish, cries over Israel" (Morison).

Vincent: Rom 9:27

Concerning ( ὑπέρ )

Lit., over , as proclaiming a judgment which hangs over Israel.

Vincent: Rom 9:28

For the reading of the A.V. read as Rev. The Lord will execute His word upon the earth , finishing and cutting it short . Difficulty arises on account of the variation in the Greek text and the difference between the reading adopted by the best authorities and the Septuagint, and again on account of the variation of the latter from the Hebrew. The Hebrew reads: Extirpation is decided , flowing with righteousness , for a consumption and decree shall the Lord of hosts make in the midst of all the land . The Rev. adopts the shorter reading of the Septuagint.

Work ( λόγον )

It does not mean work , but word , utterance , doctrine ; not decree , which λόγος never means, though the idea may underlie it. Better reckoning .

Vincent: Rom 9:28

Finish - cut short ( συντελῶν - συντέμνων )

The preposition σύν together signifies summarily ; bringing to an end at the same time. Compare the peculiar word ἐκολοβώθησαν should be shortened , in Mat 24:22, and see note. Omit in righteousness .

Vincent: Rom 9:29

Said before ( προείρηκεν )

Not in a previous passage, but by way of prediction.

Vincent: Rom 9:29

Seed

Following the Septuagint, which thus renders the Hebrew remnant . See Rom 9:27. Like the remnant of corn which the farmer leaves for seed.

Vincent: Rom 9:30

Attained ( κατέλαβεν )

See on perceived , Act 4:13, and see on taketh , Mar 9:18; see on Joh 1:5. Compare attained (ἔφθασεν , Rom 9:31). Rev., arrive at . See on Mat 12:28. The meaning is substantially the same, only the imagery in the two words differs; the former being that of laying hold of a prize , and the latter of arriving at a goal . The latter is appropriate to following after , and is carried out in stumbling (Rom 9:32).

Vincent: Rom 9:30

Even ( δὲ )

or and that . Subjoining something distinct and different from what precedes, though not sharply opposed to it. Attained righteousness, that is not that arising from these works, but from faith.

Vincent: Rom 9:32

Not by faith ( οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως )

A.V. and Rev. supply the ellipsis, they sought it not .

Vincent: Rom 9:32

They stumbled ( προσέκοψαν )

" In their foolish course Israel thought they were advancing on a clear path, and lo! all at once there was found in this way an obstacle upon which they were broken; and this obstacle was the very Messiah whom they had so long invoked in all their prayers" (Godet).

Vincent: Rom 9:33

Offense ( σκανδάλου )

See on Mat 5:29; see on Mat 16:23.

Vincent: Rom 9:33

Shall not be ashamed ( οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται )

The Hebrew in Isa 28:16 is, shall not make haste , or flee hastily . The quotation combines Isa 8:4 and Isa 28:16.

Wesley: Rom 9:17

God has an indisputable right to reject those who will not accept the blessings on his own terms. And this he exercised in the case of Pharaoh; to whom, after many instances of stubbornness and rebellion, he said, as it is recorded in scripture, For this very thing have I raised thee up - That is, Unless thou repent, this will surely be the consequence of my raising thee up, making thee a great and glorious king, that my power will be shown upon thee, (as indeed it was, by overwhelming him and his army in the sea,) and my name declared through all the earth - As it is at this day. Perhaps this may have a still farther meaning. It seems that God was resolved to show his power over the river, the insects, other animals, (with the natural causes of their health, diseases, life, and death,) over the meteors, the air, the sun, (all of which were worshipped by the Egyptians, from whom other nations learned their idolatry,) and at once over all their gods, by that terrible stroke of slaying all their priests, and their choicest victims, the firstborn of man and beast; and all this with a design, not only to deliver his people Israel, (for which a single act of omnipotence would have sufficed,) but to convince the Egyptians, that the objects of their worship were but the creatures of Jehovah, and entirely in his power, and to draw them and the neighbouring nations, who should hear of all these wonders, from their idolatry, to worship the one God. For the execution of this design, (in order to the display of the divine power over the various objects of their worship, in variety of wonderful acts, which were at the same time just punishments for their cruel oppression of the Israelites,) God was pleased to raise to the throne of an absolute monarchy, a man, not whom he had made wicked on purpose, but whom he found so, the proudest, the most daring and obstinate of all the Egyptian princes; and who, being incorrigible, well deserved to be set up in that situation, where the divine judgments fell the heaviest. Exo 9:16.

Wesley: Rom 9:18

That is, accordingly he does show mercy on his own terms, namely, on them that believe.

Wesley: Rom 9:18

Namely, them that believe not.

Wesley: Rom 9:18

Leaves to the hardness of their hearts.

Wesley: Rom 9:19

The particle still is strongly expressive of the objector's sour, morose murmuring.

Wesley: Rom 9:19

The word his likewise expresses his surliness and aversion to God, whom he does not even deign to name.

Wesley: Rom 9:20

Little, impotent, ignorant man.

Wesley: Rom 9:20

That accusest God of injustice, for himself fixing the terms on which he will show mercy? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus - Why hast thou made me capable of honour and immortality, only by believing?

Wesley: Rom 9:21

And much more hath not God power over his creatures, to appoint one vessel, namely, the believer, to honour, and another, the unbeliever, to dishonour?

If we survey the right which God has over us, in a more general way, with regard to his intelligent creatures, God may be considered in two different views, as Creator, Proprietor, and Lord of all; or, as their moral Governor, and Judge.

God, as sovereign Lord and Proprietor of all, dispenses his gifts or favours to his creatures with perfect wisdom, but by no rules or methods of proceeding that we are acquainted with. The time when we shall exist, the country where we shall live, our parents, our constitution of body and turn of mind; these, and numberless other circumstances, are doubtless ordered with perfect wisdom, but by rules that lie quite out of our sight. But God's methods of dealing with us, as our Governor and Judge, are dearly revealed and perfectly known; namely, that he will finally reward every man according to his works: "He that believeth shalt be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned."

Therefore, though "He hath mercy on whom he willeth, and whom he willeth he hardeneth," that is, suffers to be hardened in consequence of their obstinate wickedness; yet his is not the will of an arbitrary, capricious, or tyrannical being. He wills nothing but what is infinitely wise and good; and therefore his will is a most proper rule of judgment. He will show mercy, as he hath assured us, to none but true believers, nor harden any but such as obstinately refuse his mercy. Jer 18:6-7

Wesley: Rom 9:22

Referring to Rom 9:18-19. That is, although it was now his will, because of their obstinate unbelief, To show his wrath - Which necessarily presupposes sin.

Wesley: Rom 9:22

This is repeated from Rom 9:17.

Wesley: Rom 9:22

As he did Pharaoh.

Wesley: Rom 9:22

Which should have led them to repentance.

Wesley: Rom 9:22

Those who had moved his wrath by still rejecting his mercy.

Wesley: Rom 9:22

By their own wilful and final impenitence. Is there any injustice in this ?

Wesley: Rom 9:23

What if by showing such longsuffering even to "the vessels of wrath," he did the more abundantly show the greatness of his glorious goodness, wisdom, and power, on the vessels of mercy; on those whom he had himself, by his grace, prepared for glory. Is this any injustice?

Wesley: Rom 9:24

Here the apostle comes to the other proposition, of grace free for all, whether Jew or gentile.

Wesley: Rom 9:24

This he treats of, Rom 9:25.

Wesley: Rom 9:24

Treated of in the same verse.

Wesley: Rom 9:25

As a spouse.

Wesley: Rom 9:25

Consequently, not unconditionally elected. This relates directly to the final restoration of the Jews. Hos 2:23

Wesley: Rom 9:26

So that they need not leave their own country and come to Judea. Hos 1:10

Wesley: Rom 9:27

But Isaiah testifies, that (as many gentiles will be accepted, so) many Jews will be rejected; that out of all the thousands of Israel, a remnant only shall be saved. This was spoken originally of the few that were saved from the ravage of Sennacherib's army. Isa 10:22-23

Wesley: Rom 9:28

In rigorous justice, will leave but a small remnant. There will be so general a destruction, that but a small number will escape.

Wesley: Rom 9:29

Namely, Isa 1:9, concerning those who were besieged in Jerusalem by Rezin and Pekah.

Wesley: Rom 9:29

Which denotes, The present paucity: The future abundance.

Wesley: Rom 9:29

So that it is no unexampled thing for the main body of the Jewish nation to revolt from God, and perish in their sin.

Wesley: Rom 9:30

What is to be concluded from all that has been said but this, That the gentiles, who followed not after righteousness - Who a while ago had no knowledge of, no care or thought about, it.

Wesley: Rom 9:30

Or justification. Even the righteousness which is by faith. This is the first conclusion we may draw from the preceding observations. The second is, that Israel - The Jews Although following after the law of righteousness - That law which, duly used, would have led them to faith, and thereby to righteousness.

Wesley: Rom 9:30

To that righteousness or justification which is one great end of the law

Wesley: Rom 9:32

Whereby alone it could be attained.

Wesley: Rom 9:32

In effect, if not professsedly, by works.

Wesley: Rom 9:32

Christ crucified.

Wesley: Rom 9:33

Foretold by their own prophet. Behold, I lay in Sion - I exhibit in my church, what, though it is in truth the only sure foundation of happiness, yet will be in fact a stumblingstone and rock of offence - An occasion of ruin to many, through their obstinate unbelief. Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16

JFB: Rom 9:17

Observe here the light in which the Scripture is viewed by the apostle.

JFB: Rom 9:17

"this very"

JFB: Rom 9:17

"raised I"

JFB: Rom 9:17

The apostle had shown that God claims the right to choose whom He will: here he shows by an example that God punishes whom He will. But "God did not make Pharaoh wicked; He only forbore to make him good, by the exercise of special and altogether unmerited grace" [HODGE].

JFB: Rom 9:17

"may"

JFB: Rom 9:17

It was not that Pharaoh was worse than others that he was so dealt with, but "in order that he might become a monument of the penal justice of God, and it was with a view to this that God provided that the evil which was in him should be manifested in this definite form" [OLSHAUSEN].

JFB: Rom 9:17

"may"

JFB: Rom 9:17

"proclaimed"

JFB: Rom 9:17

"This is the principle on which all punishment is inflicted, that the true character of the Divine Lawgiver should be known. This is of all objects, where God is concerned, the highest and most important; in itself the most worthy, and in its results the most beneficent" [HODGE].

JFB: Rom 9:18

"So then he hath." The result then is that He hath

JFB: Rom 9:18

By judicially abandoning them to the hardening influence of sin itself (Psa 81:11-12; Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26, Rom 1:28; Heb 3:8, Heb 3:13), and of the surrounding incentives to it (Mat 24:12; 1Co 15:38; 2Th 2:17).

Second objection to the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty:

JFB: Rom 9:19

"Why then" is the true reading.

JFB: Rom 9:19

"Who resisteth"

JFB: Rom 9:19

That is, "This doctrine is incompatible with human responsibility"; If God chooses and rejects, pardons and punishes, whom He pleases, why are those blamed who, if rejected by Him, cannot help sinning and perishing? This objection shows quite as conclusively as the former the real nature of the doctrine objected to--that it is Election and Non-election to eternal salvation prior to any difference of personal character; this is the only doctrine that could suggest the objection here stated, and to this doctrine the objection is plausible. What now is the apostle's answer? It is twofold. First: "It is irreverence and presumption in the creature to arraign the Creator."

JFB: Rom 9:20-21

"didst thou make"

JFB: Rom 9:20-21

(Isa 45:9).

JFB: Rom 9:21

"The objection is founded on ignorance or misapprehension of the relation between God and His sinful creatures; supposing that He is under obligation to extend His grace to all, whereas He is under obligation to none. All are sinners, and have forfeited every claim to His mercy; it is therefore perfectly competent to God to spare one and not another, to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. But it is to be borne in mind that Paul does not here speak of God's right over His creatures as creatures, but as sinful creatures: as he himself clearly intimates in the next verses. It is the cavil of a sinful creature against his Creator that he is answering, and be does so by showing that God is under no obligation to give His grace to any, but is as sovereign as in fashioning the clay" [HODGE]. But, Second: "There is nothing unjust in such sovereignty."

JFB: Rom 9:22-23

"designing to manifest"

JFB: Rom 9:22-23

His holy displeasure against sin.

JFB: Rom 9:22-23

To punish it

JFB: Rom 9:22-23

That is, "destined to wrath"; just as "vessels of mercy," in Rom 9:23, mean "vessels destined to mercy"; compare Eph 2:3, "children of wrath."

JFB: Rom 9:22-23

It is well remarked by STUART that the "difficulties which such statements involve are not to be got rid of by softening the language of one text, while so many others meet us which are of the same tenor; and even if we give up the Bible itself, so long as we acknowledge an omnipotent and omniscient God we cannot abate in the least degree from any of the difficulties which such texts make." Be it observed, however, that if God, as the apostle teaches, expressly "designed to manifest His wrath, and to make His power (in the way of wrath) known," it could only be by punishing some, while He pardons others; and if the choice between the two classes was not to be founded, as our apostle also teaches, on their own doings but on God's good pleasure, the decision behooved ultimately to rest with God. Yet, even in the necessary punishment of the wicked, as HODGE observes, so far from proceeding with undue severity, the apostle would have it remarked that God "endures with much long-suffering" those objects of His righteous displeasure.

JFB: Rom 9:23

That "glorious exuberance of Divine mercy" which "was manifested in choosing and eternally arranging for the salvation of sinners."

JFB: Rom 9:24

Rather, "Whom he hath also called, even us," &c., in not only "afore preparing," but in due time effectually "calling us."

JFB: Rom 9:24

Better, "not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles." Here for the first title in this chapter the calling of the Gentiles is introduced; all before having respect, not to the substitution of the called Gentiles for the rejected Jews, but to the choice of one portion and the rejection of another of the same Israel. Had Israel's rejection been total, God's promise to Abraham would not have been fulfilled by the substitution of the Gentiles in their room; but Israel's rejection being only partial, the preservation of a "remnant," in which the promise was made good, was but "according to the election of grace." And now, for the first time, the apostle tells us that along with this elect remnant of Israel, it is God's purpose to "take out of the Gentiles a people for His name" (Act 28:14); and that subject, thus introduced, is now continued to the end of the eleventh chapter.

JFB: Rom 9:25

"Hosea."

JFB: Rom 9:25

Quoted, though not quite to the letter, from Hos 2:23, a passage relating immediately, not to the heathen, but to the kingdom of the ten tribes; but since they had sunk to the level of the heathen, who were "not God's people," and in that sense "not beloved," the apostle legitimately applies it to the heathen, as "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise" (so 1Pe 2:10).

JFB: Rom 9:26

Another quotation from Hos 1:10.

JFB: Rom 9:26

"called sons"

JFB: Rom 9:26

The expression, "in the place where . . . there," seems designed only to give greater emphasis to the gracious change here announced, from divine exclusion to divine admission to the privileges of the people of God.

JFB: Rom 9:27-29

"But Isaiah crieth"--an expression denoting a solemn testimony openly borne (Joh 1:15; Joh 7:28, Joh 7:37; Joh 12:44; Act 23:6; Act 24:21).

JFB: Rom 9:27-29

"sons"

JFB: Rom 9:27-29

"the"

JFB: Rom 9:27-29

That is, the elect remnant only shall be saved.

JFB: Rom 9:28

"is finishing the reckoning, and cutting it"

JFB: Rom 9:28

"reckoning"

JFB: Rom 9:28

(Isa 10:22-23), as in the Septuagint. The sense given to these words by the apostle may seem to differ from that intended by the prophet. But the sameness of sentiment in both places will at once appear, if we understand those words of the prophet, "the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness," to mean that while a remnant of Israel should be graciously spared to return from captivity, "the decreed consumption" of the impenitent majority should be "replete with righteousness," or illustriously display God's righteous vengeance against sin. The "short reckoning" seems to mean the speedy completing of His word, both in cutting off the one portion and saving the other.

JFB: Rom 9:29

"hath said"

JFB: Rom 9:29

That is, probably in an earlier part of his book, namely, Isa 1:9.

JFB: Rom 9:29

That is, "The Lord of Hosts": the word is Hebrew, but occurs so in the Epistle of James (Jam 5:4), and has thence become naturalized in our Christian phraseology.

JFB: Rom 9:29

Meaning a "remnant"; small at first, but in due time to be a seed of plenty (compare Psa 22:30-31; Isa 6:12-13).

JFB: Rom 9:29

"become"

JFB: Rom 9:29

But for this precious seed, the chosen people would have resembled the cities of the plain, both in degeneracy of character and in merited doom.

JFB: Rom 9:30-31

"What now is the result of the whole?" The result is this--very different from what one would have expected.

JFB: Rom 9:30-31

"attained"

JFB: Rom 9:30-31

As we have seen that "the righteousness of faith" is the righteousness which justifies (see on Rom 3:22, &c.), this verse must mean that "the Gentiles, who while strangers to Christ were quite indifferent about acceptance with God, having embraced the Gospel as soon as it was preached to them, experienced the blessedness of a justified state."

JFB: Rom 9:31

"following"

JFB: Rom 9:31

"attained not"

JFB: Rom 9:31

The word "law" is used here, we think, in the same sense as in Rom 7:23, to denote "a principle of action"; that is, "Israel, though sincerely and steadily aiming at acceptance with God, nevertheless missed it."

JFB: Rom 9:32-33

Rather simply, "as"

JFB: Rom 9:32-33

As if it were thus attainable, which justification is not: Since, therefore, it is attainable only by faith, they missed it.

JFB: Rom 9:32-33

It is doubtful if this particle was originally in the text.

JFB: Rom 9:32-33

Better, "against the stone of stumbling," meaning Christ. But in this they only did.

JFB: Rom 9:33

(Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16).

JFB: Rom 9:33

Two Messianic predictions are here combined, as is not unusual in quotations from the Old Testament. Thus combined, the prediction brings together both the classes of whom the apostle is treating: those to whom Messiah should be only a stone of stumbling, and those who were to regard Him as the Cornerstone of all their hopes. Thus expounded, this chapter presents no serious difficulties, none which do not arise out of the subject itself, whose depths are unfathomable; whereas on every other view of it the difficulty of giving it any consistent and worthy interpretation is in our judgment insuperable.

JFB: Rom 9:33

In humility, when they remember that He hath saved them and called them, not according to their works, but according to His own purpose and grace, given them in Christ Jesus before the world began (2Ti 1:9); in thankfulness, for "Who maketh thee to differ, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1Co 4:7); in godly jealousy over themselves; remembering that "God is not mocked," but "whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap" (Gal 6:7); in diligence "to make our calling and election sure" (2Pe 1:10); and yet in calm confidence that "whom God predestinates, and calls, and justifies, them (in due time) He also glorifies" (Rom 8:30). (6) On all subjects which from their very nature lie beyond human comprehension, it will be our wisdom to set down what God says in His word, and has actually done in His procedure towards men, as indisputable, even though it contradict the results at which in the best exercise of our limited judgment we may have arrived (Rom 9:14-23). (7) Sincerity in religion, or a general desire to be saved, with assiduous efforts to do right, will prove fatal as a ground of confidence before God, if unaccompanied by implicit submission to His revealed method of salvation (Rom 9:31-33). (8) In the rejection of the great mass of the chosen people, and the inbringing of multitudes of estranged Gentiles, God would have men to see a law of His procedure, which the judgment of the great day will more vividly reveal that "the last shall be first and the first last" (Mat 20:16).

Clarke: Rom 9:17

For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh - Instead of showing the Israelites mercy he might justly have suffered them to have gone on in sin, till he should have signalized his wisdom and justice in their destruction; as appears from what God in his word declares concerning his dealings with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Exo 9:15, Exo 9:16 : For now, saith the Lord, I had stretched forth my hand, (in the plague of boils and blains), and I had smitten thee and thy people with the pestilence; and thou hadst (by this plague) been cut off from the earth; (as thy cattle were by the murrain); but in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up - I have restored thee to health by removing the boils and blains, and by respiting thy deserved destruction to a longer day, that I may, in thy instance, give such a demonstration of my power in thy final overthrow, that all mankind may learn that I am God, the righteous Judge of all the earth, the avenger of wickedness. See this translation of the original vindicated in my notes on Exo 9:15 (note), Exo 9:16 (note); and, about the hardening of Pharaoh, see the notes on those places where the words occur in the same book.

Clarke: Rom 9:18

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will - This is the apostle’ s conclusion from the facts already laid down: that God, according to his own will and wisdom, in perfect righteousness, bestows mercy; that is to say, his blessings upon one part of mankind, (the Jews of old, and the Gentiles of the present time), while he suffers another part (the Egyptians of old, and the Jews of the present day) to go on in the abuse of his goodness and forbearance, hardening themselves in sin, till he brings upon them a most just and exemplary punishment, unless this be prevented by their deep repentance and general return to God through Jesus the promised, the real Messiah.

Clarke: Rom 9:19

Why doth he yet find fault? - The apostle here introduces the Jew making an objection similar to that in Rom 3:7 : If the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory, that is, if God’ s faithfulness is glorified by my wickedness, why yet am I also judged as a sinner? Why am I condemned for that which brings so much glory to him? The question here is: If God’ s glory be so highly promoted and manifested by our obstinacy, and he suffers us to proceed in our hardness and infidelity, why does he find fault with us, or punish us for that which is according to his good pleasure?

Clarke: Rom 9:20

Nay but, O man, who art thou - As if he had said: Weak, ignorant man, darest thou retort on the infinitely good and righteous God? Reflect on thyself; and tell me, after thou hast abused the grace of God, and transgressed his laws, wilt thou cavil at his dispensations? God hath made, created, formed the Jewish nation; and shall the thing formed, when it hath corrupted itself, pretend to correct the wise and gracious Author of its being, and say, Why hast thou made me thus? Why hast thou constituted me in this manner? Thou hast done me wrong in giving me my being under such and such conditions

Old John Goodwin’ s note on this passage is at least curious: "I scarce (says he) know any passage of the Scripture more frequently abused than this. When men, in the great questions of predestination and reprobation, bring forth any text of Scripture which they conceive makes for their notion, though the sense which they put upon it be ever so uncouth and dissonant from the true meaning of the Holy Ghost, yet, if any man contradict, they frequently fall upon him with - Nay but, O man; who art thou? As if St. Paul had left them his heirs and successors in the infallibility of his spirit! But when men shall call a solid answer to their groundless conceits about the meaning of the Scriptures, a replying against God, it savours more of the spirit who was seen falling like lightning from heaven, than of His, who saw him in this his fall."

Clarke: Rom 9:21

Hath not the potter power over the clay - The apostle continues his answer to the Jew. Hath not God shown, by the parable of the potter, Jer 18:1, etc., that he may justly dispose of nations, and of the Jews in particular, according as he in his infinite wisdom may judge most right and fitting; even as the potter has a right, out of the same lump of clay, to make one vessel to a more honorable and another to a less honorable use, as his own judgment and skill may direct; for no potter will take pains to make a vessel merely that he may show that he has power to dash it to pieces? For the word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’ s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’ s house, and, behold, he wrought a work upon the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. It was not fit for the more honorable place in the mansion, and therefore he made it for a less honorable place, but as necessary for the master’ s use there, as it could have been in a more honorable situation. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Behold, as the clay is in the potter’ s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation - to build and to plant it; is it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. The reference to this parable shows most positively that the apostle is speaking of men, not individually, but nationally; and it is strange that men should have given his words any other application with this scripture before their eyes.

Clarke: Rom 9:22

What if God, willing to show his wrath - The apostle refers here to the case of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and to which he applies Jeremiah’ s parable of the potter, and, from them, to the then state of the Jews. Pharaoh and the Egyptians were vessels of wrath - persons deeply guilty before God; and by their obstinate refusal of his grace, and abuse of his goodness, they had fitted themselves for that destruction which the wrath, the vindictive justice of God, inflicted, after he had endured their obstinate rebellion with much long-suffering; which is a most absolute proof that the hardening of their hearts, and their ultimate punishment, were the consequences of their obstinate refusal of his grace and abuse of his goodness; as the history in Exodus sufficiently shows. As the Jews of the apostle’ s time had sinned after the similitude of the Egyptians, hardening their hearts and abusing his goodness, after every display of his long-suffering kindness, being now fitted for destruction, they were ripe for punishment; and that power, which God was making known for their salvation, having been so long and so much abused and provoked, was now about to show itself in their destruction as a nation. But even in this case there is not a word of their final damnation; much less that either they or any others were, by a sovereign decree, reprobated from all eternity; and that their very sins, the proximate cause of their punishment, were the necessary effect of that decree which had from all eternity doomed them to endless torments. As such a doctrine could never come from God, so it never can be found in the words of his apostle.

Clarke: Rom 9:23

And that he might make known - God endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath

1.    To show his wrath, and to make his power known. And also

2.    That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy

Clarke: Rom 9:23

Which he had afore prepared unto glory - The Jews were fitted for destruction long before; but the fittest time to destroy them was after he had prepared the believing Gentiles unto glory. For the rod of the Messiah’ s strength was to be sent out of Zion, Psa 110:2. The Jewish nation was to supply the first preachers of the Gospel, and from Jerusalem their sound was to go forth into all the earth. Therefore the Jewish state, notwithstanding its corruptions, was to be preserved till the Messiah came, and even till the Gospel preached by the apostles had taken deep root in the Gentile world. Another thing which rendered the time when the Jewish polity was overthrown the most proper, was this, because then the immediate occasion of it was the extensiveness of the Divine grace. They would not have the Gentiles admitted into the Church of God; but contradicted, and blasphemed, and rejected the Lord that bought them: thus, then, the extensiveness of the Divine grace occasioned their infidelity, Rom 9:33; Rom 10:3; Rom 11:11, Rom 11:12, Rom 11:15, Rom 11:28, Rom 11:30. Thus the Jews were diminished by that abundance of grace which has enriched the Gentiles. And so the grace of God was illustrated; or, so God made known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy - the apostles and primitive believers among the Jews, and the Gentile world, which received the Gospel by the preaching of the apostles and their successors.

Clarke: Rom 9:24

Even us, whom he hath called - All the Jews and Gentiles who have been invited by the preaching of the Gospel to receive justification by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and have come to the Gospel feast on this invitation.

Clarke: Rom 9:25

As he saith also in Osee - It is a cause of not a little confusion, that a uniformity in the orthography of the proper names of the Old and New Testaments has not been preserved. What stranger to our sacred books would suppose that the Osee above meant the Prophet Hosea, from whom, Hos 2:23, this quotation is taken: I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people. The apostle shows that this calling of the Gentiles was no fortuitous thing, but a firm purpose in the Divine mind, which he had largely revealed to the prophets; and by opposing the calling of the Gentiles, the Jews in effect renounced their prophets, and fought against God.

Clarke: Rom 9:26

And it shall come to pass, etc. - These quotations are taken out of Hosea, Hos 1:10, where (immediately after God had rejected the ten tribes, or kingdom of Israel, Hos 1:9, then saith God, Call his name Lo-ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God), he adds, yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered: and it shall come to pass, that in the place in which it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. As if he had said: The decrease of numbers in the Church, by God’ s utterly taking away the ten tribes, (Hos 1:6), shall be well supplied by what shall afterwards come to pass, by calling the Gentiles into it. They, the rejected Jews, which had been the people of God, should become a Lo-ammi - not my people. On the contrary, they, the Gentiles, who had been a Lo-ammi - not my people, should become the children of the living God. Again, Hos 2:23 : I will sow her (the Jewish Church) unto me in the earth, (alluding probably to the dispersion of the Jews over all the Roman empire; which proved a fruitful cause of preparing the Gentiles for the reception of the Gospel), and, or moreover, I will have mercy upon her, the body of the believing Gentiles, that had not obtained mercy. See Taylor.

Clarke: Rom 9:27

Esaias also crieth - The apostle pursues his argument, which had for its object the proof that God, for their infidelity, had rejected the great body of the Jews, and that but a few of them would embrace the Gospel, and be saved from that besom of destruction which was now coming to sweep them and their state away. Dr. Taylor paraphrases this and the following verses thus: And that but a small remnant of the Jews shall now be taken into the Church, is agreeable to former dispensations; for the Prophet Isaiah expressly declares concerning the Israelites, Isa 10:22, Isa 10:23 : Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, (for the promise to Abraham has been amply fulfilled), only a remnant shall be saved; the consumption decreed shall overflow in righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined in the midst of all the land.

Clarke: Rom 9:28

For he will finish the work, and cut it short, etc. - These appear to be forensic terms, and refer to the conclusion of a judicial proceeding; the Lord has tried and found them guilty, and will immediately execute upon them the punishment due to their transgressions.

Clarke: Rom 9:29

And as Esaias said before - What God designs to do with the Jews at present, because of their obstinacy and rebellion, is similar to what he has done before, to which the same prophet refers, Isa 1:9 : Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrha: i.e. had not God, who commands and overrules all the powers in heaven and earth, in mercy preserved a very small remnant, to keep up the name and being of the nation, it had been quite cut off and extinct, as Sodom and Gomorrha were. Thus we learn that it is no new thing with God to abandon the greatest part of the Jewish nation, when corrupt, and to confine his favor and blessing to a righteous, believing few

Instead of remnant, שריד sarid , both the Septuagint and the apostle have σπερμα, a seed, intimating that there were left just enough of the righteous to be a seed for a future harvest of true believers. So the godly were not destroyed from the land; some remained, and the harvest was in the days of the apostles.

Clarke: Rom 9:30

What shall we say then? - What is the final conclusion to be drawn from all these prophecies, facts, and reasonings? This: That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, etc. This, with the succeeding verses, together with what belongs to the same subject in the beginning of the following chapter, I have explained at large in the notes on Rom 1:17, to which I must refer the reader; and shall content myself in this place with Dr. Taylor’ s general paraphrase. We may suppose the apostle to express himself to the following effect. Thus I have vindicated the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, with regard to the Divine veracity and justice. Now let us turn our thoughts to the true reason and state of the affair considered in itself. And, in the first place, what just notion ought we to have of the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews? I answer: The true notion of the calling or inviting of the Gentiles is this: whereas they had no apprehension of being reinstated in the privileges of God’ s peculiar kingdom, and consequently used no endeavors to obtain that blessing, yet, notwithstanding, they have attained to justification, to the remission of sins, and the privileges of God’ s people: not on account of their prior worthiness and obedience, but purely by the grace and mercy of God, received by faith on their part. And so, by embracing the scheme of life published by the Gospel, they are adopted into the family and Church of God. Thus the Gentiles are called or invited.

Clarke: Rom 9:31

But Israel, which followed after - But the Jews, who have hitherto been the people of God, though they have been industrious in observing a rule by which they supposed they could secure the blessings of God’ s peculiar kingdom, yet have not come up to the true and only rule by which those blessings can be secured.

Clarke: Rom 9:32

Wherefore? - And where lies their mistake? Being ignorant of God’ s righteousness - of his method of saving sinners by faith in Christ, they went about to establish their own righteousness - their own method of obtaining everlasting salvation. They attend not to the Abrahamic covenant, which stands on the extensive principles of grace and faith; but they turn all their regards to the law of Moses. They imagine that their obedience to that law gives them a right to the blessings of the Messiah’ s kingdom. But, finding that the Gospel sets our special interest in God and the privileges of his Church on a different footing, they are offended, and refuse to come into it.

Clarke: Rom 9:33

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion - Christ, the Messiah, is become a stone of stumbling to them: and thus what is written in the prophecy of Isaiah is verified in their case, Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16 : Behold, I lay in Sion, i.e. I shall bring in my Messiah; but he shall be a widely different person from him whom the Jews expect; for, whereas they expect the Messiah to be a mighty secular prince, and to set up a secular kingdom, he shall appear a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs; and redeem mankind, not by his sword or secular power, but by his humiliation, passion, and death. Therefore they will be offended at him and reject him, and think it would be reproachful to trust in such a person for salvation

Clarke: Rom 9:33

And whosoever believeth on him - But so far shall any be from confusion or disappointment who believes in Christ; that on the contrary, every genuine believer shall find salvation - the remission of sins here, and eternal glory hereafter. See the notes on Rom 1:16, and Rom 1:17 (note), and Dr. Taylor’ s paraphrase and notes

1. On the subject of vicarious punishment, or rather the case of one becoming an anathema or sacrifice for the public good, in illustration of Rom 9:3, I shall make no apology for the following extracts, taken from an author whose learning is vast, and whose piety is unblemished

"When mankind lost sight of a beneficent Creator, the God of purity, and consecrated altars to the sun, the moon, the stars; to demons; and to hero gods, under the names of Moloch, Ashtaroth and Baalim; these objects of their worship led them to the most horrid acts of cruelty, and to every species of obscenity; even their sons and their daughters they burnt in the fire to their gods, more especially in seasons of distress. Such was the conduct of the king of Moab; for, when he was besieged in his capital, and expected he should fall into the hands of his enemies, he took his eldest son, who should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall

With these facts thus related from the Scriptures, all accounts, ancient and modern, exactly correspond. Homer, who it must be recollected wrote more than nine hundred years before the Christian era, although he describes chiefly the common sacrifices of quadrupeds, yet gives one account of human victims. But in succeeding generations, when it was conceived that one great and most malignant spirit was the proper object of their fear, or that subordinate provincial gods, equally malignant, nesciaque humanis precibus mansuescere corda , disposed of all things in our world, men bound their own species to the altar, and in circumstances of national distress presented such as they valued most, either their children or themselves. Herodotus informs us that, when the army of Xerxes came to the Strymon, the magi offered a sacrifice of white horses to that river. On his arrival at the Scamander, the king ascended the citadel of Priam; and having surveyed it, he ordered a thousand oxen to be sacrificed to the Trojan Minerva. But on other occasions he chose human victims; for we are informed that, when, having passed the Strymon, he reached the nine ways, he buried alive nine young men and as many virgins, natives of the country. In this he followed the example of his wife, for she commanded fourteen Persian children, of illustrious birth, to be offered in that manner to the deity who reigns beneath the earth. Thus, in the infancy of Rome we see Curtius, for the salvation of his country, devoting himself to the infernal gods, when, as it appears, an earthquake occasioned a deep and extensive chasm in the forum, and the augurs had declared that the portentous opening would never close until what contributed most to the strength and power of the Romans should be cast into it; but that by such a sacrifice they would obtain immortality for their republic. When all men were at a loss how to understand this oracle, M. Curtius, armed as for battle, presented himself in the forum, and explained it thus: ‘ What is more valuable to Rome than her courage and her arms?’ So saying, he urged forward his impetuous steed, and buried himself in the abyss. His grateful countrymen admired his fortitude, and attributed the increasing splendor of their state to the sacrifice he made. Animated by this example, Decius, in the war between Rome and Latium, having solemnly offered himself as an expiatory sacrifice, rushed single into the thickest ranks of the astonished Latins, that by his death he might appease the anger of the gods, transfer their indignation to the enemy, and secure the victory to Rome. Conspectus ab utroque acie aliquanto augustior humano visu, sicut Caelo missus, piaculum omnis deorum irae, qui pestem ab suis aversam in hostes ferret

Here we see distinctly marked the notion of vicarious suffering, and the opinion that the punishment of guilt may be transferred from the guilty to the innocent. The gods call for sacrifice - the victim bleeds - atonement is made - and the wrath of the infernal powers falls in its full force upon the enemy. Thus, while Themistocles at Salamine was offering sacrifice, three captives, the sons of Sandance, and nephews to Xerxes, all distinguished for their beauty, elegantly dressed and decked, as became their birth, with ornaments of gold, being brought on board his galley, the augur, Euphrantides, observing at the very instant a bright flame ascending from the altar, whilst one was sneezing on the right, which he regarded as a propitious omen, he seized the hand of Themistocles, and commanded that they should all be sacrificed to Bacchus, ( ωμηστῃ Διονυσῳ - cruel and relentless Bacchus! Homer has the same expression), predicting, on this occasion, safety and conquests to the Greeks. Immediately the multitude with united voices called on the god, and led the captive princes to the altar, and compelled Themistocles to sacrifice them

So when Aeneas was to perform the last kind office for his friend Pallas, he sacrificed (besides numerous oxen, sheep, and swine) eight captives to the infernal gods. In this he followed the example of Achilles, who had caused twelve Trojans of high birth to bleed by the sacerdotal knife, over the ashes of his friend Patroclus

A hundred feet in length, a hundred wide

The glowing structure spreads on every side

High on the top the manly course they lay

And well-fed sheep and sable oxen slay

Achilles covered with their fat the dead

And the piled victims round the body spread

Then jars of honey and of fragrant oi

Suspends around, low bending o’ er the pile

Four sprightly coursers with a deadly groa

Pour forth their lives, and on the pyre are throw

Of nine large dogs, domestic at his board

Fell two, selected to attend their lord

The last of all, and horrible to tell

Sad sacrifice! twelve Trojan captives fell

On these the rage of fire victorious preys

Involves and joins them in one common blaze

Smeared with the bloody rites, he stands on high

And calls the spirit with a cheerful cry

All hail, Patroclus! let thy vengeful ghos

Hear, and exult on Pluto’ s dreary coast

Pope’ s Homer, Il. xxiii. ver. 20

How much was it to be lamented, that even civilized natures should forget the intention for which sacrifices were originally instituted! The bad effects, however, would not have been either so extensive or so great, had they not wholly lost the knowledge of Jehovah; and taken, as the object of their fear, that evil and apostate spirit whose name, with the utmost propriety is called Apollyon, or the destroyer, and whose worship has been universally diffused at different periods among all the nations of the earth

The practice of shedding human blood before the altars of their gods was not peculiar to the Trojans and the Greeks; the Romans followed their example. In the first ages of their republic they sacrificed children to the goddess Mania; in later periods, numerous gladiators bled at the tombs of the patricians, to appease the manes of the deceased. And it is particularly noticed of Augustus, that, after the taking of Perusia, he sacrificed on the ides of March, three hundred senators and knights to the divinity of Julius Caesar

The Carthaginians, as Diodorus Siculus informs us, bound themselves by a solemn vow to Chronus that they would sacrifice to him children selected from the offspring of their nobles; but in process of time they substituted for these the children of their slaves, which practice they continued, till, being defeated by Agathocles, tyrant of Sicily, and attributing their disgrace to the anger of the god, they offered two hundred children, taken from the most distinguished families in Carthage; besides which, three hundred citizens presented themselves, that by their voluntary death they might render the deity propitious to their country. The mode of sacrificing these children was horrid in the extreme, for they were cast into the arms of a brazen statue, and from thence dropped into a furnace, as was practised among the first inhabitants of Latium. It was probably in this manner the Ammonites offered up their children to Moloch. The Pelasgi at one time sacrificed a tenth part of all their children, in obedience to an oracle

The Egyptians, in Heliopolis, sacrificed three men every day to Juno. The Spartans and Arcadians scourged to death young women; the latter to appease the wrath of Bacchus, the former to gratify Diana. The Sabian idolaters in Persia offered human victims to Mithras, the Cretans to Jupiter, the Lacedemonians and Lusitanians to Mars, the Lesbians to Bacchus, the Phocians to Diana, the Thessalians to Chiron

The Gauls, equally cruel in their worship, sacrificed men, originally to Eso and Teutate, but latterly to Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Caesar informs us that, whenever they thought themselves in danger, whether from sickness, or after any considerable defeat in war, being persuaded that unless life be given for life the anger of the gods can never be appeased, they constructed wicker images of enormous hulk, which they filled with men, who were first suffocated with smoke, and then consumed by fire. For this purpose they preferred criminals; but when a sufficient number of these could not be found, they supplied the deficiency from the community at large

The Germans are said to have differed from the Gauls in having no druids, and in being little addicted to the service of the altar. Their only gods were the sun, Vulcan, and the moon; yet, among the objects of their worship was Tuisco their progenitor and Woden the hero of the north. It is true that neither Caesar nor Tacitus say any thing of their shedding blood in sacrifice; yet the probability is, that, like the Saxons and other northern nations, they not only offered blood, but took their choicest victims from the human race

In Sweden the altars of Woden smoked incessantly with blood: this flowed most abundantly at the solemn festivals celebrated every ninth year at Upsal. Then the king, attended by the senate and by all the great officers about his court, entered the temple, which glittered on all sides with gold, and conducted to the altar nine slaves, or in time of war nine captives. These met the caresses of the multitude, as being about to avert from them the displeasure of the gods, and then submitted to their fate: but in times of distress more noble victims bled; and it stands upon record that when Aune their king was ill, he offered up to Woden his nine sons, to obtain the prolongation of his life

The Danes had precisely the same abominable customs. Every ninth year, in the month of January, they sacrificed ninety-nine men, with as many horses, dogs, and cocks; and Hacon, king of Norway, offered his own son to obtain from Woden the victory over Harold, with whom he was at war

In Russia the Slavi worshipped a multitude of gods, and erected to them innumerable altars. Of these deities Peroun, that is, the thunderer, was the supreme, and before his image many of their prisoners bled. Their god of physic, who also presided over the sacred fires, shared with him; and the great rivers, considered as gods, had their portion of human victims, whom they covered with their inexorable waves. But Suetovid, the god of war, was the god in whom they most delighted; to him they presented annually, as a burnt offering, three hundred prisoners, each on his horse; and when the whole was consumed by fire, the priests and people sat down to eat and drink till they were drunk. It is worthy of remark, that the residence of Suetovid was supposed to be in the sun

To this luminary the Peruvians, before they were restrained by their Incas, sacrificed their children

Among the sacred books of the Hindoos, the Ramayuna demands particular attention, because of its antiquity, the extent of country through which it is revered, and the view which it exhibits of the religion, doctrine, mythology, customs, and manners of their remote progenitors

In this we have a golden age of short duration, succeeded by a state of universal wickedness and violence, which continued till the deity, incarnate, slew the oppressors of the human race, and thus restored the reign of piety and virtue

This poem contains a description of the Ushwamedha, or most solemn sacrifice of the white horse, instituted by Swuymbhoo, that is, by the self-existent. At the celebration of this festival, the monarch, as the representative of the whole nation, acknowledged his transgressions; and when the offerings were consumed by the sacrificial fire, he was considered as perfectly absolved from his offenses. Then follows a particular account of a human sacrifice, in which the victim, distinguished for filial piety, for resignation to his father’ s will, and for purity of heart, was bound by the king himself and delivered to the priest; but at the very instant when his blood was to have been shed, this illustrious youth was by miracle delivered; and the monarch, as the reward of his intended sacrifice, received virtue, prosperity, and fame

It is well known that the Brahmins have in all ages had their human victims, and that even in our days thousands have voluntarily perished under the wheels of their god Jaghernaut."- Townsend’ s character of Moses, p. 76

Though in the preceding notes I have endeavored to make every point as clear and plain as possible; yet it may be necessary, in order to see the scope of the apostle’ s design more distinctly, to take a general survey of the whole. No man has written with more judgment on this epistle than Dr. Taylor, and from his notes I borrow the principal part of the following observations

The principal thing that requires to be settled in this chapter is, what kind of election and reprobation the apostle is arguing about: whether election, by the absolute decree and purpose of God, to eternal life; and reprobation, by a like absolute decree, to eternal misery; or only election to the present privileges and external advantages of the kingdom of God in this world; and reprobation, or rejection, as it signifies the not being favored with those privileges and advantages. I think it demonstrably clear that it is the latter election and rejection the apostle is discoursing on, and not the former; as the following considerations appear to me to demonstrate

I. The subject of the apostle’ s argument is manifestly such privileges as are enumerated, Rom 9:4, Rom 9:5 : Who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption, etc. From these privileges he supposes the Jews had fallen, or would fall; or, that for a long time they would be deprived of the benefit of them. For it is with regard to the loss of those privileges that he was so much concerned for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh, Rom 9:2, Rom 9:3. And it is with reference to their being stripped of these privileges that he vindicates the word and righteousness of God, Rom 9:24. Not as though the word of God had taken no effect, or failed, etc.; proving that God, according to his purpose of election, was free to confer them upon any branch of Abraham’ s family: consequently, those privileges were the singular blessings which by the purpose of God according to election, not of works, but of him that calleth, were conferred upon Jacob’ s posterity. But those privileges were only such as the whole body of the Israelites enjoyed in this world, while they were the Church and people of God, and such privileges as they might afterwards lose, or of which they might be deprived; therefore the election of Jacob’ s posterity to those privileges was not an absolute election to eternal life

II. Agreeably to the purpose of God according to election, it was said unto Rebecca, The elder shall serve the younger, meaning the posterity of the elder and the younger; Gen 25:23 : The Lord said unto her, two Nations are in thy womb, and two manner of People shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one People shall be stronger than the other People; and the elder shall serve the younger. These are the words which signify the purpose of God according to election: therefore the election refers to Jacob’ s posterity, or the whole nation of Israel. But all the nation of Israel were not absolutely elected to eternal life: therefore the purpose of God according to election referred to temporal and not to eternal blessings, and was a privilege of which they might be deprived

III. Agreeably to the purpose of God according to election, it was said to Rebecca, The elder shall serve the younger; but to serve, in Scripture, never meant to be eternally damned in the world to come: consequently the opposite blessing, bestowed upon the posterity of the younger, could not be eternal salvation, but certain privileges in this life; therefore the purpose according to election refers to those privileges, and the servitude does not imply everlasting perdition

IV. The election the apostle speaks of is not of works, Rom 9:11, but of the mere will of God, who calls and invites, and refers to no qualifications in the persons thus elected and called. But in no part of the sacred writings is final salvation said to be given to any who are not qualified by holiness to receive and enjoy it; therefore election to eternal glory cannot be what the apostle speaks of in this epistle

V. The election of which the apostle speaks took place, first in Abraham and his seed, before his seed was born; and then (secluding Ishmael and all his posterity) in Isaac and his seed before they were born. And then, secluding Esau and all his posterity, in Jacob and his seed before they were born. But the Scripture no where represents eternal life as bestowed upon any family or race of men in this manner; therefore this election mentioned by the apostle cannot be an election unto eternal life

VI. Vessels of mercy, Rom 9:23, are manifestly opposed to vessels of wrath, Rom 9:22. The vessels of mercy are the whole body of the Jews and Gentiles, who were called or invited into the kingdom of God under the Gospel, Rom 9:24; consequently, the vessels of wrath are the whole body of the unbelieving Jews. So in Rom 9:30, Rom 9:31, the whole body of believing Gentiles, who, according to God’ s purpose of election, had attained justification, are opposed to the whole body of the Israelites, who came short of it. But men shall not be received into eternal life or subjected to eternal damnation at the last day in collective bodies, but according as particular persons in those bodies have acted well or ill; therefore, this election is not of these particular bodies unto eternal life, etc

VII. Whoever carefully peruses the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters, will find that those who have not believed, Rom 11:31, are the present rejected Jews, or that Israel to whom blindness hath happened in part, Rom 11:25; the same who fell, and on whom God hath shown severity, Rom 11:22; the same with the natural branches whom God spared not, Rom 11:21; who were broken off from the olive tree, Rom 11:20, Rom 11:19, Rom 11:17; who were cast away, Rom 11:15; who were diminished and fallen, Rom 11:12; who had stumbled, Rom 11:11; who were a disobedient and, gainsaying people, Rom 10:21; who, being ignorant of God’ s righteousness, went about to establish their own, Rom 10:3; because they sought righteousness, not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, Rom 9:32, and therefore had not attained to the law of righteousness, Rom 9:31; the same people spoken of in all these places, are the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, Rom 9:22, and the same for whom Paul had great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart, Rom 9:2, Rom 9:3; - in short, they are the unbelieving nation, or people of Israel; and it is with regard to the reprobation or rejection of this people that he is arguing and vindicating the truth, justice, and wisdom of God in this ninth chapter

    Now, if we turn back and review those three chapters, we shall find that the apostle, Rom 11:1, heartily desired and prayed that those same reprobated and rejected people of Israel might be saved; he affirms that they had not stumbled so as to fall finally and irrecoverably, Rom 11:11; that they should have again a fullness, Rom 11:12; that they should be received again into the Church, Rom 11:16; that a holiness still belonged to them, Rom 11:16; that if they did not still abide in unbelief, they should be grafted into their own olive tree again, Rom 11:23, Rom 11:24; that blindness had happened unto them only for a time, till the fullness of the Gentiles be come in, Rom 11:25; and then he proves from Scripture, that all Israel - all those nations at present under blindness, shall be saved, Rom 11:26, Rom 11:27; that, as touching the (original) election, they were still beloved for the fathers’, the patriarchs’, sake, Rom 11:28; that, in their case, the gifts and calling of God were without repentance, Rom 11:29; that through our (the believing Gentiles’ ) mercy, they shall at length obtain mercy, Rom 11:31. All these several things are spoken of that Israel, or the body of people concerning whose rejection the apostle argues in the ninth chapter. And therefore the rejection which he there argues about cannot be absolute reprobation to eternal damnation, but to their being, as a nation, stripped of those honors and privileges of God’ s peculiar Church and kingdom in this world, to which, at a certain future period, they shall again be restored

VIII. Once more: whoever carefully peruses those three chapters will find that the people who in times past believed not God, but have Now obtained mercy through the unbelief of the Jews, Rom 11:30, are the whole body of the believing Gentiles; the same who were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted, contrary to nature, into the good olive tree, Rom 11:24, Rom 11:17; the same to whom God hath shown goodness, Rom 11:22; the World that was reconciled, Rom 11:15; the Gentiles who were enriched by the diminishing of the Jews, Rom 11:12; to whom salvation came through their fall, Rom 11:11; the Gentiles who had attained to righteousness, (justification), Rom 9:30; who had not been God’ s people, nor believed; but now were his people, beloved, and children of the living God, Rom 9:25, Rom 9:26; even US whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, out also of the Gentiles, Rom 9:24, who are the vessels of mercy, on whom God has made known the riches of his glory, Rom 9:23; the vessels made unto honor, Rom 9:21. He speaks of the same body of men in all these places; namely, of the believing Gentiles principally, but not excluding the small remnant of the believing Jews, who were incorporated with them. And it is this body of men, whose calling and election he is proving, in whose case the purpose of God according to election stands good, Rom 9:11, and who are the children of the promise that are counted for the seed, Rom 9:8 : these are the election, or the elect

Now, concerning this called or elect body of people, or any particular person belonging to this body, the apostle writes thus, Rom 11:20-22 : Well, because of unbelief, they (the Jews) were broken off, (reprobated, rejected), and thou standest (in the Church among God’ s called and elect) by faith; be not high minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches, (the Jews), take heed, lest he also spare not thee, (the Gentiles.) Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them (the Jews) which fell, severity; but towards thee (believing Gentiles) goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off, rejected, reprobated. This proves that the calling, and election, for which the apostle is arguing in the ninth chapter, is not absolute election unto eternal life, but to the present privileges of the Church - the honors and advantages of God’ s peculiar people; which election, through unbelief and misimprovement, may be rendered void and come to nothing. See Dr. Taylor, p. 330, etc

From thus carefully considering the apostle’ s discourse, and taking in his scope and design, and weighing the different expressions he uses, in connection with the Scripture facts and Scripture phrases employed in describing those facts, we must be fully convinced that the doctrines of eternal, absolute, unconditional election and reprobation have no place here, and that nothing but a pre-established creed, and a total inattention to the apostles scope and design, could ever have induced men to bend these scriptures to the above purpose, and thus to endeavor to establish as articles of faith, doctrines which, far from producing glory to God in the highest, and peace and good will among men, have filled the Church of God with contention, set every man’ s sword against his brother, and thus done the work of Apollyon in the name of Christ. If men will maintain these and such like for Scriptural doctrines, it is but reasonable to request that it be done in the spirit of the Gospel.

Calvin: Rom 9:17

17.For the Scripture saith, etc He comes now to the second part, the rejection of the ungodly, and as there seems to be something more unreasonable in this, he endeavours to make it more fully evident, how God, in rejecting whom he wills, is not only irreprehensible, but also wonderful in his wisdom and justice. He then takes his proof from Exo 9:16, where the Lord declares that it was he who raised up Pharaoh for this end, that while he obstinately strove to resist the power of God, he might, by being overcome and subdued, afford a proof how invincible the arm of God is; to bear which, much less to resist it, no human power is able. See then the example which the Lord designed to exhibit in Pharaoh! ²⁹⁹

There are here two things to be considered, — the predestination of Pharaoh to ruin, which is to be referred to the past and yet the hidden counsel of God, — and then, the design of this, which was to make known the name of God; and on this does Paul primarily dwell: for if this hardening was of such a kind, that on its account the name of God deserved to be made known, it is an impious thing, according to evidence derived from the contrary effect, to charge him with any unrighteousness.

But as many interpreters, striving to modify this passage, pervert it, we must first observe, that for the word, “I have raised,” or stirred up, ( excitavi ,) the Hebrew is, “I have appointed,” ( constitui ,) by which it appears, that God, designing to show, that the contumacy of Pharaoh would not prevent him to deliver his people, not only affirms, that his fury had been foreseen by him, and that he had prepared means for restraining it, but that he had also thus designedly ordained it, and indeed for this end, — that he might exhibit a more illustrious evidence of his own power. ³⁰⁰ Absurdly then do some render this passage, — that Pharaoh was preserved for a time; for his beginning is what is spoken of here. For, seeing many things from various quarters happen to men, which retard their purposes and impede the course of their actions, God says, that Pharaoh proceeded from him, and that his condition was by himself assigned to him: and with this view agrees the verb, I have raised up. But that no one may imagine, that Pharaoh was moved from above by some kind of common and indiscriminate impulse, to rush headlong into that madness, the special cause, or end, is mentioned; as though it had been said, — that God not only knew what Pharaoh would do, but also designedly ordained him for this purpose. It hence follows, that it is in vain to contend with him, as though he were bound to give a reason; for he of himself comes forth before us, and anticipates the objection, by declaring, that the reprobate, through whom he designs his name to be made known, proceed from the hidden fountain of his providence.

Calvin: Rom 9:18

18.To whom he wills then he showeth mercy, etc Here follows the conclusion of both parts; which can by no means be understood as being the language of any other but of the Apostle; for he immediately addresses an opponent, and adduces what might have been objected by an opposite party. There is therefore no doubt but that Paul, as we have already reminded you, speaks these things in his own person, namely, that God, according to his own will, favors with mercy them whom he pleases, and unsheathes the severity of his judgment against whomsoever it seemeth him good. That our mind may be satisfied with the difference which exists between the elect and the reprobate, and may not inquire for any cause higher than the divine will, his purpose was to convince us of this — that it seems good to God to illuminate some that they may be saved, and to blind others that they may perish: for we ought particularly to notice these words, to whom he wills, and, whom he wills: beyond this he allows us not to proceed.

But the word hardens, when applied to God in Scripture, means not only permission, (as some washy moderators would have it,) but also the operation of the wrath of God: for all those external things, which lead to the blinding of the reprobate, are the instruments of his wrath; and Satan himself, who works inwardly with great power, is so far his minister, that he acts not, but by his command. ³⁰¹ Then that frivolous evasion, which the schoolmen have recourse to respecting foreknowledge, falls to the ground: for Paul teaches us, that the ruin of the wicked is not only foreseen by the Lord, but also ordained by his counsel and his will; and Solomon teaches as the same thing, — that not only the destruction of the wicked is foreknown, but that the wicked themselves have been created for this very end — that they may perish. (Pro 16:4.)

Calvin: Rom 9:19

19.Thou wilt then say, etc Here indeed the flesh especially storms, that is, when it hears that they who perish have been destined by the will of God to destruction. Hence the Apostle adopts again the words of an opponent; for he saw that the mouths of the ungodly could not be restrained from boldly clamouring against the righteousness of God: and he very fitly expresses their mind; for being not content with defending themselves, they make God guilty instead of themselves; and then, after having devolved on him the blame of their own condemnation, they become indignant against his great power. ³⁰² They are indeed constrained to yield; but they storm, because they cannot resist; and ascribing dominion to him, they in a manner charge him with tyranny. In the same manner the Sophists in their schools foolishly dispute on what they call his absolute justice, as though forgetful of his own righteousness, he would try the power of his authority by throwing all things into confusion. Thus then speak the ungodly in this passage, — “What cause has he to be angry with us? Since he has formed us such as we are, since he leads us at his will where he pleases, what else does he in destroying us but punish his own work in us? For it is not in our power to contend with him; how much soever we may resist, he will yet have the upper hand. Then unjust will be his judgment, if he condemns us; and unrestrainable is the power which he now employs towards us.” What does Paul say to these things?

Calvin: Rom 9:20

20.But, O man! who art thou? etc ³⁰³ As it is a participle in Greek, we may read what follows in the present tense, who disputest, or contendest, or strivest in opposition to God; for it is expressed in Greek according to this meaning, — “Who art thou who enterest into a dispute with God?” But there is not much difference in the sense. ³⁰⁴ In this first answer, he does nothing else but beat down impious blasphemy by an argument taken from the condition of man: he will presently subjoin another, by which he will clear the righteousness of God from all blame.

It is indeed evident that no cause is adduced higher than the will of God. Since there was a ready answer, that the difference depends on just reasons, why did not Paul adopt such a brief reply? But he placed the will of God in the highest rank for this reason, — that it alone may suffice us for all other causes. No doubt, if the objection had been false, that God according to his own will rejects those whom he honors not with his favor, and chooses those whom he gratuitously loves, a refutation would not have been neglected by Paul. The ungodly object and say, that men are exempted from blame, if the will of God holds the first place in their salvation, or in their perdition. Does Paul deny this? Nay, by his answer he confirms it, that is, that God determines concerning men, as it seems good to him, and that, men in vain and madly rise up to contend with God; for he assigns, by his own right, whatever lot he pleases to what he forms.

But they who say that Paul, wanting reason, had recourse to reproof, cast a grievous calumny on the Holy Spirit: for the things calculated to vindicate God’s justice, and ready at hand, he was at first unwilling to adduce, for they could not have been comprehended; yea, he so modifies his second reason, that he does not undertake a full defence, but in such a manner as to give a sufficient demonstration of God’s justice, if it be considered by us with devout humility and reverence.

He reminds man of what is especially meet for him to remember, that is, of his own condition; as though he had said, — “Since thou art man, thou ownest thyself to be dust and ashes; why then doest thou contend with the Lord about that which thou art not able to understand?” In a word, the Apostle did not bring forward what might have been said, but what is suitable to our ignorance. Proud men clamour, because Paul, admitting that men are rejected or chosen by the secret counsel of God, alleges no cause; as though the Spirit of God were silent for want of reason, and not rather, that by his silence he reminds us, that a mystery which our minds cannot comprehend ought to be reverently adored, and that he thus checks the wantonness of human curiosity. Let us then know, that God does for no other reason refrain from speaking, but that he sees that we cannot contain his immense wisdom in our small measure; and thus regarding our weakness, he leads us to moderation and sobriety.

Does what is formed? etc We see that Paul dwells continually on this, — that the will of God, though its reason is hid from us, is to be counted just; for he shows that he is deprived of his right, if he is not at liberty to determine what he sees meet concerning his creatures. This seems unpleasant to the ears of many. There are also those who pretend that God is exposed to great reproach were such a power ascribed to him, as though they in their fastidiousness were better divines than Paul, who has laid down this as the rule of humility to the faithful, that they are to admire the sovereignty of God, and not to estimate it by their own judgment.

But he represses this arrogance of contending with God by a most apt similitude, in which he seems to have alluded to Isa 45:9, rather than to Jer 18:6; for nothing else is taught us by Jeremiah, than that Israel was in the hand of the Lord, so that he could for his sins wholly break him in pieces, as a potter the earthen vessel. But Isaiah ascends higher, “Woe to him,” he says, “who speaks against his maker;” that is, the pot that contends with the former of the clay; “shall the clay say to its former, what doest thou?” etc. And surely there is no reason for a mortal man to think himself better than earthen vessel, when he compares himself with God. We are not however to be over-particular in applying this testimony to our present subject, since Paul only meant to allude to the words of the Prophet, in order that the similitude might have more weight. ³⁰⁵

Calvin: Rom 9:21

21.Has not the worker of the clay? etc The reason why what is formed ought not to contend with its former, is, that the former does nothing but what he has a right to do. By the word power, he means not that the maker has strength to do according to his will, but that this privilege rightly and justly belongs to him. For he intends not to claim for God any arbitrary power but what ought to be justly ascribed to him.

And further, bear this in mind, — that as the potter takes away nothing from the clay, whatever form he may give it; so God takes away nothing from man, in whatever condition he may create him. Only this is to be remembered, that God is deprived of a portion of his honor, except such an authority over men be conceded to him as to constitute him the arbitrator of life and death. ³⁰⁶

Calvin: Rom 9:22

22.And what, etc A second answer, by which he briefly shows, that though the counsel of God is in fact incomprehensible, yet his unblamable justice shines forth no less in the perdition of the reprobate than in the salvation of the elect. He does not indeed give a reason for divine election, so as to assign a cause why this man is chosen and that man rejected; for it was not meet that the things contained in the secret counsel of God should be subjected to the judgment of men; and, besides, this mystery is inexplicable. He therefore keeps us from curiously examining those things which exceed human comprehension. He yet shows, that as far as God’s predestination manifests itself, it appears perfectly just.

The particles, εἰ δὲ, used by Paul, I take to mean, And what if? so that the whole sentence is a question; and thus the sense will be more evident: and there is here an ellipsis, when we are to consider this as being understood, — “Who then can charge him with unrighteousness, or arraign him? ” for here appears nothing but the most perfect course of justice. ³⁰⁷

But if we wish fully to understand Paul, almost every word must be examined. He then argues thus, — There are vessels prepared for destruction, that is, given up and appointed to destruction: they are also vessels of wrath, that is, made and formed for this end, that they may be examples of God’s vengeance and displeasure. If the Lord bears patiently for a time with these, not destroying them at the first moment, but deferring the judgment prepared for them, and this in order to set forth the decisions of his severity, that others may be terrified by so dreadful examples, and also to make known his power, to exhibit which he makes them in various ways to serve; and, further, that the amplitude of his mercy towards the elect may hence be more fully known and more brightly shine forth; — what is there worthy of being reprehended in this dispensation? But that he is silent as to the reason, why they are vessels appointed to destruction, is no matter of wonder. He indeed takes it as granted, according to what has been already said, that the reason is hid in the secret and inexplorable counsel of God; whose justice it behoves us rather to adore than to scrutinize.

And he has mentioned vessels, as commonly signifying instruments; for whatever is done by all creatures, is, as it were, the ministration of divine power. For the best reason then are we, the faithful, called the vessels of mercy, whom the Lord uses as instruments for the manifestation of his mercy; and the reprobate are the vessels of wrath, because they serve to show forth the judgments of God.

Calvin: Rom 9:23

23.That he might also make known the riches of his glory, etc I doubt not but the two particles καὶ ἵνα, is an instance of a construction, where the first word is put last; (ὕστερον πρότερον) and that this clause may better unite with the former, I have rendered it, That he might also make known, etc. ( Ut notas quoque faceret , etc.) It is the second reason which manifests the glory of God in the destruction of the reprobate, because the greatness of divine mercy towards the elect is hereby more clearly made known; for how do they differ from them except that they are delivered by the Lord from the same gulf of destruction? and this by no merit of their own, but through his gratuitous kindness. It cannot then be but that the infinite mercy of God towards the elect must appear increasingly worthy of praise, when we see how miserable are all they who escape not his wrath.

The word glory, which is here twice mentioned, I consider to have been used for God’s mercy, a metonymy of effect for the cause; for his chief praise or glory is in acts of kindness. So in Eph 1:13, after having taught us, that we have been adopted to the praise of the glory of his grace, he adds, that we are sealed by the Spirit of promise unto the praise of his glory, the word grace being left out. He wished then to show, that the elect are instruments or vessels through whom God exercises his mercy, that through them he may glorify his name.

Though in the second clause he asserts more expressly that it is God who prepares the elect for glory, as he had simply said before that the reprobate are vessels prepared for destruction; there is yet no doubt but that the preparation of both is connected with the secret counsel of God. Paul might have otherwise said, that the reprobate give up or cast themselves into destruction; but he intimates here, that before they are born they are destined to their lot.

Calvin: Rom 9:24

24.Whom he also called, etc From the reasoning which he has been hitherto carrying on respecting the freedom of divine election, two things follow, — that the grace of God is not so confined to the Jewish people that it does not also flow to other nations, and diffuse itself through the whole world, — and then, that it is not even so tied to the Jews that it comes without exception to all the children of Abraham according to the flesh; for if God’s election is based on his own good pleasure alone, wherever his will turns itself, there his election exists. Election being then established, the way is now in a manner prepared for him to proceed to those things which he designed to say respecting the calling of the Gentiles, and also respecting the rejection of the Jews; the first of which seemed strange for its novelty, and the other wholly unbecoming. As, however, the last had more in it to offend, he speaks in the first place of that which was less disliked. He says then, that the vessels of God’s mercy, whom he selects for the glory of his name, are taken from every people, from the Gentiles no less than from the Jews.

But though in the relative whom the rule of grammar is not fully observed by Paul, ³⁰⁹ yet his object was, by making as it were a transition, to subjoin that we are the vessels of God’s glory, who have been taken in part from the Jews and in part from the Gentiles; and he proves from the calling of God, that there is no difference between nations made in election. For if to be descended from the Gentiles was no hinderance that God should not call us, it is evident that the Gentiles are by no means to be excluded from the kingdom of God and the covenant of eternal salvation.

Calvin: Rom 9:25

25.As he says in Hosea, ³¹⁰ etc. He proves now that the calling of the Gentiles ought not to have been deemed a new thing, as it had long before been testified by the prediction of the prophet. The meaning is evident; but there is some difficulty in the application of this testimony; for no one can deny but that the prophet in that passage speaks of the Israelites. For the Lord, having been offended with their wickedness, declared that they should be no longer his people: he afterwards subjoined a consolation, and said, that of those who were not beloved he would make some beloved, and from those who were not a people he would make a people. But Paul applies to the Gentiles what was expressly spoken to the Israelites.

They who have hitherto been most successful in untying this knot have supposed that Paul meant to adopt this kind of reasoning, — “What may seem to be an hinderance to the Gentiles to become partakers of salvation did also exist as to the Jewish nation: as then God did formerly receive into favor the Jews, whom he had cast away and exterminated, so also now he exercises the same kindness towards the Gentiles.” But as this interpretation, though it may be supported, yet seems to me to be somewhat strained, let the readers consider this, — Whether it would not be a more suitable view to regard the consolation given by the prophet, as intended, not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles: for it was not a new or an unusual thing with the prophets, after having pronounced on the Jews God’s vengeance on account of their sins, to turn themselves to the kingdom of Christ, which was to be propagated through the whole world. And this they did, not without reason; for since the Jews so provoked God’s wrath by their sins, that they deserved to be rejected by him, no hope of salvation remained, except they turned to Christ, through whom the covenant of grace was to be restored: and as it was based on him, so it was then renewed, when he interposed. And doubtless, as Christ was the only refuge in great extremities, no solid comfort could have been brought to miserable sinners, and such as saw God’s wrath impending over them, except by setting Christ before their eyes, it was usual with the prophets, as we have reminded you, after having humbled the people by pronouncing on them divine vengeance, to call their attention to Christ, as the only true asylum of those in despair. And where the kingdom of Christ is erected there also is raised up that celestial Jerusalem, into which citizens from all parts of the world assemble. And this is what is chiefly included in the present prophecy: for when the Jews were banished from God’s family, they were thus reduced to a common class, and put on a level with the Gentiles. The difference being taken away, God’s mercy is now indiscriminately extended to all the Gentiles. We hence see that the prophet’s prediction is fitly applied to the present subject; in which God declares, that after having equalized the Jews and the Gentiles, he would gather a Church for himself from aliens, so that they who were not a people would begin to be so.

Calvin: Rom 9:26

26. I will call them my people which are not a people This is said with respect to the divorce, which God had already made with the people, by depriving them of all honor, so that they did not excel other nations. Though they indeed, whom God in his eternal counsel has destined as sons to himself, are perpetually his sons, yet Scripture in many parts counts none to be God’s children but those the election of whom has been proved by their calling: and hence he teaches us not to judge, much less to decide, respecting God’s election, except as far as it manifests itself by its own evidences. Thus Paul, after having shown to the Ephesians that their election and adoption had been determined by God before the creation of the world, shortly after declares, that they were once alienated from God, (Eph 2:12,) that is, during that time when the Lord had not manifested his love towards them; though he had embraced them in his eternal mercy. Hence, in this passage, they are said not to be beloved, to whom God declares wrath rather than love: for until adoption reconciles men to God, we know that his wrath abides on them.

The feminine gender of the participle depends on the context of the prophet; for he had said, that a daughter had been born to him, to whom he gave this name, Not beloved, in order that the people might know that they were hated by God. Now as rejection was the reason for hatred, so the beginning of love, as the prophet teaches, is, when God adopts those who had been for a time strangers. ³¹¹

Calvin: Rom 9:27

27.And Isaiah exclaims, etc He proceeds now to the second part, with which he was unwilling to begin, lest he should too much exasperate their minds. And it is not without a wise contrivance, that he adduces Isaiah as exclaiming, not, speaking, in order that he might excite more attention. But the words of the Prophet were evidently intended to keep the Jews from glorying too much in the flesh: for it was a thing dreadful to be heard, that of so large a multitude, a small number only would obtain salvation. For though the Prophet, after having described the devastation of the people, lest the faithful should think that the covenant of God was wholly abolished, gave some remaining hope of favor; yet he confined it to a few. But as the Prophet predicted of his own time, let us see how could Paul rightly apply this to his purpose. It must be in this sense, — When the Lord resolved to deliver his people from the Babylonian captivity, his purpose was, that this benefit of deliverance should come only to a very few of that vast multitude; which might have been said to be the remnant of that destruction, when compared with the great number which he suffered to perish in exile. Now that temporal restoration was typical of the real renovation of the Church of God; yea, it was only its commencement. What therefore happened then, is to be now much more completely fulfilled as the very progress and completion of that deliverance.

Calvin: Rom 9:28

28.For I will finish and shorten the matter, etc ³¹² Omitting various interpretations, I will state what appears to me to be the real meaning: The Lord will so cut short, and cut off his people, that the residue may seem as it were a consumption, that is, may have the appearance and the vestige of a very great ruin. However, the few who shall remain from the consumption shall be a proof of the work of God’s righteousness, or, what I prefer, shall serve to testify the righteousness of God throughout the world. As word often in Scripture means a thing, the consummated word is put for consumption. Many interpreters have here been grossly mistaken, who have attempted to philosophize with too much refinement; for they have imagined, that the doctrine of the gospel is thus called, because it is, when the ceremonies are cut off, a brief compendium of the law; though the word means on the contrary a consumption. ³¹³ And not only here is an error committed by the translator, but also in Isa 10:22; Isa 28:22; and in Eze 11:13; where it is said, “Ah! ah! Lord God! wilt thou make a completion of the remnant of Israel ?” But the Prophets meant to say, “Wilt thou destroy the very remnant with utter destruction? ” And this has happened through the ambiguity of the Hebrew word. For as the word, כלה , cale, means to finish and to perfect, as well as to consume, this difference has not been sufficiently observed according to the passages in which it occurs.

But Isaiah has not in this instance adopted one word only, but has put down two words, consumption, and termination, or cutting off; so that the affectation of Hebraism in the Greek translator was singularly unseasonable; for to what purpose was it to involve a sentence, in itself clear, in an obscure and figurative language? It may be further added, that Isaiah speaks here hyperbolically; for by consumption he means diminution, such as is wont to be after a remarkable slaughter.

Calvin: Rom 9:29

29.And as Isaiah had before said, etc ³¹⁴ He brings another testimony from the first chapter, where the Prophet deplores the devastation of Israel in his time: and as this had happened once, it was no new thing. The people of Israel had indeed no pre-eminence, except what they had derived from their ancestors; who had yet been in such a manner treated, that the Prophet complained that they had been so afflicted, that they were not far from having been destroyed, as Sodom and Gomorrah had been. There was, however, this difference, that a few were preserved for a seed, to raise up the name, that they might not wholly perish, and be consigned to eternal oblivion. For it behoved God to be ever mindful of his promise, so as to manifest his mercy in the midst of the severest judgments.

Calvin: Rom 9:30

30.What then, etc That he might cut off from the Jews every occasion of murmuring against God, he now begins to show those causes, which may be comprehended by human minds, why the Jewish nation had been rejected. But they do what is absurd and invert all order, who strive to assign and set up causes above the secret predestination of God, which he has previously taught us is to be counted as the first cause. But as this is superior to all other causes, so the corruption and wickedness of the ungodly afford a reason and an occasion for the judgments of God: and as he was engaged on a difficult point, he introduced a question, and, as though he were in doubt, asked what might be said on the subject.

That the Gentiles who did not pursue, etc Nothing appeared more unreasonable, or less befitting, than that the Gentiles, who, having no concern for righteousness, rolled themselves in the lasciviousness of their flesh, should be called to partake of salvation, and to obtain righteousness; and that, on the other hand, the Jews, who assiduously laboured in the works of the law, should be excluded from the reward of righteousness. Paul brings forward this, which was so singular a paradox, in such a manner, that by adding a reason he softens whatever asperity there might be in it; for he says, that the righteousness which the Gentiles attained was by faith; and that it hence depends on the Lord’s mercy, and not on man’s own worthiness; and that a zeal for the law, by which the Jews were actuated, was absurd; for they sought to be justified by works, and thus laboured for what no man could attain to; and still further, they stumbled at Christ, through whom alone a way is open to the attainment of righteousness.

But in the first clause it was the Apostle’s object to exalt the grace of God alone, that no other reason might be sought for in the calling of the Gentiles but this, — that he deigned to embrace them when unworthy of his favor.

He speaks expressly of righteousness, without which there can be no salvation: but by saying that the righteousness of the Gentiles proceeded from faith, he intimates, that it was based on a gratuitous reconciliation; for if any one imagines that they, were justified, because they had by faith obtained the Spirit of regeneration, he departs far from the meaning of Paul; it would not indeed have been true, that they had attained what they sought not, except God had freely embraced them while they were straying and wandering, and had offered them righteousness, for which, being unknown, they could have had no desire. It must also be observed, that the Gentiles could not have obtained righteousness by faith, except God had anticipated their faith by his grace; for they followed it when they first by faith aspired to righteousness; and so faith itself is a portion of his favor.

Calvin: Rom 9:31

31.But Israel, by pursuing, etc Paul openly states what seemed incredible, — that it was no wonder that the Jews gained nothing by sedulously following after righteousness; for by running out of the way, they wearied themselves in vain. But in the first place it seems to me that the law of righteousness is here an instance of transposition, and means the righteousness of the law; ³¹⁵ and then, that when repeated in the second clause, it is to be taken in another sense, as signifying the model or the rule of righteousness.

The meaning then is, — “That Israel, depending on the righteousness of the law, even that which is prescribed in the law, did not understand the true method of justification.” But there is a striking contrast in the expression, when he teaches us that the legal righteousness was the cause that they had fallen away from the law of righteousness.

Calvin: Rom 9:32

32.Not by faith, but as it were by works, etc As false zeal seems commonly to be justly excused, Paul shows that they are deservedly rejected, who attempt to attain salvation by trusting in their own works; for they, as far as they can, abolish faith, without which no salvation can be expected. Hence, were they to gain their object, such a success would be the annihilation of true righteousness. You farther see how faith and the merits of works are contrasted, as things altogether contrary to each other. As then trust in works is the chief hinderance, by which our way to obtain righteousness is closed up, it is necessary that we should wholly renounce it in order that we may depend on God’s goodness alone. This example of the Jews ought indeed justly to terrify all those who strive to obtain the kingdom of God by works. Nor does he understand by the works of the law, ceremonial observances, as it has been before shown, but the merits of those works to which faith is opposed, which looks, as I may say, with both eyes on the mercy of God alone, without casting one glance on any worthiness of its own.

For they have stumbled at the stone, etc He confirms by a strong reason the preceding sentence. There is indeed nothing more inconsistent than that they should obtain righteousness who strive to destroy it. Christ has been given to us for righteousness, whosoever obtrudes on God the righteousness of works, attempts to rob him of his own office. And hence it appears that whenever men, under the empty pretence of being zealous for righteousness, put confidence in their works, they do in their furious madness carry on war with God himself.

But how they stumble at Christ, who trust in their works, it is not difficult to understand; for except we own ourselves to be sinners, void and destitute of any righteousness of our own, we obscure the dignity of Christ, which consists in this, that to us all he is light, life, resurrection, righteousness, and healing. But how is he all these things, except that he illuminates the blind, restores the lost, quickens the dead, raises up those who are reduced to nothing, cleanses those who are full of filth, cures and heals those infected with diseases? Nay, when we claim for ourselves any righteousness we in a manner contend with the power of Christ; for his office is no less to beat down all the pride of the flesh, than to relieve and comfort those who labour and are wearied under their burden.

The quotation is rightly made; for God in that passage declares that he would be to the people of Judah and of Israel for a rock of offence, at which they should stumble and fall. Since Christ is that God who spoke by the Prophets, it is no wonder that this also should be fulfilled in him. And by calling Christ the stone of stumbling, he reminds us that it is not to be wondered at if they made no progress in the way of righteousness, who through their wilful stubbornness stumbled at the rock of offence, when God had showed to them the way so plainly. ³¹⁶ But we must observe, that this stumbling does not properly belong to Christ viewed in himself; but, on the contrary, it is what happens through the wickedness of men, according to what immediately follows.

Calvin: Rom 9:33

33.And every one who believes in him shall not be ashamed He subjoins this testimony from another part for the consolation of the godly; as though he had said, “Because Christ is called the stone of stumbling, there is no reason that we should dread him, or entertain fear instead of confidence; for he is appointed for ruin to the unbelieving, but for life and resurrection to the godly.” As then the former prophecy, concerning the stumbling and offence, is fulfilled in the rebellious and unbelieving, so there is another which is intended for the godly, and that is, that he is a firm stone, precious, a corner-stone, most firmly fixed, and whosoever builds on it shall never fall. By putting shall not be ashamed instead of s hall not hasten or fall, he has followed the Greek Translator. It is indeed certain that the Lord in that passage intended to strengthen the hope of His people: and when the Lord bids us to entertain good hope, it hence follows that we cannot be ashamed. ³¹⁷ See a passage like this in 1Pe 2:10

Defender: Rom 9:17

Note here that Paul equates the word spoken by God with "scripture" (Exo 9:16). The fact that this pronouncement of God was written down by Moses (the Greek word for "Scripture" was graphe, meaning a "written document") gave the writing the authority of God Himself. Note Paul's summary in 2Ti 3:16, 2Ti 3:17."

Defender: Rom 9:18

It was said several times that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exo 7:3, Exo 7:13; Exo 9:12; Exo 10:20; Exo 11:10; Exo 14:4). But also it was noted that Pharaoh often hardened his own heart (Exo 7:4, Exo 7:14, Exo 7:22; Exo 8:15, Exo 8:19, Exo 8:32; Exo 9:7, Exo 9:34). In some mysterious way, our human decisions (for which we bear full responsibility) have also been God's decisions, and vice versa. This is beyond our finite comprehension and we should not try to rationalize it by some human device of reasoning. What God does is right, by definition (Gen 18:25; Psa 33:4) and His ways are "past finding out" (Rom 11:33; Psa 139:6). We must simply trust Him in whatever He does, knowing that He is accomplishing His own eternal purposes thereby (Rom 9:22, Rom 9:23)."

Defender: Rom 9:20

We have no right to ask God: "Why?" Remember that He answered Job's pleas for understanding merely by reminding Job of the fact of creation (Job 38-41). As our great Potter, He has the right to make His pottery vessels both for honor and dishonor (Rom 9:21). We who have been redeemed by His mercy should be grateful that He chose us even before the world began (Eph 1:3, Eph 1:4; 2Ti 1:9), confident that He - by whatever means He chooses - is preparing His "vessels of mercy" (Rom 9:23) to receive the full manifestation of His glory in the ages to come (Eph 2:10). The fact that our finite minds cannot comprehend the simultaneous operation of divine election and human responsibility is irrelevant. Both Scripture and human experience demonstrate both to be true. We must both rest in that fact and act in light of it."

Defender: Rom 9:25

Although Hosea was speaking of the remnant Israel, Paul (writing under the Spirit's inspiration) applies the same principle to God's calling of a remnant of the Gentiles as well (Hos 1:9)."

Defender: Rom 9:26

Still quoting Hosea (Hos 2:23), Paul again applies the principle to God's calling of a remnant from the Gentiles, who had been set aside as a whole after the rebellion at Babel. Hosea had applied it to the remnant of Israel, who as a nation had been set aside, first in the Assyro-Babylonian captivity and then more rigorously in her worldwide dispersion when she rejected their Messiah. God is now "[visiting] the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name" (Act 15:14)."

Defender: Rom 9:27

God had promised Abraham that his physical descendants would be very numerous (Gen 13:16; Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17); a prophetic promise that has been remarkably fulfilled. But only a small remnant among these are actually saved and will inherit His promises (Isa 10:22)."

Defender: Rom 9:28

"Work" here is the Greek logos, usually rendered "word," and never translated elsewhere as "work." Evidently Paul's intent here is to stress that God's word concerning both Jew and Gentile will be accomplished quickly. The whole history of the world is brief in light of eternity to come."

Defender: Rom 9:29

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorra was a very real event in history, even though it was so complete that modern archaeologists have great difficulty in identifying its location (Isa 1:9)."

Defender: Rom 9:33

That "stone" which caused Israel to stumble, the "rock" which offended their self-righteousness, was actually "Him" - none other than their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (Psa 118:22; Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16). Israel's rejection of Him resulted in God setting Israel aside and turning to the Gentiles. This truth is also expounded by Christ (Mat 21:42) and Peter (1Pe 2:8)."

TSK: Rom 9:17

For : Rom 11:4; Gal 3:8, Gal 3:22, Gal 4:30

Even : Exo 9:16

I raised : 1Sa 2:7, 1Sa 2:8; Est 4:14; Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 45:1-3; Jer 27:6, Jer 27:7; Dan 4:22; Dan 5:18-21

that : Exo 10:1, Exo 10:2, Exo 14:17, Exo 14:18, Exo 15:14, Exo 15:15, Exo 18:10,Exo 18:11; Jos 2:9, Jos 2:10, Jos 9:9; 1Sa 4:8; Psa 83:17, Psa 83:18; Pro 16:4; Isa 37:20

that my : Joh 17:26

TSK: Rom 9:18

hath : Rom 9:15, Rom 9:16, Rom 5:20,Rom 5:21; Eph 1:6

will he : Rom 1:24-28, Rom 11:7, Rom 11:8; Exo 4:21, Exo 7:13; Deu 2:30; Jos 11:20; Isa 63:17; Mat 13:14, Mat 13:15; Act 28:26-28; 2Th 2:10-12

TSK: Rom 9:19

Thou : Rom 3:8; 1Co 15:12, 1Co 15:35; Jam 1:13

Why doth : Rom 3:5-7; Gen 50:20; 2Ch 20:6; Job 9:12-15, Job 9:19, Job 23:13, Job 23:14; Psa 76:10; Isa 10:6, Isa 10:7, Isa 46:10,Isa 46:11; Dan 4:35; Mar 14:21; Act 2:23, Act 4:27, Act 4:28

TSK: Rom 9:20

O man : Rom 2:1; Mic 6:8; 1Co 7:16; Jam 2:20

who art : Job 33:13, Job 36:23, Job 38:2, Job 38:3, Job 40:2, Job 40:5, Job 40:8, Job 42:2-6; Mat 20:15

repliest : or, answerest again, Job 16:3; Tit 2:9, or, disputes with God, 1Co 1:20; 1Ti 6:5

Shall : Isa 29:16, Isa 45:9-11

TSK: Rom 9:21

the potter : Rom 9:11, Rom 9:18; Pro 16:4; Isa 64:8; Jer 18:3-6

one vessel : Rom 9:22, Rom 9:23; Jer 22:28; Hos 8:8; Act 9:15; 2Ti 2:20,2Ti 2:21

TSK: Rom 9:22

willing : Rom 9:17, Rom 1:18, Rom 2:4, Rom 2:5; Exo 9:16; Psa 90:11; Pro 16:4; Rev 6:16, Rev 6:17

endured : Num 14:11, Num 14:18; Psa 50:21, Psa 50:22; Ecc 8:11, Ecc 8:12; Lam 3:22; 1Pe 3:20; 2Pe 2:3, 2Pe 2:9; 2Pe 3:8, 2Pe 3:9, 2Pe 3:15; Jud 1:4; Rev 6:9-11

the vessels : The Apostle, by employing the appellation of the vessels of wrath, carries on the similitude of the potter, by which he had illustrated the sovereignty of God. Rom 9:21; 1Th 5:9; 2Ti 2:20

fitted : or, made up, Gen 15:16; Mat 23:31-33; 1Th 2:16; 1Pe 2:8; Jud 1:4

TSK: Rom 9:23

might : Rom 2:4, Rom 5:20,Rom 5:21; Eph 1:6-8, Eph 1:18, Eph 2:4, Eph 2:7, Eph 2:10, Eph 3:8, Eph 3:16; Col 1:27; 2Th 1:10-12

he had afore : 1Ch 29:18; Luk 1:17; Eph 2:3-5; Col 1:12; 1Th 5:9; 2Th 2:13, 2Th 2:14; 2Ti 2:21; Tit 3:3-7; 1Pe 1:2-5

TSK: Rom 9:24

whom : Rom 8:28-30; 1Co 1:9; Heb 3:1; 1Pe 5:10; Rev 19:9

not of the Jews : Rom 3:29, Rom 3:30, Rom 4:11, Rom 4:12, Rom 10:12, Rom 11:11-13, Rom 15:8-16; Gen 49:10; Psa 22:27; Act 13:47, Act 13:48, Act 15:14, Act 21:17-20; Gal 3:28; Eph 2:11-13, Eph 3:6-8; Col 3:11

TSK: Rom 9:25

in Osee : Hos 1:1, Hos 1:2, Hosea

I will call : Hos 2:23; 1Pe 2:10

beloved : Rom 1:7; Eze 16:8; Joh 16:27

TSK: Rom 9:26

And it : Hos 1:9, Hos 1:10

there shall : Rom 8:16; Isa 43:6; Joh 11:52; 2Co 6:18; Gal 3:26; 1Jo 3:1-3

TSK: Rom 9:27

Esaias : Isa 1:1, Isaiah

though : Isa 10:20-23

a remnant : Rom 11:4-6; Ezr 9:8, Ezr 9:14; Isa 1:9, Isa 10:20,Isa 10:21, Isa 11:11, Isa 24:13; Jer 5:10; Eze 6:8; Mic 5:3-8

TSK: Rom 9:28

work : or, account

and cut : Isa 28:22, Isa 30:12-14; Dan 9:26, Dan 9:27; Mat 24:21

in righteousness : Psa 9:8, Psa 65:5; Isa 5:16; Act 17:31; Rev 19:11

TSK: Rom 9:29

Except : Isa 1:9, Isa 6:13; Lam 3:22

Sabaoth : Jam 5:4

we had been : Gen 19:24, Gen 19:25; Isa 13:19; Jer 49:18, Jer 50:40; Lam 4:6; Amo 4:11; Zep 2:6

Sodoma : Gomorrah, 2Pe 2:6; Jud 1:7

TSK: Rom 9:30

shall : Rom 9:14, Rom 3:5

the Gentiles : Rom 1:18-32, Rom 4:11, Rom 10:20; Isa 65:1, Isa 65:2; 1Co 6:9-11; Eph 2:12, Eph 4:17-19; 1Pe 4:3

followed : Rom 9:31; Pro 15:9, Pro 21:21; Isa 51:1; 1Ti 6:11

even the righteousness : Rom 1:17, Rom 3:22, Rom 4:9, Rom 4:11, Rom 4:13, Rom 4:22, Rom 5:1, Rom 10:10; Gal 3:8, Gal 5:5; Phi 3:9; Heb 11:7

TSK: Rom 9:31

followed : Rom 9:30-32, Rom 10:2-4; Gal 3:21; Phi 3:6

hath : Rom 3:20, Rom 4:14, Rom 4:15, Rom 11:7; Gal 3:10,Gal 3:11, Gal 5:3, Gal 5:4; Jam 2:10,Jam 2:11

TSK: Rom 9:32

Because : Rom 4:16, Rom 10:3; Mat 19:16-20; Joh 6:27-29; Act 16:30-34; 1Jo 5:9-12

they stumbled : Rom 11:11; Mat 13:57; Luk 2:34, Luk 7:23; 1Co 1:23

TSK: Rom 9:33

Behold : Psa 118:22; Isa 8:14, Isa 8:15, Isa 28:16; Mat 21:42, Mat 21:44; 1Pe 2:7, 1Pe 2:8

and whosoever : Rom 5:5, Rom 10:11; Psa 25:2, Psa 25:3, Psa 25:20; Isa 45:17, Isa 54:4; Joe 2:26, Joe 2:27; Phi 1:20; 2Ti 1:12; 1Jo 2:28

ashamed : or, confounded, 1Pe 2:6

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Rom 9:17

For the Scripture saith - Exo 9:16. That is, God saith to Pharaoh in the Scriptures; Gal 3:8, Gal 3:22. This passage is designed to illustrate the doctrine that God shows mercy according to his sovereign pleasure by a reference to one of the most extraordinary cases of hardness of heart which has ever occurred. The design is to show that God has a right to pass by those to whom he does not choose to show mercy; and to place them in circumstances where they shall develope their true character, and where in fait they shall become more hardened and be destroyed; Rom 9:18.

Unto Pharaoh - The haughty and oppressive king of Egypt; thus showing that the most mighty and wicked monarchs are at his control; compare Isa 10:5-7.

For this same purpose - For the design, or with the intent that is immediately specified. This was the leading purpose or design of his sustaining him.

Have I raised thee up - Margin in Exo 9:16, "made thee stand,"that is, sustained thee. The Greek word used by the apostle ( ἐξήγειρα exēgeira ), means properly, I "have excited, roused, or stirred"thee up. But it may also have the meaning, "I have sustained or supported thee."That is, I have kept thee from death; I have preserved thee from ruin; I have ministered strength to thee, so that thy full character has been developed. It does not mean that God had infused into his mind any positive evil, or that by any direct influence he had excited any evil feelings, but that he had kept him in circumstances which were suited to develope his true character. The meaning of the word and the truth of the case may be expressed in the following particulars:

(1) God meant to accomplish some great purposes by his existence and conduct.

\caps1 (2) h\caps0 e kept him, or sustained him, with reference to that.

\caps1 (3) h\caps0 e had control over the haughty and wicked monarch. He could take his life, or he could continue him on earth. As he had control over all things that could affect the pride, the feelings, and the happiness of the monarch, so he had control over the monarch himself.

(4) "he placed him in circumstances just suited to develope his character."He kept him amidst those circumstances until his character was fully developed.

\caps1 (5) h\caps0 e did not exert a positive evil influence on the mind of Pharaoh; for,

(6) In all this the monarch acted freely. He did what he chose to do. He pursued his own course. He was voluntary in his schemes of oppressing the Israelites. He was voluntary in his opposition to God. He was voluntary when he pursued the Israelites to the Red sea. In all his doings he acted as he chose to do, and with a determined "choice of evil,"from which neither warning nor judgment would turn him away. Thus, he is said to have hardened his own heart; Exo 8:15.

\caps1 (7) n\caps0 either Pharaoh nor any sinner can justly blame God for placing them in circumstances where they shall develope their own character, and show what they are. It is not the fault of God, but their own fault. The sinner is not compelled to sin; nor is God under obligation to save him contrary to the prevalent desires and wishes of the sinner himself.

My power in thee - Or by means of thee. By the judgments exerted in delivering an entire oppressed people from thy grasp. God’ s most signal acts of power were thus shown in consequence of his disobedience and rebellion.

My name - The name of Yahweh, as the only true God, and the deliverer of his people.

Throughout all the earth - Or throughout all the land of Egypt; Note, Luk 2:1. We may learn here,

(1)    That a leading design of God in the government of the world is to make his power, and name, and character known.

(2)\caps1     t\caps0 hat this is often accomplished in a most signal manner by the destruction of the wicked.

(3)\caps1     t\caps0 hat wicked people should be alarmed, since their arm cannot contend with God, and since his enemies shall be destroyed.

(4)\caps1     i\caps0 t is right that the incorrigibly wicked should be cut off. When a man’ s character is fully developed; when he is fairly tried; when in all circumstances, he has shown that he will not obey God, neither justice nor mercy hinders the Almighty from cutting him down and consigning him to death.

Barnes: Rom 9:18

Therefore hath he mercy ... - This is a conclusion stated by the apostle as the result of all the argument.

Whom he will he hardeneth - This is not stated in what the Scripture said to Pharaoh, but is a conclusion to which the apostle had arrived, in view of the case of Pharaoh. The word "hardeneth"means only to harden in the manner specified in the case of Pharaoh. It does not mean to exert a positive influence, but to leave a sinner to his own course, and to place him in circumstances where the character will be more and more developed; see the note at Joh 12:40. It implies, however, an act of sovereignty on the part of God in thus leaving him to his chosen course, and in not putting forth that influence by which he could be saved from death. Why this is, the apostle does not state. We should, however, not dispute a fact everywhere prevalent; and should have sufficient confidence in God to believe that it is in accordance with infinite wisdom and rectitude.

Barnes: Rom 9:19

Thou wilt say then unto me - The apostle here refers to an objection that might be made to his argument. If the position which he had been endeavoring to establish were true; if God had a purpose in all his dealings with people; if all the revolutions among people happened according to his decree, so that he was not disappointed, or his plan frustrated; and if his own glory was secured in all this, why could he blame people?

Why doth he yet find fault? - Why does he blame people, since their conduct is in accordance with his purpose, and since he bestows mercy according to his sovereign will? This objection has been made by sinners in all ages. It is the standing objection against the doctrines of grace. The objection is founded,

(1)    On the difficulty of reconciling the purposes of God with the free agency of man.

(2)\caps1     i\caps0 t assumes, what cannot be proved, that a plan or purpose of God must destroy the freedom of man.

(3)\caps1     i\caps0 t is said that if the plan of God is accomplished, then what is best to be done is done, and, of course, man cannot be blamed. These objections are met by the apostle in the following argument.

Who hath resisted his will? - That is, who has "successfully opposed"his will, or frustrated his plan? The word translated "resist"is commonly used to denote the resistance offered by soldiers or armed men. Thus, Eph 6:13, "Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand (resist or successfully oppose) in the evil day:"see Luk 21:15, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist;"see also Act 7:10; Act 13:8, "But Elymas ...withstood them, etc."The same Greek word, Rom 13:2; Gal 2:11. This does not mean that no one has offered resistance or opposition to God, but that no one has done it successfully. God had accomplished his purposes "in spite of"their opposition. This was an established point in the sacred writings, and one of the admitted doctrines of the Jews. To establish it had even been a part of the apostle’ s design; and the difficulty now was to see how, this being admitted, people could be held chargeable with crime. That it was the doctrine of the Scriptures, see 2Ch 20:6, "In thine hand "is there not"power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?"Dan 4:35, "he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"See also the case of Joseph and his brethren, Gen 50:20, "As for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good."

Barnes: Rom 9:20

Nay but, O man ... - To this objection the apostle replies in two ways; first, by asserting the sovereignty of God, and affirming that he had a right to do it Rom 9:20-21; and secondly, by showing that he did it according to the principles of justice and mercy, or that it was involved of necessity in his dispensing justice and mercy to mankind; Rom 9:22-24.

Who art thou ... - Paul here strongly reproves the impiety and wickedness of arraigning God. This impiety appears,

(1) Because man is a creature of arraigning God. This impiety appears, Because man is a creature of God, and it is improper that he should arraign his Maker.

\caps1 (2) h\caps0 e is unqualified to understand the subject. "Who art thou?"What qualifications has a creature of a day, a being just in the infancy of his existence; of so limited faculties; so perverse, blinded, and interested as man, to sit in judgment on the doings of the Infinite Mind? Who gave him the authority, or invested him with the prerogatives of a judge over his Maker’ s doings?

\caps1 (3) e\caps0 ven if man were qualified to investigate those subjects, what right has he to reply against God, to arraign him, or to follow out a train of argument tending to involve his Creator in shame and disgrace? No where is there to be found a more cutting or humbling reply to the pride of man than this. And on no subject was it more needed. The experience of every age has shown that this has been a prominent topic of objection against the government of God; and that there has been no point in the Christian theology to which the human heart has been so ready to make objections as to the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.

Repliest against God - Margin, "Answerest again; or, disputest with God."The passage conveys the idea of answering again; or of arguing to the dishonor of God. It implies that when God declares his will, man should be still. God has his own plans of infinite wisdom, and it is not ours to reply against him, or to arraign him of injustice, when we cannot see the reason of his doings.

Shall the thing formed ... - This sentiment is found in Isa 29:16; see also Isa 45:9. It was especially proper to adduce this to a Jew. The objection is one which is supposed to be made by a Jew, and it was proper to reply to him by a quotation from his own Scriptures. Any being has a right to fashion his work according to his own views of what is best; and as this right is not denied to people, we ought not to blame the infinitely wise God for acting in a similar way. They who have received every blessing they enjoy from him, ought not to blame him for not making them different.

Barnes: Rom 9:21

Hath not the potter ... - This same sovereign right of God the apostle proceeds to urge from another illustration, and another passage from the Old Testament; Isa 64:8, "But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."This passage is preceded in Isaiah by one declaring "the depravity of man;"Isa 64:6, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."As they were polluted with sin, as they had transgressed the Law of God, and had no claim and no merit, God might bestow his favors as he pleased, and mould them as the potter did the clay. He would do no injury to those who were left, and "who had no claim to his mercy,"if he bestowed favors on others, any more than the potter would do injustice to one part of the mass, if he put it to an ignoble use, and moulded another part into a vessel of honor.

This is still the condition of sinful people. God does no injustice to a man if he leaves him to take his own course to ruin, and makes another, equally undeserving, the recipient of his mercy. He violated none of my rights by not conferring on me the talents of Newton or of Bacon; or by not placing me in circumstances like those of Peter and Paul. Where all are undeserving, the utmost that can be demanded is that he should not treat them with injustice. And this is secured even in the case of the lost. No man will suffer more than he deserves; nor will any man go to perdition feeling that he has "a claim"to better treatment than he receives. The same sentiment is found in Jer 18:6, "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’ s hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, etc."

The passage in Isaiah proves that God has the right of a sovereign over guilty individuals; that in Jeremiah, that he has the same right over nations; thus meeting the whole case as it was in the mind of the apostle. These passages, however, assert only the right of God to do it, without affirming anything about the manner in which it is done. In fact, God bestows his favors in a mode very different from that in which a potter moulds his clay. God does not create holiness by a mere act of power, but he produces it in a manner consistent with the moral agency of people; and bestows his favors not to compel people, but to incline them to be willing to receive them; Psa 110:3, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power."It should be further remarked, that the argument of the apostle here does not refer to "the original creation"of people, as if God had then made them one for honor and another for dishonor. He refers to man as fallen and lost. His argument is this: "Man is in ruins: he is fallen; he has no claim on God; all deserve to die; on this mass, where none have any claim, he may bestow life on whom he pleases, without injury to others; he may exercise the right of a sovereign to pardon whom he pleases; or of a potter to mould any part of the useless mass to purposes of utility and beauty."

Potter - One whose occupation it is to make earthen vessels.

Power - This word denotes here not merely "physical power,"but authority, right; see Mat 7:29, translated "authority;"Mat 21:23; 2Th 3:9; Mar 2:10; Luk 5:24, "The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, etc."

Lump - Mass. It denotes anything that is reduced to a fine consistency, and mixed, and made soft by water; either clay, as in this place, or the mass produced of grain pounded and mixed with water; Rom 11:16, "If the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy;"1Co 5:6, "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"

One vessel - A cup, or other utensil, made of clay.

Unto honour - Fitted to an honorable use, or designed for a more useful and refined purpose.

Unto dishonour - To a meaner service, or more common use. This is a common mode of expression among the Hebrews. The lump here denotes the mass of people, sinners, having no claim on God. The potter illustrates God’ s right over that mass, to dispose of it as seems good in his sight. The doctrine of the passage is, that people have no right to complain if God bestows his blessings where and when he chooses.

Barnes: Rom 9:22-23

What if God ... - If God does what the apostle supposes, what then? Is it not right? This is the second point in the answer to the objection in Rom 9:19. The answer has respect to the "two classes"of people which actually exist on the earth - the righteous and the wicked. And the question is, whether "in regard to these two classes God does in fact do wrong?"If he does not, then the doctrine of the apostle is established, and the objection is not valid. It is assumed here, as it must be, that the world is "in fact"divided into two classes - saints and sinners. The apostle considers the case of sinners in Rom 9:22.

Willing - Being disposed; having an inclination to. It denotes an inclination of mind toward the thing proposed. If the thing itself was right; if it was proper to "show his wrath,"then it was proper to be willing to do it. If it is right to do a thing, it is right to purpose or intend to do it.

His wrath - τὴν ὀργὴν tēn orgēn . This word occurs thirty-five times in the New Testament. Its meaning is derived from the idea of earnestly desiring or reaching for an object, and properly denotes, in its general sense, a vehement desire of attaining anything. Hence, it comes to denote an earnest desire of revenge, or of inflicting suffering on those who have injured us; Eph 4:31, "Let all bitterness and wrath, etc."Col 3:8; 1Ti 2:8. Hence, it denotes indignation in general, which is not joined with a desire of revenge; Mar 3:5, "He looked round about on them with anger."It also denotes punishment for sin; the anger or displeasure of God against transgression; Note, Rom 1:18; Luk 3:7; Luk 21:23, etc. In this place it is evidently used to denote "severe displeasure against sin."sin is an evil of so great magnitude, "it is right"for God to be willing to evince his displeasure against it; and just in proportion to the extent of the evil. This displeasure, or wrath, it is proper that God should always be willing to show; nay, it would not be right for him not to show it, for that would be the same thing as to be indifferent to it, or to approve it. In this place, however, it is not affirmed,

(1)    That God has any pleasure in sin, or its punishment; nor,

(2)    That he exerted any agency to compel man to sin. It affirms only that God is willing to show his hatred of incorrigible and long-continued wickedness when it actually exists.

To make his power known - This language is the same as what was used in relation to Pharaoh; Rom 9:17; Exo 9:16. But it is not probable that the apostle intended to confine it to the Egyptians only. In the following verse he speaks of "the vessels of mercy prepared "unto glory;"which cannot be supposed to be language adapted to the temporal deliverance of the Jews. The case of Pharaoh was "one instance, or illustration"of the general principle on which God would deal with people. His government is conducted on great and uniform principles; and the case of Pharaoh was a development of the great laws on which he governs the universe.

Endured - Bore with; was patient, or forbearing; Rev 2:3. "And hast borne, and hast patience, etc."1Co 13:7, "charity, (love) beareth all things."Luk 18:7, "will not God avenge his elect. though he bear long with theme?"

With much long-suffering - With much patience. He suffered them to live while they deserved to die. God bears with all sinners with much patience; he spares them amid all their provocations, to give them opportunity of repentance; and though they are suited for destruction, yet he prolongs their lives, and offers them pardon, and loads them with benefits. This fact is a complete vindication of the government of God from the aspersions of all his enemies.

Vessels of wrath - The word "vessel"means a cup, etc. made of earth. As the human body is frail, easily broken and destroyed, it comes to signify also the body. 2Co 4:7; "we have this treasure in earthen vessels."1Th 4:4, "that everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor"- that everyone should keep his body from the indulgence of unlawful passions; compare Rom 9:3. Hence, also it means "the man himself."Act 9:15, "he is a chosen vessel unto me, etc."compare Isa 13:5. In this place there is doubtless, allusion to what he had just said of clay in the hands of the potter. The phrase "vessels of wrath"denotes wicked people against whom it is fit or proper that wrath should be shown; as Judas is called "the son of perdition,"see the note at Joh 17:12. This does not mean that people by their very creation, or their physical nature, are thus denominated; but people who, from long continuance in iniquity, deserve to experience wrath; as Judas was not called "son of perdition"by any arbitrary appointment, or as an original designation, but because in consequence of his avarice and treason this was the name which "in fact"actually described him, or suited his case.

Fitted - κατηρτισμένα katērtismena . This word properly means to "restore; to place in order; to render complete; to supply a defect; to fit to, or adapt to, or prepare for;"see Mat 4:21, "Were mending their nets."Gal 6:1, "restore such an one, etc."In this place it is a participle, and means those who are suited for or "adapted to"destruction; those whose characters are such as to deserve destruction, or as to make destruction proper. See the same use of the word in Heb 11:3, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed"- beautifully suited up in proper proportions, one part adapted to another - "by the Word of God."Heb 10:5, "a body hast thou prepared for me;"suited, or adapted to me; compare Psa 68:10; Psa 74:16. In this place there is not the semblance of a declaration that "God had prepared them, or fitted them for destruction."It is a simple declaration that they were in fact suited for it, without making an affirmation about the manner in which they became so.

A reader of the English Bible may, perhaps, sometimes draw the impression that God had suited them for this. But this is not affirmed; and there is an evident design in not affirming it, and a distinction made between them and the vessels of mercy which ought to be regarded. In relation to the latter it is expressly affirmed that God suited or prepared them for glory; see Rom 9:23, "Which he had afore prepared unto glory."The same distinction is remarkably striking in the account of the last judgment in Mat 25:34, Mat 25:41. To the righteous, Christ will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, etc."To the wicked, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels;"not said to have been originally prepared "for them."It is clear, therefore, that God intends to keep the great truth in view, that he prepares his people "by direct agency"for heaven; but that he exerts "no such agency"in preparing the wicked for destruction.

For destruction - εἰς ἀπώλειαν eis apōleian . This word occurs in the New Testament no less than 20 times; Mat 7:13, "Which leadeth to destruction."Joh 17:12, "son of perdition."Act 8:20, "thy money perish with thee;"Greek, be for destruction with thee, Act 25:16; Phi 1:28, "Token of perdition."Phi 3:19, "whose end is destruction."2Th 2:3, "the son of perdition."1Ti 5:9, "which drown men in destruction and perdition."Heb 10:39, "which draw back into perdition; see also 2Pe 2:1, 2Pe 2:3; 2Pe 3:7, 2Pe 3:16, etc. In these places it is clear that the reference is to the future punishment of wicked people, and in "no instance"to national calamities. No such use of the word is to be found in the New Testament; and this is further clear from the contrast with the word "glory"in the next verse. We may remark here, that if people are suited or prepared for destruction; if future torment is adapted to them, and they to it; if it is fit that they should be subjected to it; then God will do what is fit or right to be done, and, unless they repent, they must perish. Nor would it be right for God to take them to heaven as they are; to a place for which they are not suited, and which is not adapted to their feelings, their character, or their conduct.

Rom 9:23

And that he might make known - That he might manifest or display. The apostle had shown (in Rom 9:22) that the dealings of God toward the wicked were not liable to the objection made in Rom 9:19. In this verse he proceeds to show that the objection could not lie against his dealings with the other class of people - the righteous. If his dealings toward neither were liable to the objection, then he has "met the whole case,"and the divine government is vindicated. This he proves by showing that for God to show the riches of his glory toward those whom he has prepared for it, cannot be regarded as unjust.

The riches of his glory - This is a form of expression common among the Hebrews, meaning the same as his rich or "his abundant glory."The same expression occurs in Eph 1:18.

On the vessels of mercy - People toward whom his mercy was to be displayed (see Rom 9:22); that is, on those toward whom he has purposed to display his mercy.

Mercy - Favor, or pity shown to the miserable. Grace is favor to the undeserving; mercy, favor to those in distress. This distinction is not, however, always strictly observed by the sacred writers.

Which he had afore prepared - We are here brought to a remarkable difference between God’ s mode of dealing with them and with the wicked. Here it is expressly affirmed that God himself had prepared them for glory. In regard to the wicked, it is simply affirmed that they "were fitted"for destruction, without affirming anything of the agency by which it was done. That God prepares his people for glory - commences and continues the work of their redemption - is abundantly taught in the Scriptures; 1Th 5:9, "God hath appointed us, to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."2Ti 1:9, "who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."See also Eph 1:4-5, Eph 1:11; Rom 8:28-30; Act 13:48; Joh 1:13. As the renewing of the heart and the sanctifying of the soul is an act of goodness, it is worthy of God, and of course no objection could lie against it. No man could complain of a course of dealings designed to make people better; and as this is the sole design of the electing love of God, his deal, ings with this class of people are easily vindicated. No Christian can complain that God has chosen him, renewed him, and made him pure and happy. And as this was an important part of the plan of God, it is easily defended from the objection in Rom 9:19.

Unto glory - To happiness; and especially to the happiness of heaven Heb 2:10, "It became him, in bringing many sons unto glory, etc."Rom 5:2, "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."2Co 4:17, "our light affliction worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,"2Th 2:14; 2Ti 2:10; 1Pe 5:4. This eternal state is called "glory,"because it blends together everything that constitutes honor, dignity, purity, love, and happiness. All these significations are in various places attached to this word, and all mingle in the eternal state of the righteous. We may remark here,

(1) That this word "glory"is not used in the Scriptures to denote any "external national privileges;"or to describe any external call of the gospel. No such instance is to be found. Of course the apostle here by vessels of mercy meant individuals destined to eternal life, and not nations externally called to the gospel. No instance can be found where God speaks of nations called to external privileges, and speaks of them as "prepared unto glory."

\caps1 (2) a\caps0 s this word refers to the future state of individuals, it shows what is meant by the word "destruction"in Rom 9:22. That term stands contrasted with glory; and describes, therefore, the future condition of individual wicked people. This is also its uniform meaning in the New Testament.

On this vindication of the apostle we may observe:

(1) That all people will be treated as they ought to be treated. People will be dealt with according to their characters at the end of life.

\caps1 (2) i\caps0 f people will suffer no injustice, then this is the same as saying that they will be treated justly. But what is this? That the wicked shall be treated as they deserve. What they deserve God has told us in the Scriptures. "These shall go away into everlasting punishment."

(3) God has a right to bestow his blessings as he chooses. Where all are undeserving, where none have any claim, he may confer his favors on whom he pleases.

\caps1 (4) h\caps0 e actually does deal with people in this way. The apostle takes this for granted. He does not deny it. He most evidently believes it, and labors to show that it is right to do so. If he did not believe it, and meant to teach it, he would have said so. It would have met the objection at once, and saved all argument. He reasons as if he did believe it; and this settles the question that the doctrine is true.

Barnes: Rom 9:24

Even us ... - See Rom 1:16; Rom 2:10; Rom 3:29-30. To prove that the Gentiles might be called as well as the Jews, was a leading design of the Epistle.

Us - Christians, selected from both Jews and Gentiles. This proves that he did not refer to nations primarily, but to individuals chosen out of nations. Two things are established here.

\caps1 (1) t\caps0 hat the grace of God was not confined to the Jewish people, as they supposed, so that it could be conferred on no others.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 hat God was not bound to confer grace on all the descendants of Abraham, as he bestowed it on those selected from the mass, according to his own will, and not of necessity "on the mass"itself.

Barnes: Rom 9:25

As he saith also - The doctrine which he had established, he proceeds now to confirm by quotations from the writings of Jews, that he might remove every objection. The doctrine was,

(1)    That God intended to call his people from the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

(2)\caps1     t\caps0 hat he was bound by no promise and no principle of obligation to bestow salvation on all the Jews.

(3)\caps1     t\caps0 hat, therefore, it was right for him to reject any or all of the Jews, if he chose, and cut them off from their privileges as a people and from salvation.

In Osee - This is the Greek form of writing the Hebrew word Hosea. It means in the book of Hosea, as "in David"means in the book of David, or by David, Heb 4:7. The passage is found in Hos 2:23. This quotation is not made according to the letter, but the sense of the prophet is preserved. The meaning is the same in Hosea and in this place, that God would bring those into a covenant relation to himself, who were before deemed outcasts and strangers. Thus, he supports his main position that God would choose his people from among the Gentiles as well as the Jews, or would exercise toward both his right as a sovereign, bestowing or withholding his blessings as he pleases.

Barnes: Rom 9:26

And it shall come to pass - It shall happen, or take place. This is a continuation of the quotation from the prophet Hosea Hos 1:10, designed to confirm the doctrine which he was establishing. Both these quotations have the same design, and are introduced for the same end. In Hosea they did not refer to the calling of the Gentiles, but to the recalling the rejected Jews. God says, after the Jews had been rejected and scattered for their idolatry; after they had forfeited his favor, and been cast off as if they were not his people; he would recall them, and bestow on them again the appellation of sons. The apostle does not quote this as having original reference to the Gentiles, but for the following purposes:

(1) If God formerly purposed to recall to himself a people whom he had rejected; if he bestowed favors on his own people after they had forfeited his favor, and ceased to be entitled to the name of "his people:"then the same thing was not to be regarded as absurd if he dealt in a similar manner with the Gentiles - also a part of his original great family, the family of man, but long since rejected and deemed strangers.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he dealings of God toward the Jews in the time of Hosea settled "a general principle of government."His treatment of them in this manner was a part of his great plan of governing the world. On the same plan he now admitted the Gentiles to favor. And as this "general principle"was established; as the history of the Jews themselves was a precedent in the case, it ought not to be objected in the time of Paul that the "same principle"should be carried out to meet the case also of the Gentiles.

In the place - The place where they may be scattered, or where they may dwell. Or rather, perhaps, in those nations which were not regarded as the people of God, there shall be a people to whom this shall apply.

Where it was said unto them - Where the proper appellation of the people was, that they were not the people of God; where they were idolatrous, sinful, aliens, strangers; so that they had none of the marks of the children of God.

Ye are not my people - People in covenant with God; under his protection, as their Sovereign, and keeping his laws.

There shall they be called - That is, there they "shall be."The verb to call in the Hebrew writings means often the same as "to be."It denotes that this shall be the appellation which properly expresses their character. It is a figure perhaps almost unique to the Hebrews; and it gives additional interest to the case. Instead of saying coldly and abstractedly, "they are such,"it introduces also the idea that such is the "favorable judgment"of God in the case; see Mat 5:9, "Peace-makers ...shall be called the children of God;"see the note on that place; also Rom 9:19; Mat 21:13, "My house shall "be called"the house of prayer;"Mar 11:17; Luk 1:32, Luk 1:35, Luk 1:76; Isa 56:7.

The children of ... - Greek, Sons; see the note at Mat 1:1.

Living God - Called living God in opposition to dead idols; see the Mat 16:16 note; also Mat 26:63 note; Joh 6:69 note; Act 14:15 note; 1Th 1:1-10 is a most honorable and distinguished appellation. No higher favor can be conferred on mortals than "to be"the sons of the living God; members of his family; entitled to his protection; and secure of his watch and care. This was an object of the highest desire with the saints of old; see Psa 42:2; Psa 84:2,"My soul thirsteth for God, the living God;""My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

Barnes: Rom 9:27-28

Esaias - The Greek way of writing the word "Isaiah."

Crieth - Isa 10:22-23. Exclaims, or speaks aloud or openly: compare Joh 1:15. Isaiah brings forth the doctrine fully, and without any concealment or disguise. This doctrine related to the rejection of the Jews; a far more difficult point to establish than was that of the calling of the Gentiles. It was needful, therefore, to fortify it by some explicit passage of the Scriptures.

Concerning Israel - Concerning "the Jews."It is probable that Isaiah had reference primarily to the Jews of his own time; to that wicked generation that God was about to punish, by sending them captive into other lands. The case was one, however, which settled a "general principle of the Jewish government;"and, therefore, it was applicable to the case before the apostle. If the thing for which he was contending - that the Jews might be rejected existed in the time of Isaiah, and was settled then as a precedent, it might exist also in his time, and under the gospel.

As the sand of the sea - This expression is used to denote an indefinite or an innumerable multitude. It often occurs in the sacred writings. In the infancy of society, before the art of numbering was carried to a great extent, people were obliged to express themselves very much in this manner, Gen 22:17, "I will multiply thy seed ...as the sand which is upon the seashore;"Isa 32:12, Isaiah doubtless had reference to this promise; "Though all that was promised to Abraham shall be fulfilled, and his seed shall be as numerous as God declared, yet a remnant only, etc."The apostle thus shows that his doctrine does not conflict at all with the utmost expectation of the Jews drawn from the promises of God; see a similar use of the term "sand"in Jdg 7:12; 1Sa 13:5; 2Sa 17:11, etc. In the same manner great numbers were denoted by the stars of heaven, Gen 22:17; Gen 15:5.

A remnant shall be saved - Meaning a remnant only. This implies that great multitudes of them would be "cast off,"and "be not saved."If only a remnant was to be saved, many must be lost; and this was just the point which the apostle was endeavoring to establish. The word "remnant"means what is left, particularly what may remain after a battle or a great calamity, 2Ki 19:31; 2Ki 10:11; Jdg 5:11; Isa 14:22. In this place, however, it means a small part or portion. Out of the great multitude there shall be so few left as to make it proper to say that it was a mere remnant. This implies, of course, that the great mass should be cast away or rejected. And this was the use which the apostle intended to make of it; compare the Wisdom of Sirach, xliv. 17, "Noah ...was left unto the earth as a remnant when the flood came."

Shall be saved - Shall be preserved or kept from destruction. As Isaiah had reference to the captivity of Babylon. this means that only a remnant should return to their native land. The great mass should be rejected and cast off. This was the case with the ten tribes, and also with many others who chose to remain in the land of their captivity The use which the apostle makes of it is this: In the history of the Jews, by the testimony of Isaiah, a large part of the Jews of that time were rejected, and cast off from being the special people of God. It is clear, therefore, that God has brought himself under no obligation to save all the descendants of Abraham. This case settles the principle. If God did it then, it was equally consistent for him to do it in the time of Paul, under the gospel. The conclusion, therefore, to which the apostle came, that it was the intention of God to reject and cast off the Jews as a people, was in strict accordance with their own history and the prophecies. It was still true that a remnant was to be saved, while the great mass of the people was rejected. The apostle is not to be understood here as affirming that the passage in Isaiah had reference to the gospel, but only that "it settled one great principle of the divine administration in regard to the Jews, and that their rejection under the gospel was strictly in accordance with that principle."

Rom 9:28

He will finish the work - This is taken from the Septuagint translation of Isa 10:23. The Hebrew is, "The Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land."Or, as it may be rendered, "Destruction is decreed which shall make justice overflow; yea, destruction is verily determined on; the Lord Yahweh will execute it in the midst of all the land."(Stuart.) The Septuagint and the apostle adhere to "the sense"of the passage, but do not follow the words. The phrase, "will finish the work,"means "he will bring the thing to an end,"or will accomplish it. It is an expression applicable to a firm purpose to accomplish an object. It refers here to his threat of cutting off the people; and means that he will fulfil it.

Cut it short - This word here means to "execute it speedily."The destruction shall not be delayed.

In righteousness - So as to manifest his own justice. The work, though apparently severe, yet shall be a just expression of God’ s abhorrence of the sins of the people.

Because a short work - The word here rendered "short"means properly that which is "determined on or decreed."This is the sense of the Hebrew; and the phrase here denotes "the purpose which was determined on"in relation to the Jews.

Upon the earth - Upon the land of Israel; see the notes at Mat 5:4; Mat 4:8. The design for which the apostle introduces this passage is to show that God of old destroyed many of the Jews for their sin; and that, therefore, the doctrine of the apostle was no new thing, that "the Jews"might be excluded from the special privileges of the children of God.

Barnes: Rom 9:29

And as Esaias said - Isa 1:9.

Before - The apostle had just cited one prediction from the tenth chapter of Isaiah. He now says that Isaiah had affirmed the same thing in a previous part of his prophecy.

Except the Lord of Sabaoth - In Isaiah, the Lord of Hosts. The word "Sabaoth"is the Hebrew word rendered "hosts"(armies). It properly denotes armies or military hosts organized for war. Hence, it denotes the "hosts of heaven,"and means:

(1) "The angels"who are represented as marshalled or arranged into military orders; Eph 1:21; Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12; Col 1:16; Col 2:15; Jud 1:6; 1Ki 22:19, "I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him;"Psa 103:21; Psa 148:2.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he stars; Jer 33:22, "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, etc."Isa 40:26; Deu 4:19, etc. God is called the Lord of hosts, as being at the head of all these armies; their King and their Commander. It is a phrase properly expressive of his majesty and power, and is appropriately introduced here, as the "act of saving""the seed"was a signal "act of power"in the midst of great surrounding wickedness.

Had left - Had preserved, or kept from destruction. Here their preservation is ascribed to God, and it is affirmed that if God had not interposed, "the whole nation"would have been cut off. This fully establishes the doctrine of the apostle, that God might cast off the Jews, and extend the blessings to the Gentiles.

A seed - The Hebrew in Isaiah means "one surviving or escaping,"corresponding with the word "remnant."The word "seed"commonly means in the Scriptures "descendants, posterity."In this place it means "a part, a small portion; a remnant,"like the small portion of the harvest which is reserved for sowing.

We had been as Sodoma - The nation was so wicked, that unless God had preserved a small number who were pious from the general corruption of the people, they would have been swept off by judgment, like Sodom and Gomorrah. We are told that ten righteous men would have saved Sodom; Gen 18:32. Among the Israelites, in a time of great general depravity, a small number of holy men were found who preserved the nation. The design of the apostle here was the same as in the previous verses - to show that it was settled in the Jewish history that God might cast off the people, and reject them from enjoying the special privileges of his friends. It is true that in Isaiah he has reference to the temporal punishments of the Jews. But it settles "a great principle,"for which Paul was contending, that God might cast off the nation consistently with his promises and his plans. We may learn here,

(1)    That the existence of religion among a people is owing to the love of God. "Except the Lord "had left us, etc."

(2)\caps1     i\caps0 t is owing to his mercy that "any men"are kept from sin, and any nation from destruction.

(3)\caps1     w\caps0 e see the value of religion and of pious people in a nation. Ten such would have saved Sodom; and a few such saved Judea; compare Mat 5:13-14.

(4)    God has aright to withdraw his mercies from any other people, however exalted their privileges, and leave them to ruin; and we should not be high-minded, but fear; Rom, Mat 10:20.

Barnes: Rom 9:30

What shall we say then? - What conclusion shall we draw from the previous train of remarks? To what results have we come by the passages adduced from the Old Testament? This question is asked preparatory to his summing up the argument; and he had so stated the argument that the conclusion which he was about to draw was inevitable.

The Gentiles - That many of the Gentiles; or that the way was open for them, and many of them "had actually"embraced the righteousness of faith. This Epistle was written as late as the year 57 (see Introduction), and at that time multitudes of pagans had embraced the Christian religion.

Which followed not after righteousness - The apostle does not mean that none of the pagans had any solicitude about right and wrong, or that there were no anxious inquiries among them; but he intends particularly to place them in contrast with the Jew. They had not made it their main object to justify themselves; they were not filled with prejudice and pride as the Jews were, who supposed that they had complied with the Law, and who felt no need of any other justification; they were sinners, and they felt it, and had no such mighty obstacle in a system of self-righteousness to overcome as the Jew had. Still it was true that they were excessively wicked, and that the prevailing characteristic among them was that they did not follow after righteousness; see Rom. 1. The word "followed"here often denotes to pursue with intense energy, as a hunter pursues his game, or a man pursues a flying enemy. The Jews had sought righteousness in that way; the Gentiles had not. The word "righteousness"here means the same as justification. The Gentiles, which sought not justification, have obtained justification.

Have attained to righteousness - Have become justified. This was a matter of fact; and this was what the prophet had predicted. The apostle does not say that the sins of the Gentiles, or their indifference to the subject, was any reason why God justified them, or that people would be as safe in sin as in attempting to seek for salvation. He establishes the doctrine, indeed, that God is a sovereign; but still it is implied that the gospel did not have the special obstacle to contend with among the Gentiles that it had among the Jews. There was less pride, obstinacy, self-confidence; and people were more easily brought "to see"that they were sinners, and to feel their need of a Saviour. Though God dispenses his favors as a sovereign, and though all are opposed by nature to the gospel, yet it is always true that the gospel finds more obstacles among some people than among others. This was a most cutting and humbling doctrine to the pride of a Jew; and it is no wonder, therefore, that the apostle guarded it as he did.

Which is of faith - Justification by faith in Christ; see the note at Rom 1:17.

Barnes: Rom 9:31

But Israel - The Jews. The apostle does not mean to affirm that none of the Jews had obtained mercy, but that "as a people,"or acting according to the prevalent principles of the nation to work out their own righteousness, they had not obtained it.

Which followed after the law of righteousness - The phrase, "the law of righteousness,"means the law of justice, or "the just law."That Law demands perfect purity; and even its external observance demanded holiness. The Jews supposed that they rendered such obedience to that Law as to constitute "a meritorious"ground of justification. This they had "followed after,"that is, pursued zealously and unremittingly. The reason why they did not obtain justification in that way is fully stated in Rom. 1\endash 3 where it is shown that the Law demands perfect compliance with its precepts; and that Jews, as well as Gentiles, had altogether failed in rendering such compliance.

Hath not attained to the law of righteousness - They have not come to yield true obedience to the Law, even though imperfect; not such obedience as to give evidence that they have been justified. We may remark here,

(1)    That no conclusion could have been more humbling to a Jew than this. It constituted the whole of the prevalent religion, and was the object of their incessant toils.

(2)\caps1     a\caps0 s they made the experiment fully, and failed: as they had the best advantages for it, and did not succeed, but reared only a miserable and delusive system of self-righteousness Phi 3:4-9; it follows, that all similar experiments must fail, and that none now can be justified by the Law.

(3)\caps1     t\caps0 housands fail in the same attempt.

They seek to justify themselves before God. They attempt to weave a righteousness of their own. The moral man does this. The immoral man attempts it as much as the moral man, and is as confident in his own righteousness. The troubled sinner does this; and this it is which keeps him so long from the cross of Christ. All this must be renounced; and man must come as a poor, lost, ruined sinner, and throw himself upon the mere mercy of God in Christ for justification and life.

Barnes: Rom 9:32

Wherefore? - Why? The apostle proceeds to state the reason why so uniform and remarkable a result happened. "They sought it not by faith, etc."They depended on their own righteousness, and not on the mercy of God to be obtained by faith.

By the works of the law - By complying with all the demands of the Law so that they might merit salvation. Their attempted obedience included their prayers, fastings, sacrifices, etc., as well as compliance with the demands of the moral law. It may be asked here, perhaps, how the Jews could know any better than this? how should they know anything about justification by faith? To this I answer:

(1) That the doctrine was stated in the Old Testament; see Hab 2:4; compare Rom 1:17; Psa 32:1-11; Psa 130:1-8; Psa 14:1-7; compare Rom. 3; Job 9:2.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he sacrifices had reference to a future state of things, and were doubt less so understood; see the Epistle to the Hebrews.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he "principle"of justification, and of living by faith, had been fully brought out in the lives and experience of the saints of old; see Rom. 4 and Heb. 11.

They stumbled - They fell; or failed; or "this was the cause why they"did not obtain it.

At that stumbling-stone - To wit, at what he specifies in the following verse. "A stumbling-stone"is a stone or impediment in the path over which people may fall. Here it means "that obstacle which prevented their attaining the righteousness of faith; and which was the occasion of their fall, rejection, and ruin."That was the rejection and the crucifixion of their own Messiah; their unwillingness to be saved by him; their contempt of him and his message. For this God withheld from them the blessings of justification, and was about to cast them off as a people. This also the apostle proceeds to prove was foretold by the prophets.

Barnes: Rom 9:33

As it is written - see Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16. The quotation here is made up of both these passages, and contains the substance of both; compare also Psa 118:22; 1Pe 2:6.

Behold I lay in Sion - Mount Sion was the hill or eminence in Jerusalem, over-against Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. On this was the palace of David, and this was the residence of the court; 1Ch 11:5-8. Hence, the whole city was often called by that name; Psa 48:12; Psa 69:35; Psa 87:2. Hence, also it came to signify the capital, the glory of the people of God, the place of solemnities; and hence, also the church itself; Psa 2:6; Psa 51:18; Psa 102:13; Psa 137:3; Isa 1:27; Isa 52:1; Isa 59:20, etc. In this place it means the church. God will place or establish in the midst of that church.

A stumblingstone and rock of offence - Something over which people shall fall; see the note at Mat 5:29. This is by Paul referred to the Messiah. He is called rock of stumbling, not because it was the design of sending him that people should fall, but because such would be the result. The application of the term "rock"to the Messiah is derived from the custom of building, as he is the "cornerstone"or the "immovable foundation"on which the church is to be built. It is not on human merits, but by the righteousness of the Saviour, that the church is to be reared; see 1Pe 2:4,"I lay in Sion "a chief cornerstone;"Psa 118:22, "The stone which the builders rejected, is become the head stone of the corner;"Eph 2:20, "Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone."This rock, designed as a corner stone to the church, became, by the wickedness of the Jews, the block over which they fall into ruin; 1Pe 2:8.

Shall not be ashamed - This is taken substantially from the Septuagint translation of Isa 28:16, though with some variation. The Hebrew is, "shall not make haste,"as it is in our English version. This is the literal meaning of the Hebrew word; but it means also "to be afraid;"as one who makes haste often is; to be agitated with fear or fright; and hence, it has a signification nearly similar to that of shame. It expresses the substance of the same thing, namely, "failure of obtaining expected success and happiness."The meaning here is, that the man who believes shall not be agitated, or thrown into commotion, by fear of want or success: shall not be disappointed in his hopes; and, of course, he shall never be ashamed that he became a Christian. They who do not believe in Christ shall be agitated, fall, and sink into eternal shame and contempt. Dan 12:2. They who do believe shall be confident; shall not be deceived, but shall obtain the object of their desires. It is clear that Paul regarded the passage in Isaiah as referring to the Messiah. The same also is the case with the other sacred writers who have quoted it; 1Pe 2:5-8; see also Mat 21:42; Luk 20:17-18; Luk 2:34. The ancient Targum of Jonathan translates the passage, Isa 28:16, "Lo, I will place in Zion a king, a king strong, mighty and terrible;"referring doubtless to the Messiah. Other Jewish writings also show that this interpretation was formerly given by the Jews to the passage in Isaiah.

In view of this argument of the apostle, we may remark,

(1) That God is a sovereign, and has a right to dispose of people as he pleases.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he doctrine of election was manifest in the case of the Jews as an established principle of the divine government, and is therefore true.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 t argues great lack of proper feeling to be opposed to this doctrine. It is saving, in other words, that we have not confidence in God; or that we do not believe that he is qualified to direct the affairs of his own universe as well as we.

\caps1 (4) t\caps0 he doctrine of election is a doctrine which is not arbitrary; but which will yet be seen to be wise, just, and good. It is the source of all the blessings that any mortals enjoy; and in the case before us, it can be seen to be benevolent as well as just. It is better that God should cast off a part of the small nation of the Jews, and extend these blessings to the Gentiles, than that they should always have been confined to Jews. The world is better for it, and more good has come out of it.

\caps1 (5) t\caps0 he fact that the gospel has been extended to all nations, is proof that it is from heaven. To a Jew there was no motive to attempt to break down all the existing institutions of his nation, and make the blessings of religion common to all nations, unless he knew that the gospel system was true. Yet the apostles were Jews; educated with all the prejudices of the Jewish people.

\caps1 (6) t\caps0 he interests of Christians are safe. They shall not be ashamed or disappointed. God will keep them, and bring them to his kingdom.

\caps1 (7) p\caps0 eople still are offended at the cross of Christ. They contemn and despise him. He is to them as a root out of dry ground, and they reject him, and fall into ruin. This is the cause why sinners perish; and this only. Thus, as the ancient Jews brought ruin on themselves and their country, so do sinners bring condemnation and woe on their souls. And as the ancient despisers and crucifiers of the Lord Jesus perished, so will all those who work iniquity and despise him now.

Poole: Rom 9:17

This verse shows, that God is not unjust in rejecting others of equal condition with the elect; for the proof of which, he cites a testimony out of Exo 9:16 . This verse must be joined with Rom 9:14 .

God forbid; for the Scripture saith i.e. God saith in the Scripture:

Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up i.e. I have created or promoted thee to be king in Egypt. Or, (as some), I have raised or stirred thee up to oppress my people. Or, I have hardened thee, as it follows in the next verse, and given thee up to thy own rebellious and obstinate mind.

That I might show my power in thee, &c.: I have done what I have done for this very end, that the whole world may ring of my power and glory. And this shows, that it is not unjust in God to reject sinners of the children of men, because thereby he furthers his own glory. For this end all things are made, and all things are accordingly ordered and disposed, Pro 16:4 .

Poole: Rom 9:18

This verse is a short repetition of the foregoing argument.

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy: see Rom 9:15 , and the notes there.

And whom he will he hardeneth i.e. in a judicial way. Besides natural hardness, which is in all men, and is hereditary to them; and habitual hardness, which is contracted by a custom in sin, as a path is hardened by the continual trampling of passengers; there is judicial or judiciary hardness, which is inflicted by God as a punishment. Men harden their own hearts sinfully, (so it is thrice said of Pharaoh in Exodus, that he hardened his own heart, Exo 8:15,32 9:34 ), and then God hardens their hearts judicially: so it is often said of God in Exodus, that he hardened Pharaoh’ s heart, Exo 7:13 Exo 9:12 10:1,20,27 14:8 . God is not said properly to harden the hearts of men; i.e. he doth not make their soft hearts hard, nor doth he put hardness into the hearts of men, (as our adversaries slanderously report us to affirm), nor doth he barely permit or suffer them to be hardened (which is the opinion of the papists about this matter); but two ways may he be said to harden sinners:

1. By forsaking them, and not softening their hearts: as darkness follows upon the sun’ s withdrawing of his light, so doth hardness upon God’ s withholding his softening influence.

2. By punishing them; he inflicts further hardness, as a punishment of former hardness; and this he infuseth not, but it is effected either:

a) By Satan, to whom hardened sinners are delivered up; or,

b) By themselves, they being given over to their own hearts’ lusts; or,

c) By God’ s word and works, which accidentally harden the hearts of men, as might be shown. see Rom 9:19

See Poole on "Rom 9:19" .

Poole: Rom 9:19

Here he obviates a third objection or cavil. The first was, that God is unfaithful, Rom 9:6 ; the second, that God is unjust, Rom 9:14 ; now the third is, that God is severe and cruel. Some might object and say, If God, in those courses which he takes with men and sinners, doth follow only his own will and pleasure, and all things are done thereafter; why then doth he complain of sinners, and find fault with them? It seems it is his will to reject them; and who hath resisted, or can make resistance thereunto? It seems to be a common saying amongst the Hebrews, that None can withstand God: Rom 9:2 2Ch 20:6 , and elsewhere.

Poole: Rom 9:20

Here follows the answer to this cavil; which is either personal to the caviller, in this and the next verse, or real to the cavil, in the two following verses.

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? The apostle seems to speak these words with some warmth, as if his spirit and zeal was stirred at the sauciness of the caviller: q.d. Dost thou consider what thou art? Thou art but a man, a piece of living clay, a little breathing dust, a contemptible worm in comparison; and darest thou to word it with God, to dispute with thy Maker, to question or call him to an account? You may argue matters with your fellow creatures, but not with your Creator: see Isa 45:9,10 , from whence this seems to be borrowed, and Job 40:2 .

Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? q.d. Shall the wood quarrel with the carpenter, the iron with the smith; or, as it is in the next verse, the clay with the potter?

Poole: Rom 9:21

He argueth from the less to the greater, that if a potter hath power over his clay, to form it as he pleaseth, then God hath much more power over his creatures, to form them or order them as he listeth. God’ s authority over his creature, is greater than that of a potter over his clay. The potter made not his clay; but both clay and potter are made by God. Here is something implied, that as there is no difference in the matter or lump out of which the potter frameth diversity of vessels, so there is no difference in mankind; all men are alike by nature, and in the same corrupt state; both those who are elected, and those who are rejected, that are made vessels of mercy, or vessels of wrath. And here is this expressed, that as the potter maketh vessels of honour or dishonour, of nobler or viler use, out of the same lump, as he listeth, and is not bound to give a reason of his so doing to his pots; so God may choose some, and reject others, and give no account thereof unto his creatures. The potter takes nothing from the clay, of what form soever he makes it; and the Creator doth no wrong to the creature, however he doth dispose of it.

Poole: Rom 9:22

In this and in the next verse, is a real answer to the cavil in Rom 9:19 . The apostle having spoken before of God’ s absolute right and power over his creatures, to dispose of them at his pleasure, as the potter doth his clay; lest any should tax God with tyranny and partiality towards his creatures, he subjoineth the reasons of his different proceedings with the one and with the other. q.d. What hast thou to answer or object against God, if he take a severe course with some? Seeing:

1. He thereby manifesteth his great displeasure against sin, and his power to take vengeance of sinners. Seeing:

2. He bears long with them in their sins; exerciseth great patience towards them in the midst of their provocations, giving them space to repent, if they call or will. And seeing:

3. They are vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction; partly by themselves, and their own sensual courses; partly by God’ s righteous judgment, who gives them up thereunto.

Poole: Rom 9:23

q.d. Again, on the other side, what hast thou to say, if he proceed more mercifully with others? Seeing:

1. He thereby manifesteth the riches of his glory, or his glorious grace; and seeing:

2. They are vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory; i.e. he had done it by election from eternity, and by regeneration and sanctification of the Spirit in time. He speaks here of two sorts of vessels, some of wrath, and some of mercy, as he had before spoken of vessels of honour, and of dishonour. Concerning the latter, he speaks passively, that they are fitted to destruction: see Rom 9:22 . Concerning the former, he speaks actively, that God hath prepared them unto glory.

Poole: Rom 9:24

Hitherto he hath been showing, that the promise was never made or meant to the carnal seed of Abraham. This argument he began, Rom 9:6,7 , and he continues it (using several apostrophes and amplifications, which were to his purpose) till he comes to these words; and here he tells you plainly who are the true seed of Abraham, and the children of the promise, even the called of God of all nations, whether Jews or Gentiles. And he takes occasion to fall into it, by speaking of some in the foregoing verse, that were vessels of mercy, afore prepared unto glory: now here, in this verse, he tells you, who these are; (and to be sure they are the persons he is inquiring after, viz. the spiritual seed of Abraham, and the children of the promise:) he says, they are such as God called; i.e. effectually called,

not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles and that this is so, he further proves in the following verse.

Poole: Rom 9:25

Here the apostle proves, that the Gentiles were children of the Promise, or that the promise belonged to them, as well as to the Jews: and because the Jews could not endure to hear of this, he cites two testimonies out of Hosea, to convince them: one is in this verse, and it is taken out of Hos 2:23 ; the other is in the following verse.

Poole: Rom 9:26

This testimony is taken out of Hos 1:10 ; and it is as if he had said: This that I affirm concerning the conversion and calling of the Gentiles, is nothing else but what the prophet Hosea long ago did preach to our fathers. Some think, these places in Hosea do speak primarily of the Jews, and but secondarily, or by consequence, of the Gentiles. Others think, that they speak chiefly of the Gentiles; those terms ( not beloved, and not a people ) being in Scripture mostly used of them.

Poole: Rom 9:27

In this and the two next verses he proves, that it was foretold of old, by Esaias the prophet, that God should pass by the greatest part of the Jews, and save only a remnant, or a few of them.

Crieth hereby is noted the prophet’ s zeal, or his openness and plainness. The testimony recorded, is found in Isa 10:22,23 .

As the sand of the sea for number or multitude, for so the promise was to Abraham, Gen 22:17 32:12 .

Shall be saved: Isaiah saith, shall return; i.e. from the captivity, or from sin, as it is, Isa 10:21 . This shows, none can be saved but they who return and repent.

Poole: Rom 9:28

This verse is also found in that forecited place, Isa 10:22,23 . The apostle in this, and in the other citations, follows the Seventy, which was a received translation, and had been in request about three hundred years, though in this, and in other places, it is very different from the Hebrew text. That which God is said to finish, and cut short, is his work; the Greek is logov , which signifies his word, or the account, as some read it. This is brought in as a reason why a remnant only should be saved; because God would shorten the acconnt, or (as we read it) make a short work, in the Jewish World. He would bring a sudden destruction upon that people. Sennacherib and the Assyrians, or Titus Vespasian and the Romans, shall make a complete and speedy conquest of them; few of them shall remain, the greater part being involved, first in infidelity, then in destruction. The apostle makes those few to be a type of God’ s elect among that people, that should be saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

Poole: Rom 9:29

As Esaias said before in Isa 1:9 .

The Lord of sabaoth or, of hosts: the mighty God, whose hosts all creatures are, which execute his will, as soldiers the will of their commander.

Had left us a seed: he means by a seed, the same that he meant before by a remnant, a small number. These were left as a little seed, out of a great heap of corn: that which is chosen, and left for seed, is little in comparison of the whole crop.

We had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha i.e. utterly wasted and destroyed as they were, Jer 50:40 .

Poole: Rom 9:30

This is the conclusion of the apostle’ s discourse about the election of some and the rejection of others; as also about the calling of the Gentiles and the casting off the Jews.

Which followed not after righteousness that never minded or regarded it; instead of following after it, they fled from it. They were full of all unrighteousness, Rom 1:18 , to the end; Eph 2:2,3 .

The righteousness which is of faith viz. gospel righteousness, or the righteousness of Christ, which is received by true faith.

Poole: Rom 9:31

Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness i.e. the unbelieving Jews, who paid great reverence to the law of God, regarding and observing the outward precepts and ceremonies thereof.

Hath not attained to the law of righteousness they came short of that righteousness which the law requires, which God will accept, and which is to be attained, not by works, but by faith, as it follows in the next verse (see Rom 9:32 ).

Poole: Rom 9:32

Here is the reason of the foregoing seeming paradox; why they, who followed after the law of righteousness, should not attain it, rather than other.

Because they sought it not aright; they sought it not in a way of believing, but of working. These two are opposed in the business of justification, as before at large, in Rom 9:3,4 .

As it were by the works of the law i.e. as if they could have attained righteousness or justification in that way, which it was impossible to do.

They stumbled at that stumbling-stone i.e. the true Messiah: q.d. So far were they from seeking righteousness by Christ, that, on the contrary, they took offence at him, to their own destruction, Mar 6:3 1Co 1:23 . They thought it impossible that he should give them a righteousness better than their own. This happened to them according to the prophecy that went before them: so it followeth;

Poole: Rom 9:33

As it is written viz. in Isa 8:14 , and Isa 28:16 ; to which prophecy also the apostle Peter refers, in 1Pe 2:6-8 .

A stumbling stone Jesus Christ is properly a corner-stone, elect and precious; but accidentally and eventually a stumbling-stone, Luk 2:34 .

Ashamed or confounded. Isaiah saith, he that believeth; the apostle, whosoever believeth; which is much the same: an indefinite proposition is equivalent to a universal. The prophet saith: He that believeth shall not make haste; the apostle, he

shall not be ashamed He that is rash and hasty will at last be ashamed and confounded.

Haydock: Rom 9:17

For the Scripture saith to Pharao, &c. St. Paul had shewn that there was no injustice in God by his giving special graces to the elect; now he shews that God cannot be accounted unjust for leaving the reprobate in their sins, or for punishing them as they deserve; for this purpose he brings the example of Pharao, who remained hardened against all the admonitions and chastisements of him and his kingdom. ---

Have I raised thee up, placed thee king over Egypt; I have done so many miracles before thee, I have spared thee when thou deservedst to be punished with death, and at last shall punish thee with thy army in the Red Sea, that my name may be known over all the earth. (Witham)

Haydock: Rom 9:18

And whom he will, he hardeneth. [3] That is, permits to be hardened by their own malice, as it is divers times said in Exodus, that Pharao hardened his heart. God, says St. Augustine, is said to harden men's hearts, not by causing their malice, but by not giving them the free gift of his grace, by which they become hardened by their own perverse will. (Witham) ---

Not by being the cause, or author of his sin, but by withholding his grace, and so leaving him in his sin, in punishment of his past demerits. (Challoner)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Et quem vult indurat. &c. St. Augustine, lib. de Gra. & Lib. Arb. chap. 23. Deus induravit cor Pharaonis, & ipse Pharao per Liberum Arbitrium. Quærimus meritum obdurationis & invenimus: merito namque peccati, universa massa damnata est: nec obdurat Deus impertiendo malitiam, sed non impertiendo misericordiam:....quærimus autem meritum misericordiæ, nec invenimus: quia nullum est, ne gratia evacuetur, si non gratis donetur, sed meritis redditur. Obduratio Dei est, nolle miserere, &c. Pharao, says St. John Chrysostom, was a vessel of anger, but his was from himself; Greek: kai par eautou.

Haydock: Rom 9:19

Thou wilt say, therefore, to me, &c. The apostle makes objection, that if God call some and harden, or even permit others to be hardened, and no one resisteth, or can hinder his absolute will, why should God complain that men are not converted? St. Paul first puts such rash and profane men in mind, that is unreasonable and impertinent for creatures to murmur and dispute against God their Creator, when they do not comprehend the ways of his providence. ---

O man, [4] who art thou that repliest against God? This might stop the mouths, and quiet the minds of every man, when he cannot comprehend the mysteries of predestination, of God's foreknowledge, his decrees and graces, or the manner of reconciling them with human liberty. He may cry out with St. Paul again, (chap. xi. 33.) O the riches of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! ---

Shall the thing formed, &c. Hath not the potter power, &c.[5] To teach men that they ought not to complain against God and his providence, when they cannot comprehend his works, he puts them in mind of their origin. Every one may say to God, with the prophet Isaias, (vi. 48.) Lord, thou art our Father, and we are but clay; thou art our Maker who framed us, and we are all of us the work of thy hands. Hath not the potter power as he pleaseth, out of the same lump of clay to make some vessels for honourable uses, and some for less honourable. St. John Chrysostom observes very well, that this comparison must not be extended further than the apostle designed; which was to teach us, how submissive we ought to be to God, in what we do not understand; but we must not pretend from hence, nor from any expression in this chapter, as divers heretics have done, that as vessels of clay are destitute of free will and liberty, so are men. This is against the doctrine of the Catholic Church, and against the Scriptures, in many places. (Witham) ---

The potter. This similitude is used, only to shew that we are not to dispute with our Maker: nor to reason with him why he does not give as much grace to one as to another: for since the whole lump of our clay is vitiated by sin, it is owing to his goodness and mercy that he makes out of it so many vessels of honour; and it is no more than just that others, in punishment of their unrepented sins, should be given up to be vessels of dishonour. (Challoner)

Haydock: Rom 9:20

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

O homo, tu quis es? &c. The apostle, says St. John Chrysostom, (p. 141.) does not say, that this cannot be answered, but that such questions are impertinent, because we cannot understand what God does, &c. Greek: ou legei oti adunaton toiauta luein, &c.

Haydock: Rom 9:21

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Annon potestatem habet figulus, &c.? St. John Chrysostom (p. 142.) expressly takes notice, that we must not by this comparison pretend that man has not free-will, &c. Greek: entautha ou to autexousion anairon. &c.

====================

Haydock: Rom 9:22-23

And if God, &c. He now gives the reason why God might, without any injustice, have mercy on some, and not on others; grant particular graces and favours to his elect, and not equally to all; because all mankind was become liable to damnation by original sin: the clay that al are made of, is a sinful clay; and as St. Augustine says, was become a lump and mass of damnation. Every one had sinned in Adam. Now, if out of this sinful lump and multitude God, to shew the richness of his glory, and superabundant mercy, hath chosen some as vessels of election, whom he hath decreed to save, and by special graces and favours to make partakers of his heavenly kingdom; and to shew his justice and hatred of in, hath left others as vessels of his wrath and justice, to be lost in their sins, which for a time he bears patiently with, when they deserved present punishment, who can say that he hat done unjustly? (Witham)

Haydock: Rom 9:24

Whom also he hath called, &c. That is, he hath called some of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles, to be vessels of election, as he foretold by his prophet Osee, (ii. 24.) I will call them my people, that were not my people,... and I will make them the children of the living God. And as it was also foretold by the prophet Isaias, of all the numerous nation of the Jews, only a remnant shall be saved, by their obstinacy in not receiving, and refusing to believe in, their Messias. For finishing his word, and reducing it by his justice to a little, because the Lord will bring to pass his word reducing it to a small compass upon the earth. The sense and construction of this verse is equally obscure in the Greek and in the Latin text: the true sense seems to be, that finishing his word, or fulfilling his promises to Israel, those that are to be saved, will be reduced by his justice for their sins, to a few; because, though he brings to pass his word, and his promises, the saved among the Israelites will be reduced to a small compass, in comparison of the great number of the Gentiles. This exposition agrees with the rest of the text, and with what follows, and was foretold by Isaias, (chap. i. 9.) that unless the God of Sabaoth (of hosts) had, through his mercy, left them a seed, a small number, they would all in a manner have deserved to be utterly destroyed, like Sodom and Gomorrha. (Witham) ---

What I say, shall come to pass, that in those places, viz. Greece, Italy, &c. where those who are strangers to the worship of the true God dwell, and have been called, on account of their profane worship, not my people. In those very places, they shall receive the true worship God, and by this means shall become and be called the children of the living God. He is so particular as to place, lest the Jews should imagine that the Gentiles would be converted like their former proselytes, and either dwell in Judea, or repair to it at certain stated times. Thus the apostle repeats what Jesus Christ had before said to the Samaritan woman. The hour will come when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you adore the Father. (Estius) (John iv.) ---

A remnant. That is, a small number only of the children of Israel shall be converted and saved. How perversely is this text quoted for the salvation of men of all religions, when it speaks only of the converts of the children of Israel. (Challoner) ---

St. Paul is here speaking of the reprobation of the Jews, and of the vocation of the Gentiles, and foretells that a remnant, or small number of the children of Israel shall be converted, and saved. In the sense of St. Paul, we sincerely hope, and confidently trust, that a remnant of all will be saved through a timely conversion. But we no where read, in the Old, or New Scriptures, that a remnant of all will be saved, as if it were a matter of indifference to what society or connexion a Christian was joined. (Haydock)

Haydock: Rom 9:30-32

What then shall we say? Or what shall we conclude from these testimonies of the Scripture, but this paradox, as St. John Chrysostom calls it, that they who sought for justice, or sanctification, found it not, and they who did not seek it, found it; that is, the Jews, who sought for this justice by the works of their law, which they magnified so much, have not attained to that law that could make them just; whereas the Gentiles, who had no such written law to confide in, have only sought to be justified by the faith and law of Christ, by which they have met with justice, and sanctification? (Witham) ---

Behold what was wanting to the justice of the Jews! Scrupulous observers of the ceremonial law: esteeming too much their power, and pretended justice, they regarded the gospel and faith in Christ as of no advantage. Running in the path of the commandments with zeal, but without circumspection, they struck against Jesus Christ, who became to them a stumbling-block. They rejected him: they refused to believe. Thus did their works become dead works, without any fruit for eternity. (Calmet)

Haydock: Rom 9:33

Why then have not the Jews been justified? because they stumbled at the stumbling-stone: that is, the doctrine of Christ crucified has been a scandal to the Jews, at which being offended, they would not own him their Messias. Yet whosoever believeth in him, and follow his law and doctrine, shall not be confounded, but obtain justification and salvation. (Witham)

Gill: Rom 9:17

For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh,.... אמר קרא, "The Scripture saith", is a Talmudic ^l way of speaking, used when any point is proved from Scripture; and is of the same signification with אמר רחמנא, "the merciful God says"; and so the sense of it here is, God said to Pharaoh; the testimony here cited, stands in Exo 9:16; where it is read thus, "for this cause have I raised thee up", העמדתיך, or "made thee stand", "for to show in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth"; and is produced by the apostle in proof of the other branch of predestination, called reprobation, and to vindicate it from the charge of unrighteousness: in which may be observed, that the act of raising up of Pharaoh is God's act,

even for this same purpose have I raised thee up; which may be understood in every sense that is put upon that phrase, unless that which some Jewish ^m writers have annexed to it, namely, that God raised Pharaoh from the dead; otherwise, I say, all the rest may well enough be thought to be comprised in it; as that God ordained and appointed him from eternity, by certain means to this end; that he made him to exist in time, or brought him into being; that he raised him to the throne, promoted him to that high honour and dignity; that he preserved him, and did not cut him off as yet; that he strengthened and hardened his heart, irritated, provoked, and stirred him up against his people Israel; and suffered him to go all the lengths he did, in his obstinacy and rebellion: all which was done,

that I might shew my power in thee; his superior power to him, his almighty power in destroying him and his host in the Red sea, when the Israelites were saved: and the ultimate end which God had in view in this was,

that my name might be declared throughout all the earth; that he himself might be glorified, and that the glory of his perfections, particularly of his wisdom, power, and justice, might be celebrated throughout the world. The sum of it is, that this man was raised up by God in every sense, for God to show his power in his destruction, that he might be glorified; from whence the apostle deduces the following conclusion.

Gill: Rom 9:18

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will,.... These are the express words of the former testimony: it follows,

and whom he will he hardeneth; which is the just and natural consequence of what is contained in the latter; for if God could, or he did, without any injustice, raise up Pharaoh, and harden his heart against him and his people, that he might rise up against him and destroy him by his power for his own glory, then he may harden any other person, and even whom he will: now this hardening of men's hearts may be understood in perfect agreement with the justice and holiness of God: men first harden their own hearts by sinning, as Pharaoh did; what God does, is by leaving them to the hardness of their hearts, denying them that grace which only can soften them, and which he is not obliged to give, and therefore does them no injustice in withholding it from them; by sending them both mercies and judgments, which through the corruption of their hearts, are the means of the greater hardening of them; so judgments in the case of Pharaoh, and mercies in the case of others; see Isa 6:10; by delivering them up into the hands of Satan, and to their own lusts, which they themselves approve of; and by giving them up to a judicial blindness and hardness of heart, as a just punishment for their impieties.

Gill: Rom 9:19

Thou wilt say then unto me,.... That is, thou wilt object to me; for this is another objection of the adversary, against the doctrine the apostle was advancing: and it is an objection of a mere natural man, of one given up to a reprobate mind, of an insolent hardened sinner; it discovers the enmity of the carnal mind to God; if is one of the high things that exalts itself against the knowledge of him; it is with a witness a stretching out of the hand against God, and strengthening a man's self against the Almighty; it is a running upon him, even upon the thick bosses of his bucklers; it carries in it the marks of ill nature, surliness, and rudeness, to the last degree:

why doth he yet find fault? The objector does not think fit to name the name of "God", or "the Lord", but calls him "he"; and a considerable emphasis lies upon the word "yet": what as if he should say, is he not content with the injustice he has already exercised, in passing by some, when he chose others; in leaving them to themselves, and hardening their hearts against him, and to go on in their own ways, which must unavoidably end in destruction; but after all this, is angry with them, finds fault with them, blames, accuses, and condemns them, for that which they cannot help; nay, for that which he himself wills? this is downright cruelty and tyranny. The objector seems to have a particular regard to the case of Pharaoh, the apostle had instanced in, when after God had declared that he had raised him up for this very purpose, to make known his power, and show forth his glory in all the world, still finds fault with him and says, "as yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?" Exo 9:17; and yet he himself had hardened his heart, and continued to harden his heart, that he might not let them go as yet; and when he had let them go, hardened his heart again to pursue after them, when he drowned him and his host in the Red sea; all which in this objection, is represented as unparalleled cruelty and unmercifulness; though it is not restrained to this particular case, but is designed to be applied to all other hardened persons; and to expose the unreasonableness of the divine proceedings, in hardening men at his pleasure; and then blaming them for acting as hardened ones, when he himself has made them so, and wills they should act in this manner:

for who hath resisted his will? This is said in support of the former, and means not God's will of command, which is always resisted more or less, by wicked men and devils; but his will of purpose, his counsels and decrees, which stand firm and sure, and can never be resisted, so as to be frustrated and made void. This the objector takes up, and improves against God; that since he hardens whom he will, and there is no resisting his will, the fault then can never lie in them who are hardened, and who act as such, but in God; and therefore it must be unreasonable in him to be angry with, blame, accuse, and condemn persons for being and doing that, which he himself wills them to be and do. Let the disputers of this world, the reasoners of the present age, come and see their own faces, and read the whole strength of their objections, in this wicked man's; and from whence we may be assured, that since the objections are the same, the doctrine must be the same that is objected to: and this we gain however by it, that the doctrines of particular and personal election and reprobation, were the doctrines of the apostle; since against no other, with any face, or under any pretence, could such an objection be formed: next follows the apostle's answer.

Gill: Rom 9:20

Nay, but O man, who art thou that repliest against God?.... Or "answerest again to God": some have been so weak and wicked as to suggest, that the apostle met with an objection he could not answer, or give a fair solution of, and therefore takes the method he does: but when the several things returned in answer by the apostle are considered, it will appear that he has taken the wisest method to silence such an audacious objector, and that he abundantly clears God from the charge of cruelty and unmercifulness. And he answers "first", by putting the insolent creature in mind of what he was; "nay, but O man, who art thou?" &c. Thou art man, and not God; a creature, and not the Creator; and must not expect that he, thy Creator, will give an account of his matters to thee, or a reason why he does, this or the other thing. Thou art but a man, who in his best estate was vanity, being mutable; thou art a fallen sinful creature, and obnoxious to the wrath and displeasure of God for thy sins, and darest thou to open thy mouth against him? thou art a poor, foolish, and ignorant man, born like a wild ass's colt, without understanding, and wilt thou take upon thee to confront, direct, or counsel the Most High, or tell him what is fitting to be done, or not done? "next" the apostle answers, by pointing out his folly and madness, in replying to God. To speak to God in behalf of a man's self at the throne of grace, in the most submissive manner, for any mercy or favour wanted, is an high privilege, and it is a wonderful condescension in God to admit of; and when a man, a good man takes upon him to plead with God on the behalf of others, of a wicked people, a sinful nation, he ought to set before him the example and conduct of Abraham, who in a like case acknowledged himself to be but dust and ashes, and more than once entreated, that the Lord would not be angry at his importunity; but for a man to answer again to God, which a servant ought not to do to his master, to litigate a point with God, to dispute a matter with him, is the highest instance of arrogance and impudence: "woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth", Isa 45:9, with their equals, with men like themselves, but let no man dare to "contend with God"; if he should, "he cannot answer him one of a thousand", Job 9:3; for "he is wise in heart", in forming all his counsels, purposes, and decrees; "and mighty in strength", to execute them; "who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered?" Job 9:4. Another way the apostle takes in answering the objection is, by showing the absurdity of a creature's wrangling with God about his make, and the circumstances in which he is made:

shall the thing formed, say unto him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? reference is had to Isa 45:9; Now as it would be a most absurd thing for the clay, was it capable of speaking, to say to the fashioner of it, why dost thou put me into such or such a shape and form? or for any piece of workmanship to say to the maker of it, he has no hands, no head, no judgment and skill; or for a child to say to its parents, what begettest thou, or what hast thou brought forth? so absurd and unreasonable is it, for any to say to God, why hast thou appointed me to such and such ends and purposes, and has brought me into being in such a manner, and under such circumstances? There is a story in the Talmud ⁿ, which may be pertinently produced here;

"it happened to R. Eleazar ben Simeon, of Migdal Gedur, that he went from his master's house, and he was riding on an ass, and travelling by the sea side, and as he rejoiced exceedingly, and his heart was lifted up because he had learnt much of the law, there was joined to him a certain man that was very much deformed, and says to him, peace be upon thee Rabbi; but he did not return the salutation to him, but says to him "Raca", how deformed is that man! perhaps all thy townsmen are as deformed as thee; he replied to him, I do not know, but go and say, לאומן שעשאני, "to the workman that made me", how ugly is this vessel thou hast made, when he knew in himself that he has sinned; upon this the Rabbi dismounted his ass, and fell down before him, and said unto him, I entreat of thee forgive me; he said unto him, I cannot forgive thee, till thou goest "to the workman that made me", and say, how ugly is this vessel which thou hast made.''

Gill: Rom 9:21

Hath not the potter power over the clay,.... By the power the potter has over the clay, to shape it in what form he pleases, and out of it to make what vessels he pleases, and for what purposes he thinks fit, which will be most to his own advantage, the apostle expresses the sovereign and unlimited powder which God has over his creatures; the passages referred to, are Isa 64:8, in which God is represented as the potter, and men as clay in his hands; now if the potter has such power over the clay which he did not make, only has made a purchase of, or has it in his possession, much more has God a power, who has created the clay, to appoint out of it persons to different uses and purposes, for his own glory, as he sees fit; even

of the same lump, to make one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour. The apostle seems to design hereby, to point out to us the object of predestination to be man, as yet not made, but as lying in the mere mass of creatureship, signified by the unformed clay, before put into any shape; and is an allusion to the first creation of man, out of the clay, or dust of the earth, Gen 2:7; for such a consideration of man best agrees with the clay, lump, or mass, not yet formed, than as already made, and much less as fallen and corrupted: for if men, in predestination, were considered in the corrupt mass, or as fallen creatures, they could not be so well said to be made out of it, both to honour and dishonour; but rather since they were all dishonourable, that some were left in that dishonour, and others removed from it unto honour: besides, if this is not the case, God must create man without an end, which is contrary to the principle of reason and wisdom; the end is the cause, for which a thing is what it is; and it is a known rule, that what is first in intention, is last in execution, and "vice versa": the end is first fixed, and then the means; for God to create man, and then to fix the end of his creation, is to do what no wise potter would do, first make his pots, and then think of the end of making them, and the use they are to be put unto. To make one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour, is for God to appoint creatures, which are to be made out of the same mass and lump, for his own glory; which end, his own glory, he determines to bring about by different means, as these following: with respect to the vessels of honour, whom he appoints for his glory, he determines to create them; to suffer them to fall into sin, whereby they become polluted and guilty; to raise and recover them, by the obedience, sufferings, and death of his Son; to regenerate, renew, and sanctify them, by his Spirit and grace, and to bring them to eternal happiness; and hereby compass the aforesaid end, his own glory, the glorifying of his grace and mercy, in a way consistent with justice and holiness: with respect to the vessels of dishonour, whom he also appoints for the glorifying of himself, he determines to create them out of the same lump; to suffer them to fall into sin; to leave them in their sins, in the pollution and guilt of them, and to condemn them for them; and hereby gain his ultimate end, his own glory, glorifying the perfections of his power, justice, and holiness, without the least blemish to his goodness and mercy: now if a potter has power, for his own advantage and secular interest, to make out of the same clay what vessels he pleases; much more has God a power, out of the same mass and lump of creatureship, to appoint creatures he determines to make to his own glory; which he brings about by different methods, consistent with the perfections of his nature.

Gill: Rom 9:22

What if God, willing to show his wrath,.... The apostle proceeds to clear God from any charge of cruelty and unmercifulness, by observing his conduct in time, both towards those he passes by, and towards those he chooses; for in this and the following verse, nothing is said relating to any act of God before time, everything of that kind being considered already. In this verse, the apostle considers the conduct of God towards the vessels of dishonour; and let it be observed, that these are called

vessels of wrath fitted for destruction; they are said to be vessels, and so no longer considered in the clay, in the mass and heap of creatureship, but as creatures formed and made, and brought into being; and so to be used as instruments in God's hands, to subserve his ends and purposes, and therefore called "vessels"; and not only so, but "vessels of wrath", fallen sinful creatures, and so deserving of the wrath of God, and objects of his vindictive justice, in whom he may righteously display his wrath and vengeance: hence they may be so called, being as vessels filled with his wrath; as such who are the instruments and executioners of his wrath are called, in Isa 13:5, כלי זעמו, "vessels of his wrath"; and in Jer 50:25; where the Septuagint use the same phrase as here: and they are moreover said to be "fitted for destruction", as Haman is said to be by the Jews ^o; whom they affirm to be the same with Memucan, and ask why is his name called Memucan? and answer, שמוכן לפורענות, "because he was fitted for punishment": so these are said to be "fitted for destruction", that is, eternal damnation; not by God, for this does not respect God's act of ordination to punishment; but by Satan, the god of this world, that blinds them, who works effectually in them, and leads them captive at his will; and by themselves, by their own wickedness, hardness of heart, and impenitence, do they treasure up to themselves wrath, against the day of wrath, so that their destruction is of themselves: a phrase somewhat like this is used in Psa 31:12, where the Psalmist, under some dismal apprehensions of himself, says, that he was like כלי אבד, "a perishing vessel", or "a vessel of perdition"; the Septuagint render it, σκευος απολωλος, "a lost vessel". Now what is the method of the divine conduct towards such persons? he

endures them with much longsuffering; as he did the old world, before he destroyed it; and as he did Pharaoh, before he cut him off: God not only supports such persons in their beings, amidst all their impieties and iniquities, but follows and fills them with his providential goodness, insomuch that many of them have more than heart can wish; nay, to many he affords the outward means of grace, which they slight and despise; externally calls them, but they refuse, loving darkness rather than light, and therefore are inexcusable: now if after all this patience, indulgence, and forbearance, when he could in justice have sent them to hell long ago, he is "willing to show his wrath"; his displicency at sin and sinners, his vindictive justice, his righteous vengeance:

and to make his power known; what it is he can do, by the utter destruction and damnation of such persons; what man in his senses can ever find fault with such a procedure, or charge it with tyranny, cruelty, and unmercifulness?

Gill: Rom 9:23

And that he might make known the riches of his glory,.... That is, his glorious riches, the perfections of his nature, his love, grace, and mercy, his wisdom, power, faithfulness, justice, and holiness; all which are most evidently displayed in the salvation of his people, here called

vessels of mercy, which he hath afore prepared unto glory. They are said to be vessels, and so considered as creatures, made and brought into being; "vessels of mercy", and so fallen creatures, and by sin become miserable, for only such are objects of mercy: they are not called so, because deserving of mercy more than others, they are in no wise better than others, and are by nature children of wrath, even as others; but because God of his infinite goodness fills them with his mercy, displays it in them, in the redemption of them by his Son, in the regeneration of them by his Spirit, and in their eternal salvation: and these are by him "afore prepared unto glory"; to everlasting happiness, which he has chosen them to before time, and calls them to in time; to this glory he does not take them, until he has prepared them for it; which act of preparation does not regard the eternal predestination of them to eternal life, but an act of his grace towards them in time; and which lies in putting upon them the righteousness of his Son, and in putting his grace in them; or in other words, in justifying them by the imputation and application of the righteousness of his Son unto them, and by the regeneration, renovation, and sanctification of their hearts, by his Spirit. Now what if God willing to make known his glorious perfections, by displaying his mercy to such sinners, and by preparing them for heaven in a way consistent with his holiness and justice, what can any man that has the exercise of his reason object to this? The whole of his conduct is free from blame and censure; the vessels of wrath he shows his wrath upon, are such as fit themselves for destruction, and whom he endures with much longsuffering and patience, and therefore he cannot be chargeable with cruelty; the vessels of mercy he brings to glory, none of them are taken thither, until they are prepared for it, in a way of righteousness and holiness, and therefore he cannot be charged with acting contrary to the perfections of his nature.

Gill: Rom 9:24

Even us whom he hath called,.... From election the apostle proceeds to calling, the fruit and evidence of it, taking the same method he did in Rom 8:30, with a view to treat of the call of the Gentiles, of which he afterwards gives proof from prophecy; whence it appears to be according to divine predestination, upon which prophecy is founded; for God foretells that such a thing will be, because he has foreordained it shall be. These words are explanative of the former, and show who the vessels of mercy are; they are such whom God calls by his grace. Election may be known by calling, as the cause by its effect, and that without an extraordinary revelation. This may as well be known, as man's adoption, justification, and the forgiveness of his sins; for as all the chosen are, and shall be called in time, so all that are truly called by the grace of God, are manifestly, and to a demonstration, the chosen vessels of salvation: if a man is satisfied of his calling, he ought to be equally so of his election, the one being demonstrable by the other; and for such an one to doubt of it, is his sin and crime. Moreover, the above phrase, "afore prepared for glory", is here further explained; to be afore prepared for glory, is no other than to be called, sanctified, and justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God; for this is the saints' preparation for glory, before they come to it; and hereby the means are expressed, even sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, through which God appoints his people unto salvation: now this calling is to be understood, not of a call to any office, as of Aaron to the priesthood, of Saul to the kingdom, of the disciples of Christ to apostleship, or of ministers to the work of the ministry; for persons may be called to the highest office in church and state, as Judas to: apostleship, and Pharaoh to the throne of Egypt, and yet have no share in electing grace: nor of a call by the external ministry of the word, which is often slighted, despised, and of none effect; in this sense many are called, who are not chosen: but of a call that is by the powerful, efficacious, and irresistible grace of God; a call that is internal, that reaches the heart, and not the ear only: a special one that is peculiar to God's elect, is by special grace, and is to special blessings, as both grace and glory; it is an high, heavenly, and holy calling, and is without repentance; between which and glorification, as between it and eternal election, there is a close and an inseparable connection. The objects of this grace follow,

not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles; not all the Jews, nor all the Gentiles, but some of each; as all are not chosen, all are not redeemed, only some out of every kindred, tongue, nation, and people; so not all, but some only are called by grace: and this is not peculiar to the Jews, it reaches to the Gentiles also; and under the present dispensation, to the far greater number of them.

Gill: Rom 9:25

As he also saith in Osee,.... Hos 2:23, so "Hosea" is called "Osee", as here, in the Septuagint in Neh 10:23. That is, as God says in the prophecy of Hosea, which was given by divine inspiration; and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles, as the spiritual Israel, after God had wrote a "lo-ammi", Hos 1:9, and a "loruhamah", Hos 1:6, upon the people of the Jews; and shows, that he had appointed some from among the Gentiles, to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ; since he foretells their calling, long before they were in being; which could have no other foundation than his own eternal sovereign will and pleasure:

I will call them my people, which were not my people; his people they were before he called them, in some sense; inasmuch as he had chosen them for his people, had promised in covenant they should be, had given them to Christ as his people, and him to be a covenant to them: who, as such, made reconciliation for them, sanctified them by his blood, redeemed and saved them; but then they were not known to be the people of God, neither by themselves, who knew not God, and so could not know themselves to be his people; nor by others, by the Jews, by whom they were called the uncircumcision, sinners of the Gentiles; looking upon the character or the people of God, as only belonging to themselves: God had not as yet laid hold on them as his people, and claimed his right in them, and made known himself to them as their covenant God; he had not avouched them to be his people, nor had they avouched him to be their God; as yet they were not his willing people, nor a holy people, not being formed for himself, by his mighty grace; nor a people near unto him, with respect to worship and fellowship, but afar off from him. His calling them his people, is his acquainting them with their relation to him, which he had taken them in to himself, of his own grace; for so it is in Hos 2:23, "And I will say unto them which were not my people, thou art my people": in the effectual calling, the Spirit of God is sent down into the hearts of his people, to witness their relation to him, and to work faith in their souls, to receive the testimony; when they reply and say, "thou art my God", Hos 2:23, and so they come to know themselves to be the people of God, of which they were before ignorant; and to be known others, by being made a willing people, in the day God's power upon them, willing to be saved by him in his own way, and willing to serve and worship him in his own ordinances, and according to his own appointment; and by being holy and righteous, having the characters, and enjoying the privileges of the people of God:

and her beloved, which was not beloved. In the text in Hos 2:23, it is, "I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy": hence the Vulgate Latin has added this clause to the text, though unsupported by any copy, or other version. The apostle is to be justified in his version, by the Septuagint interpreters, who have rendered the passage in Hosea, "I will love her that was not beloved"; and by the true sense of the word רחם there used, which signifies to love in the most kind, tender, and endearing manner; see Psa 18:1; where the word is used and so rendered. The sense is not, that God's chosen ones among the Gentiles were not the objects of his love before calling; for their very calling is the fruit, effect, and so the evidence of love before. The love of God is from everlasting to everlasting, invariably and unchangeably the same; he had chosen them in his Son; he had made a covenant with them in Christ, had put them into his hands, and made them his care and charge; he had sent him to die for them, and obtain eternal redemption for them; and all this before he called them, which abundantly proves his love to them: but this love was not manifested to their souls; it had not been shed abroad in their hearts; they had no sensation of it in their breasts; the streams of that river of God had not as yet flowed into their souls; nor were they partakers of the effects of it in themselves; but being called by grace, they feel, they experience, and enjoy that, and all the happy: fruits and effects of it; the loving kindness of God is let down into their hearts in the effectual calling, and with it he draws them to himself, as a fruit and evidence of his everlasting and unchangeable love to them.

Gill: Rom 9:26

And it shall come to pass that in the place,.... This is another citation out of Hosea, and is to be seen in Hos 1:10, and the meaning is, that in those countries, as here in Great Britain, in the very selfsame place, or spot of ground,

where it was said unto them, ye are not my people; where were nothing but idolatry and idolatrous worshippers, and whose worship, works, and actions, declared them not to be the people of God:

there shall they be called the children of the living God; not only children of God, but of the living God; in opposition to their idol gods, their lifeless deities, and senseless statues of gold, silver, brass, wood, or stone, they fell down to and worshipped. The chosen of God among the Gentiles, were from all eternity predestinated to the adoption of children; this blessing was provided, laid up, and secured for them, in the covenant of grace; in this relation of children were they given to Christ, and under this consideration of them did he partake of the same flesh and blood with them, and died, to gather them together, who were scattered abroad in the several parts of the world; and because they were antecedently sons by adopting grace, therefore the Spirit of God in effectual calling is sent down into their hearts to bear witness to their spirits, that they are the children of the living God, and to work faith in their souls to believe it; by which grace they receive this blessing, as all others, even the right and privilege of being the children of God; by this they claim it, and enjoy the comfort of it; and so are manifestly, both to themselves and others, the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus; though this will more clearly appear another day, than it does now.

Gill: Rom 9:27

Esaias crieth concerning Israel,.... The apostle having produced proper testimonies in proof of the calling of the Gentiles, proceeds to mention others; showing, that some few of the Jews also were to be called, according to prophecy, founded upon divine predestination; which, though they are full proofs of the calling of some from among the Jews, yet at the same time suggest the casting off of the far greater number of them; and which is the apostle's view in citing them, as appears from what he says both here and in the two following chapters. The first testimony is taken out of Isa 10:22, and is prefaced or introduced with these words; which either express the great concern of mind and sorrow of heart, with which the prophet spoke them, even with strong crying and tears, seeing a remnant of them only was to be saved; or they show his heart's desire and prayer to God, "for Israel", as the words may be rendered, how that he cried to the Lord for them, entreated him with earnestness and importunity, and wrestled with him on their behalf; or they declare the presence of mind, the freedom of expression, the boldness and intrepidity with which he delivered this message to the Jews, which he knew must be ungrateful to them; in doing which, he run the risk of losing his interest in their affections, if not his life; and inasmuch very probably they did not choose to hear it, but turned away from him, he cried aloud, he spared not, he lift up his voice like a trumpet, as he is bid to do elsewhere, resolving they should hear what he had to say, from the Lord of hosts. This is a form of speech used by the Jews, in citing Scripture; thus, הנביא צוח, "the prophet cries" ^p, namely, in Isa 26:1, which is spoken of the same prophet as here; and again ^q the Holy Spirit צוחת, "cries, and says", in some certain passage of Scripture; and in another place ^r the Holy Spirit "cried", saying, as in Joe 3:3, "they have cast lots for my people".

Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea: this part of the testimony seems rather to be taken from Hos 1:10, which may easily be accounted for; since the apostle had just cited the words in Hosea, and so carrying them in his mind, transcribes this sentence from thence; it perfectly agreeing in sense with the passage in Isaiah he had in view, where it stands thus, "though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea", Isa 10:22; that is, though the number of them be such as to be compared thereunto; though they are many as the sand of the sea, as the Targum, Kimchi, and Aben Ezra explain it. This was promised unto Abraham, and had its accomplishment in the days of Solomon, and in after times; they were for quantity, for number, as the sand of the sea, even innumerable; and for quality, being barren and unfruitful, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers:

a remnant shall be saved; that is, a few persons only; המעט יקרא שאר, "few are called a remnant", as Kimchi on the place observes; these are the remnant among the Jews, according to the election of grace; the few that were chosen, though many were called by the external ministry of Christ and his apostles; the little city, and few men in it, even the escaped of Israel, he that was left in Zion, and that remained in Jerusalem; the little flock among them, which were as sheep among wolves; the few that entered in at the strait gate, and found the way to eternal life; the few that shall be saved; and these shall certainly be saved, with a spiritual and eternal salvation. These, according to the prophecy, were to return to the mighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah; be converted to him, and so saved by him with an everlasting salvation: God had resolved upon it, whose counsel shall stand; he had promised it in covenant, which is ordered in all things and sure; he sent his Son to save these his people from their sins, who is become the author of eternal salvation to them; the grace of God is efficacious and powerful enough, to make them willing to be saved by Christ, and to bring them to him, to venture upon him, and commit their souls to him, to be saved by him; and almighty power is concerned, to keep them through faith unto salvation: so that this little remnant, through the Father's everlasting and unchangeable love, the Son's purchase, prayers, and preparations, and the spirits grace, which works them up for this selfsame thing, shall be certainly and completely saved; though with respect to the difficulties attending it, which could have been surmounted by none but Christ, and by reason of their discouragements arising from sin, temptations, and persecutions, they may be said to be scarcely saved.

Gill: Rom 9:28

For he will finish the work,.... This passage has some difficulty in it: some, instead of "work", read "account", and suppose it is an allusion to the balancing of accounts, when the remainder is cut off, which commonly is but little; and so regards the small number of the Jews that shall be called and saved, as before: others read it "the word", and differently explain it; some understanding it of the incarnate Word, of his being emptied, and made of no reputation, of his being cut off in a very short time, a few years after he had entered upon his public ministry, and of the few persons converted under it; others of the law, of the cutting off, or abolishing the ceremonial law, perfecting or completing the moral law, and abbreviating it, or reducing it into a short compendium; others of the Gospel, bringing in and revealing a perfect righteousness, for the justification of sinners, which the law could not do; all foreign to the apostle's purpose. Those who think God's work, his strange work is meant, his work of punitive justice he will finish,

and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth, when he cut off and destroyed the greater part of the people of the Jews, and saved a remnant, seem to come nearer the mind of the prophet and the apostle's design, in citing this passage. The words as in Isaiah, I would choose to render and explain thus; כליון חרוץ, "the absolute", or "precise degree", so Aben Ezra, interprets it, גזור מהשם, "that which is decreed by God", the decree concerning the salvation of the remnant, שוטף צדקה, "he", i.e. God "shall cause to overflow in righteousness", Isa 10:22, as an overflowing river; that is, he shall abundantly execute it, he shall completely fulfil it, to finish and cut it short in the most righteous manner, consistent with all his divine perfections; כי כלה ונחרצה, "for the decree and that determined", so Aben Ezra, גזרה נגזרת, "the decree decreed" by God, "the Lord God of hosts", עשה, "shall execute", accomplish, make short and full work of it, "in the midst of all the land", Isa 10:23, that is, of Judea: so that the words contain a most strong and invincible reason, why the remnant shall be saved; because God has made an absolute decree, concerning the salvation of it, which he will accomplish in the fullest manner, agreeably to his justice and holiness: the λογος, or "word", the apostle from the prophet speaks of, that should be finished, and cut short and accomplished in righteousness, is the sentence, counsel, or decree, conceived in the divine mind, concerning this matter: hence as the decree of election stands firm and sure, not upon the works of men, but upon the absolute, sovereign, and efficacious will of God; so the salvation of his chosen people is not precarious, but a most sure and certain thing.

Gill: Rom 9:29

And as Esaias said before,.... In the beginning of his prophecy, in Isa 1:9.

Except the Lord of sabaoth had left us a seed; the title and character the great God goes by here, is "Lord of sabaoth", that is, "of hosts", or "armies"; the Septuagint often leave the word untranslated, as here and elsewhere, as in 1Sa 1:11. He is Lord of the hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars, whom he brings forth by number, calls by their names, and them to praise him; of the angels, the multitude of the heavenly host, that do his pleasure, fight under him, and for him; and of the hosts of nations, of the several kingdoms of the world, who are all under his government, and among whom he acts according to his sovereign will and pleasure. Kimchi on the place says, he is called so,

"because of "the hosts above", and because of "the hosts below", who are the Israelites, that are called "hosts"; wherefore he would not consume us all, as we deserved:''

no, according to the council of his own will, he left them "a seed"; or as it is in Isaiah, a very small remnant": and so the Syriac here, סרידא, a remnant"; both signify one and the same, namely, a few persons only: "a remnant" signifies a few, which remain out of a large number; and so does "seed", which is reserved for sowing again, after the whole stock is sold off, or consumed: and the leaving of this small number designs God's gracious acts of reserving in the election of a people for himself; the calling them by his grace in time, and preserving them from general corruption; which if he had not done among the Jews, as Jarchi on the text says,

"of himself, and by his mercies, and not for our righteousnesses,''

we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha; the cities which God destroyed with fire and brimstone from heaven, for their iniquities: had it not been for electing grace, they would have been like the inhabitants of these cities for wickedness; and the case would have been the same with us and with the whole world, had it not been for God's act of election, choosing some to holiness here, and happiness hereafter. The decree of election is so far from being a door to licentiousness, that it is the true spring and source of all real holiness, that has been, or is in the world; and had it not been for this, there would have been no such thing as holiness in the world; and consequently not only Judea, but thee whole world, were it not for this, must have been long before now, like Sodom and Gomorrah, in their punishment.

Gill: Rom 9:30

What shall we say then?.... To God's calling of a large number of the Gentiles, and only a very few of the Jews, according to his eternal purposes and decrees; what can be objected to it? is he chargeable with any unrighteousness? must it not be referred to his sovereign will and pleasure? is it not an instance of his grace and goodness, that he calls and saves some, when they were all so wicked, that he might in justice have destroyed every individual of them? or what is further to be said, concerning both Jews and Gentiles? or what can be objected to what may be further observed concerning them? as

that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness; the very same persons among them, who are, called by grace, and are vessels of mercy, before their calling were without a righteousness, stout hearted, and far from one; being without Christ, and destitute of his Spirit; they were ignorant of righteousness, of the righteousness of God, and of his law, and consequently of what true righteousness is; they were unconcerned about it, and did not labour after it, as the Jews did. They did not pursue and improve the light of nature, about God and things of a moral kind, as they might have done; but held the light and truth they had in unrighteousness, and indeed were filled with nothing else: and yet these persons

have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. The righteousness they attained unto, was not a righteousness of their own, not the righteousness of works, or a righteousness by the deeds of the law, to which the righteousness which is of faith is always opposed; nor faith itself, which is distinguished from it; but the righteousness of Christ, so called, not because that faith is the cause or condition of it, but because the discovery of it is made to faith; that receives it, lays hold on it, and exercises itself on it; by it the soul renounces its own righteousness, looks to, and depends on Christ's, and rejoices in it. These Gentiles being called by grace, "attained", "comprehended", or "apprehended" this righteousness; not by the light of nature, which makes no discovery, nor gives the least hint of it; but by the light of faith they apprehended it, as revealed in the Gospel; which faith they had not of themselves, but of God; so that the whole of this account is a wonderful instance of the grace of God, and abundantly confirms the observation made before by the apostle, that "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy", Rom 9:16; since these persons had nothing in them, disposing and qualifying them for a justifying righteousness, and yet attained one; and the grace appears to be the more distinguishing, by what follows.

Gill: Rom 9:31

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,.... The Israelites, the far greater part of the Jews, who were not called by the grace of God, were all very zealous of the law, called "the law of righteousness"; because the matter of it was righteous, it was so in its own nature; and because perfect obedience to it is righteousness; as also because they sought for righteousness by the deeds of it. They very violently and eagerly pursued after it, they tugged and toiled, and laboured with all their might, as persons in running a race, to get up to the law, and the righteousness of it; and yet Israel, with all the pains and labour taken,

hath not attained to the law of righteousness: some of them fancied they had, supposing an external conformity to it, to be all that it insisted upon; not knowing the spirituality of it, that it required truth and holiness in the inward parts; and that he that offended in one point of it, was guilty of all, and therefore could not be justified by it.

Gill: Rom 9:32

Wherefore? because they sought it not by faith,.... The question is asked, why they did not attain to that, which with so much diligence they pressed after? the answer is, because, as they did not seek for righteousness in a right place, or object, they sought for it in the law, and the works of it, where it is never to be found by a sinful creature, and not in Christ, in whom only are righteousness and strength; so they did not seek for it in a right way, by faith in Christ, without which it is impossible to please God, and by which only true righteousness is discerned and received:

but as it were by the works of the law; not by works which looked like works of the law, and were not; but they sought it as if they expected their justification before God was to be by works of righteousness done by them; or as if it was partly by their own works, and partly by the goodness of God, accepting of them for a justifying righteousness. The Alexandrian Copy, and some others, read only, "as it were by works"; and so does the Vulgate Latin version: another reason, or else a reason of the former is,

for they stumbled at that stumbling stone; meaning the word of the Gospel, at which Peter says they stumbled, and particularly the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ; or rather Christ himself, who was "to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness", 1Co 1:23.

Gill: Rom 9:33

As it is written,.... In Isa 8:14; for the beginning and end of this citation are out of the latter, and the middle of it out of the former. This is an instance of מדלג, "skipping", from place to place, concerning which the rules with the Jews were ^s, that the reader

"might skip from text to text, but he might not skip from prophet to prophet, except only in the twelve prophets, only he might not skip from the end of the book to the beginning; also they might skip in the prophets, but not in the law;''

which rules are exactly complied with by the apostle. The beginning of this citation is out of Isa 28:16,

behold I lay in Zion. The "stone" said to be laid in Zion, is by the "Chaldee paraphrast" interpreted of a "king"; by R. David Kimchi, of King Hezekiah, and by Jarchi of the King Messiah; and is truly applied by the apostle to Jesus Christ: the layer of this stone is God the Father, who laid him as the foundation stone, in his eternal purposes and decrees, in his counsels and covenant, in promise and in prophecy, in the mission of him into this world, and in the preaching of the everlasting Gospel: the place where he is laid is Zion, meaning either literally Judea or Jerusalem, where the Messiah was to appear, whither he came, and from whence his Gospel went forth; or mystically the church, where he is laid as the foundation of it, and of the salvation of all the members thereof; though, through the sin and unbelief of others, he proves to be

a stumbling stone, and rock of offence; which phrases are to be seen in Isa 8:14, and are spoken of, and ascribed to a divine person, even to the Lord of hosts; and are by the Targumist thus paraphrased, "and if ye obey not", מימריה, "his word shall be for revenge, and for a stone smiting, and a rock of offence", and in the Talmud ^t, it is said, that

"the son of David (the Messiah) shall not come until the two houses of the fathers are destroyed out of Israel; and these are the head of the captivity which is in Babylon, and the prince in the land of Israel, as it is said, Isa 8:14.''

So that, according to the ancient Jews, this passage belongs to the Messiah, and is properly made use of for this purpose by the apostle, who had seen the accomplishment of it in the Jews; who stumbled at the outward meanness of Jesus of Nazareth, at his parentage, the manner of his birth, his education, the mean appearance of himself and followers; at his company and audience, his ministry, miracles, death, and the manner of it; and so believed not in him, for righteousness, life, and salvation; and thus it came about that they did not attain, or come up to the law of righteousness, or the righteousness of the law: but

whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed; that is, who believes in Christ unto righteousness, who builds his faith, and hope of eternal salvation on him, the foundation God has laid in Zion, and at which the unbelieving Jews stumbled and fell; he shall neither be ashamed here nor hereafter: he shall not be ashamed of his faith and hope in Christ; nor of Christ, as the Lord his righteousness; nor shall he be ashamed or confounded at his appearing, but shall be justified before men and angels, and be received into his kingdom and glory. There is some difference between the passage as here cited, and as it stands in Isa 28:16, where it is read, "he that believeth shall not make haste": either to lay any other foundation, being fully satisfied with this, which is laid by God; or shall not make haste to flee away, through fear of any enemy, or of any danger, being safe as built on this foundation; and so shall never fall, be moved, or ashamed and confounded. Some have fancied a various reading, but without any reason. A very learned Oriental critic ^u of our own nation has observed, that the Arabic words "Haush" "Hish" answer to the Hebrew word, חוש, the prophet uses, and which have three significations in them, "hasten", to "fear", and be "ashamed"; the first of these is retained here by the Jewish commentators and modern versions; the second by the "Chaldee paraphrast", and Syriac translation; and the third by the Septuagint, and the apostle; and they may be all taken into sense, for he that is afraid runs about here and there, and at length is put to shame and confusion.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rom 9:17

¹ sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.

² sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.

NET Notes: Rom 9:18

¹ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

NET Notes: Rom 9:20

¹ tn Grk “O man.”

² tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

³ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.

NET Notes: Rom 9:21

¹ tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”

² tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”

NET Notes: Rom 9:22

¹ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

² tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

³ tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

NET Notes: Rom 9:23

¹ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

NET Notes: Rom 9:25

¹ tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”

² sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.

NET Notes: Rom 9:26

¹ tn Grk “And it will be in the very place.”

² sn A quotation from Hos 1:10.

NET Notes: Rom 9:27

¹ tn Grk “sons.”

NET Notes: Rom 9:28

¹ tc In light of the interpretive difficulty of this verse, a longer reading seems to have been added to clarify the meaning. The addition, in the middle of the sentence, makes the whole verse read as follows: “For he will execute his sentence completely and quickly in righteousness, because the Lord will do it quickly on the earth.” The shorter reading is found largely in Alexandrian mss (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), while the longer reading is found principally in Western and Byzantine mss (א² D F G Ψ 33 Ï lat). The longer reading follows Isa 10:22-23 (LXX) verbatim, while Paul in the previous verse quoted the LXX loosely. This suggests the addition was made by a copyist trying to make sense out of a difficult passage rather than by the author himself.

tn There is a wordplay in Greek (in both the LXX and here) on the phrase translated “completely and quickly” (συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων, suntelwn kai suntemnwn). These participles are translated as adverbs for smoothness; a more literal (and more cumbersome) rendering would be: “The Lord will act by closing the account [or completing the sentence], and by cutting short the time.” The interpretation of this text is notoriously difficult. Cf. BDAG 975 s.v. συντέμνω.

sn A modified quotation from Isa 10:22-23. Since it is not exact, it has been printed as italics only.

NET Notes: Rom 9:29

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts”; Grk “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”

³ sn A quotation from Isa 1:9.

NET Notes: Rom 9:31

¹ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

² tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

³ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

NET Notes: Rom 9:32

¹ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

² tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

tn Grk “but as by works.”

³ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

NET Notes: Rom 9:33

¹ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

² sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:17

^{( 13 )} For the ^{( r )} scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I ^{( s )} raised thee up, that I might ^{( 14 )} shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

^{( 13 )} Now he answers concerning the reprobate, or those whom God hates who are not yet born, and has appointed to destruction, without any respect of unworthiness. And first of all he proves this to be true, by alleging the testimony of God himself concerning Pharaoh, whom he stirred up to this purpose, that he might be glorified in Pharaoh's hardening and just punishing.

^{( r )} God speaks unto Pharaoh in the scripture, or, the scripture in talking about God, in this way talks to Pharaoh.

^{( s )} Brought you into this world.

^{( 14 )} Secondly, he brings the goal of God's counsel, to show that there is no unrighteousness in him. Now the main goal is not properly and simply the destruction of the wicked, but God's glory which appears in their rightful punishment.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:18

^{( 15 )} Therefore hath he mercy on whom he ^{( t )} will [have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth.

^{( 15 )} A conclusion of the full answer to the first objection: therefore seeing that God does not save those whom he freely chose according to his good will and pleasure, but by justifying and sanctifying them by his grace, his counsels in saving them cannot seem unjust. And again, there is not injustice in the everlasting counsel of God, with regard to the destruction of those whom he lifts to destroy, because he hardens before he destroys: therefore the third answer for the maintenance of God's justice in the everlasting counsel of reprobation, consists in this word "hardening": which nonetheless he concealed in the former verse, because the history of Pharaoh was well known. But the force of the word is great, for hardening, which is set against "mercy", presupposes the same things that mercy did, that is, a voluntary corruption, in which the reprobate are hardened: and again, corruption presupposes a perfect state of creation. Moreover, this hardening also is voluntary, for God hardens in such a way, being offended with corruption, that he uses their own will whom he hardens, for the executing of that judgment. Then follow the fruits of hardening, that is, unbelief and sin, which are the true and proper causes of the condemnation of the reprobate. Why does he then appoint to destruction? Because he wishes: why does he harden? Because they are corrupt: why does he condemn? Because they are sinners. Where then is unrighteousness? Nay, if he would destroy all after this manner, to whom would he do injury?

^{( t )} Whom it pleased him to appoint, to show his favour upon.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:19

^{( 16 )} Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

^{( 16 )} Another objection, but only for the reprobate, rising upon the former answer. If God appoints to everlasting destruction, such as he wishes, and if that which he has decreed cannot be hindered nor withstood, how does he justly condemn those who perish by his will?

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:20

^{( 17 )} Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? ^{( 18 )} Shall the thing ^{( u )} formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus?

^{( 17 )} The apostle does not answer that it is not God's will, or that God does not either reject or elect according to his pleasure, which thing the wicked call blasphemy, but he rather grants his adversary both the antecedents, that is, that it is God's will, and that is must of necessity so happen, yet he denies that God is therefore to be thought an unjust avenger of the wicked: for seeing that it appears by manifest proof that this is the will of God, and his doing, what impudency is it for man, who is but dust and ashes, to dispute with God, and as it were to call him into judgment? Now if any man say that the doubt is not so dissolved and answered, I answer, that there is no surer demonstration in any matter, because it is grounded upon this principle, that the will of God is the rule of righteousness.

^{( 18 )} An amplification of the former answer, taken from a comparison, by which it also appears that God's determinate counsel is set by Paul as the highest of all causes: so that it depends not in any way on the second causes, but rather shapes and directs them.

^{( u )} This similitude agrees very properly to the first creation of mankind.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:21

^{( 19 )} Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one ^{( 20 )} vessel unto ^{( x )} honour, and another unto ^{( 21 )} dishonour?

^{( 19 )} Alluding to the creation of Adam, he compares mankind not yet made (but who are in the creators mind) to a lump of clay: who afterwards God made, and daily makes, according as he purposed from everlasting, both such as should be elect, and such as should be reprobate, as also this word "make" declares.

^{( 20 )} Whereas in the objection propounded, mention was only made of vessels to dishonour, yet he speaks of the others also in this answer, because he proves the Creator to be just in either of them.

^{( x )} To honest uses.

^{( 21 )} Seeing then, that in the name of dishonour the shame of everlasting death is signified, those agree with Paul, who say that some are made by God for most just destruction: and they that are offended with this kind of speech betray their own folly.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:22

^{( 22 )} [What] if God, willing to shew [his] wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the ^{( y )} vessels of wrath fitted to ^{( 23 )} destruction:

^{( 22 )} The second answer is this, that God, moreover and besides that he justly decrees whatever he decrees, uses that moderation in executing his decrees, as is declared his singular mercifulness even in the reprobate, in that he endures them a long time, and permits them to enjoy many and singular benefits, until at length he justly condemns them: and that to good end and purpose, that is, to show himself to be an enemy and avenger of wickedness, that it may appear what power he has by these severe judgments, and finally by comparison of contraries to set forth indeed, how great his mercy is towards the elect.

^{( y )} By vessels, the Hebrews understand all types of instruments.

^{( 23 )} Therefore again, we may say with Paul, that some men are made by God the creator for destruction.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:23

And that he might make known the ^{( z )} riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

^{( z )} The unmeasurable and marvellous greatness.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:24

^{( 24 )} Even us, whom he hath called, not of the ^{( a )} Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

^{( 24 )} Having established the doctrine of the eternal predestination of God on both parts, that is, on the part of the reprobate as well as of the elect, he comes now to show its use, teaching us that we ought not to seek its testimony in the secret counsel of God, but by the calling which is made manifest, and set forth in the Church, propounding to us the example of the Jews and Gentiles, that the doctrine may be better perceived.

^{( a )} He does not say that each and every one of the Jews are called, but some of the Jews, and some of the Gentiles.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:25

^{( 25 )} As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

^{( 25 )} Our vocation or calling is free, and of grace, even as our predestination is: and therefore there is no reason why either our own unworthiness, or the unworthiness of our ancestors should cause us to think that we are not the elect and chosen of God, if we are called by him, and so embrace through faith the salvation that is offered us.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:27

^{( 26 )} Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

^{( 26 )} Contrary to this, neither any outward general calling, neither any worthiness of our ancestors, is a sufficient witness of election, unless by faith and belief we answer God's calling: which thing came to pass in the Jews, as the Lord had foretold.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:28

For he will finish the work, and cut [it] ^{( b )} short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

^{( b )} God chooses and goes about to reduce the unkind and unthankful people to a very small number.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:29

And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of ^{( c )} Sabaoth had left us a ^{( d )} seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

^{( c )} Armies, by which word the greatest power that exists is attributed to God.

^{( d )} Even as very few.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:30

^{( 27 )} What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed ^{( e )} not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

^{( 27 )} The declaration and manifestation of our election is our calling apprehended by faith, as it came to pass in the Gentiles.

^{( e )} So then, the Gentiles had no works to prepare and procure God's mercy before hand: and that the Gentiles attained to that which they did not seek, the mercy of God is to be thanked for it: and in that the Jews did not attain that which they sought after, they can only thank themselves, because they did not seek for it in the proper way.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:31

^{( 28 )} But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

^{( 28 )} The pride of men is the reason that they reject their calling, so that the cause of their damnation need not to be sought for in any other place but themselves.

Geneva Bible: Rom 9:32

Wherefore? Because [they sought it] not by faith, but as it were by the ^{( s )} works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

^{( s )} Seeking to attain righteousness, they followed the law of righteousness.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Rom 9:1-33

1 Paul is sorry for the Jews.

7 All of Abraham not of the promise.

18 God's sovereignty.

25 The calling of the Gentiles and rejecting of the Jews, foretold.

32 The cause of the Jews' stumbling.

MHCC: Rom 9:14-24

Whatever God does, must be just. Wherein the holy, happy people of God differ from others, God's grace alone makes them differ. In this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a benefactor, whose grace is his own. None have deserved it; so that those who are saved, must thank God only; and those who perish, must blame themselves only, Hos 13:9. God is bound no further than he has been pleased to bind himself by his own covenant and promise, which is his revealed will. And this is, that he will receive, and not cast out, those that come to Christ; but the drawing of souls in order to that coming, is an anticipating, distinguishing favour to whom he will. Why does he yet find fault? This is not an objection to be made by the creature against his Creator, by man against God. The truth, as it is in Jesus, abases man as nothing, as less than nothing, and advances God as sovereign Lord of all. Who art thou that art so foolish, so feeble, so unable to judge the Divine counsels? It becomes us to submit to him, not to reply against him. Would not men allow the infinite God the same sovereign right to manage the affairs of the creation, as the potter exercises in disposing of his clay, when of the same lump he makes one vessel to a more honourable, and one to a meaner use? God could do no wrong, however it might appear to men. God will make it appear that he hates sin. Also, he formed vessels filled with mercy. Sanctification is the preparation of the soul for glory. This is God's work. Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God who prepares saints for heaven; and all whom God designs for heaven hereafter, he fits for heaven now. Would we know who these vessels of mercy are? Those whom God has called; and these not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles. Surely there can be no unrighteousness in any of these Divine dispensations. Nor in God's exercising long-suffering, patience, and forbearance towards sinners under increasing guilt, before he brings utter destruction upon them. The fault is in the hardened sinner himself. As to all who love and fear God, however such truths appear beyond their reason to fathom, yet they should keep silence before him. It is the Lord alone who made us to differ; we should adore his pardoning mercy and new-creating grace, and give diligence to make our calling and election sure.

MHCC: Rom 9:25-29

The rejecting of the Jews, and the taking in the Gentiles, were foretold in the Old Testament. It tends very much to the clearing of a truth, to observe how the Scripture is fulfilled in it. It is a wonder of Divine power and mercy that there are any saved: for even those left to be a seed, if God had dealt with them according to their sins, had perished with the rest. This great truth this Scripture teaches us. Even among the vast number of professing Christians it is to be feared that only a remnant will be saved.

MHCC: Rom 9:30-33

The Gentiles knew not their guilt and misery, therefore were not careful to procure a remedy. Yet they attained to righteousness by faith. Not by becoming proselytes to the Jewish religion, and submitting to the ceremonial law; but by embracing Christ, and believing in him, and submitting to the gospel. The Jews talked much of justification and holiness, and seemed very ambitious to be the favourites of God. They sought, but not in the right way, not in the humbling way, not in the appointed way. Not by faith, not by embracing Christ, depending upon Christ, and submitting to the gospel. They expected justification by observing the precepts and ceremonies of the law of Moses. The unbelieving Jews had a fair offer of righteousness, life, and salvation, made them upon gospel terms, which they did not like, and would not accept. Have we sought to know how we may be justified before God, seeking that blessing in the way here pointed out, by faith in Christ, as the Lord our Righteousness? Then we shall not be ashamed in that awful day, when all refuges of lies shall be swept away, and the Divine wrath shall overflow every hiding-place but that which God hath prepared in his own Son.

Matthew Henry: Rom 9:14-24

The apostle, having asserted the true meaning of the promise, comes here to maintain and prove the absolute sovereignty of God, in disposing of the children of men, with reference to their eternal state. And herein God is to be considered, not as a rector and governor, distributing rewards and punishments according to his revealed laws and covenants, but as an owner and benefactor, giving to the children of men such grace and favour as he has determined in and by his secret and eternal will and counsel: both the favour of visible church-membership and privileges, which is given to some people and denied to others, and the favour of effectual grace, which is given to some particular persons and denied to others.

Now this part of his discourse is in answer to two objections.

I. It might be objected, Is there unrighteousness with God? If God, in dealing with the children of men, do thus, in an arbitrary manner, choose some and refuse others, may it not be suspected that there is unrighteousness with him? This the apostle startles at the thought of: God forbid! Far be it from us to think such a thing; shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Gen 18:25; Rom 3:5, Rom 3:6. He denies the consequences, and proves the denial.

1. In respect of those to whom he shows mercy, Rom 9:15, Rom 9:16. He quotes that scripture to show God's sovereignty in dispensing his favours (Exo 33:19): I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. All God's reasons of mercy are taken from within himself. All the children of men being plunged alike into a state of sin and misery, equally under guilt and wrath, God, in a way of sovereignty, picks out some from this fallen apostatized race, to be vessels of grace and glory. He dispenses his gifts to whom he will, without giving us any reason: according to his own good pleasure he pitches upon some to be monuments of mercy and grace, preventing grace, effectual grace, while he passes by others. The expression is very emphatic, and the repetition makes it more so: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. It imports a perfect absoluteness in God's will; he will do what he will, and giveth not account of any of his matters, nor is it fit he should. As these great words, I am that I am (Exo 3:14) do abundantly express the absolute independency of his being, so these words, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, do as fully express the absolute prerogative and sovereignty of his will. To vindicate the righteousness of God, in showing mercy to whom he will, the apostle appeals to that which God himself had spoken, wherein he claims this sovereign power and liberty. God is a competent judge, even in his own case. Whatsoever God does, or is resolved to do, is both by the one and the other proved to be just. Eleēsō on han heleō - I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. When I begin, I will make an end. Therefore God's mercy endures for ever, because the reason of it is fetched from within himself; therefore his gifts and callings are without repentance. Hence he infers (Rom 9:16), It is not of him that willeth. Whatever good comes from God to man, the glory of it is not to be ascribed to the most generous desire, nor to the most industrious endeavour, of man, but only and purely to the free grace and mercy of God. In Jacob's case it was not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth; it was not the earnest will and desire of Rebecca that Jacob might have the blessing; it was not Jacob's haste to get it (for he was compelled to run for it) that procured him the blessing, but only the mercy and grace of God. Wherein the holy happy people of God differ from other people, it is God and his grace that make them differ. Applying this general rule to the particular case that Paul has before him, the reason why the unworthy, undeserving, ill-deserving Gentiles are called, and grafted into the church, while the greatest part of the Jews are left to perish in unbelief, is not because those Gentiles were better deserving or better disposed for such a favour, but because of God's free grace that made that difference. The Gentiles did neither will it, nor run for it, for they sat in darkness, Mat 4:16. In darkness, therefore not willing what they knew not; sitting in darkness, a contented posture, therefore not running to meet it, but anticipated with these invaluable blessings of goodness. Such is the method of God's grace towards all that partake of it, for he is found of those that sought him not (Isa 65:1); in this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a benefactor, whose grace is his own. Our eye therefore must not be evil because his is good; but, of all the grace that we or others have, he must have the glory: Not unto us, Psa 115:1.

2. In respect of those who perish, Rom 9:17. God's sovereignty, manifested in the ruin of sinners, is here discovered in the instance of Pharaoh; it is quoted from Exo 9:16. Observe,

(1.) What God did with Pharaoh. He raised him up, brought him into the world, made him famous, gave him the kingdom and power, - set him up as a beacon upon a hill, as the mark of all his plagues (compare Exo 9:14) - hardened his heart, as he had said he would (Exo 4:21): I will harden his heart, that is, withdraw softening grace, leave him to himself, let Satan loose against him, and lay hardening providences before him. Or, by raising him up may be meant the intermission of the plagues which gave Pharaoh respite, and the reprieve of Pharaoh in those plagues. In the Hebrew, I have made thee stand, continued thee yet in the land of the living. Thus doth God raise up sinners, make them for himself, even for the day of evil (Pro 16:4), raise them up in outward prosperity, external privileges (Mat 11:23), sparing mercies.

(2.) What he designed in it: That I might show my power in thee. God would, by all this, serve the honour of his name, and manifest his power in baffling the pride and insolence of that great and daring tyrant, who bade defiance to Heaven itself, and trampled upon all that was just and sacred. If Pharaoh had not been so high and might, so bold and hardy, the power of God had not been so illustrious in the ruining of him; but the taking off of the spirit of such a prince, who hectored at that rate, did indeed proclaim God glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, Exo 15:11. This is Pharaoh, and all his multitude.

(3.) His conclusion concerning both these we have, Rom 9:18. He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. The various dealings of God, by which he makes some to differ from others, must be resolved into his absolute sovereignty. He is debtor to no man, his grace is his own, and he may give it or withhold it as it pleaseth him; we have none of us deserved it, nay, we have all justly forfeited it a thousand times, so that herein the work of our salvation is admirably well ordered that those who are saved must thank God only, and those who perish must thank themselves only, Hos 13:9. We are bound, as God hath bound us, to do our utmost for the salvation of all we have to do with; but God is bound no further than he has been pleased to bind himself by his own covenant and promise, which is his revealed will; and that is that he will receive, and not cast out, those that come to Christ; but the drawing of souls in order to that coming is a preventing distinguishing favour to whom he will. Had he mercy on the Gentiles? It was because he would have mercy on them. Were the Jews hardened? It was because it was his own pleasure to deny them softening grace, and to give them up to their chosen affected unbelief. Even so, Father, because it seemed good unto thee. That scripture excellently explains this, Luk 10:21, and, as this, shows the sovereign will of God in giving or withholding both the means of grace and the effectual blessing upon those means.

II. It might be objected, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Rom 9:19. Had the apostle been arguing only for God's sovereignty in appointing and ordering the terms and conditions of acceptance and salvation, there had not been the least colour for this objection; for he might well find fault if people refused to come up to the terms on which such a salvation is offered; the salvation being so great, the terms could not be hard. But there might be colour for the objection against his arguing for the sovereignty of God in giving and withholding differencing and preventing grace; and the objection is commonly and readily advanced against the doctrine of distinguishing grace. If God, while he gives effectual grace to some, denies it to others, why doth he find fault with those to whom he denies it? If he hath rejected the Jews, and hid from their eyes the things that belong to their peace, why doth he find fault with them for their blindness? If it be his pleasure to discard them as not a people, and not obtaining mercy, their knocking off themselves was no resistance of his will. This objection he answers at large,

1. By reproving the objector (Rom 9:20): Nay but, O man. This is not an objection fit to be made by the creature against his Creator, by man against God. The truth, as it is in Jesus, is that which abases man as nothing, less than nothing, and advances God as sovereign Lord of all. Observe how contemptibly he speaks of man, when he comes to argue with God his Maker: " Who art thou, thou that art so foolish, so feeble, so short-sighted, so incompetent a judge of the divine counsels? Art thou able to fathom such a depth, dispute such a case, to trace that way of God which is in the sea, his path in the great waters?" That repliest against God. It becomes us to submit to him, not to reply against him; to lie down under his hand, not to fly in his face, nor to charge him with folly. Ho antapokrinomenos - That answerest again. God is our master, and we are his servants; and it does not become servants to answer again, Tit 2:9.

2. By resolving all into the divine sovereignty. We are the thing formed, and he is the former; and it does not become us to challenge or arraign his wisdom in ordering and disposing of us into this or that shape of figure. The rude and unformed mass of matter hath no right to this or that form, but is shaped at the pleasure of him that formeth it. God's sovereignty over us is fitly illustrated by the power that the potter hath over the clay; compare Jer 18:6, where, by a like comparison, God asserts his dominion over the nation of the Jews, when he was about to magnify his justice in their destruction by Nebuchadnezzar.

(1.) He gives us the comparison, Rom 9:21. The potter, out of the same lump, may make either a fashionable vessel, and a vessel fit for creditable and honourable uses, or a contemptible vessel, and a vessel in which is no pleasure; and herein he acts arbitrarily, as he might have chosen whether he would make any vessel of it at all, or whether he would leave it in the hole of the pit, out of which it was dug.

(2.) The application of the comparison, Rom 9:22-24. Two sorts of vessels God forms out of the great lump of fallen mankind: - [1.] Vessels of wrath - vessels filled with wrath, as a vessel of wine is a vessel filled with wine; full of the fury of the Lord, Isa 51:20. In these God is willing to show his wrath, that is, his punishing justice, and his enmity to sin. This must be shown to all the world, God will make it appear that he hates sin. He will likewise make his power known, to dumaton autou . It is a power of strength and energy, an inflicting power, which works and effects the destruction of those that perish; it is a destruction that proceeds from the glory of his power, 2Th 1:9. The eternal damnation of sinners will be an abundant demonstration of the power of God; for he will act in it himself immediately, his wrath preying as it were upon guilty consciences, and his arm stretched out totally to destroy their well-being, and yet at the same instant wonderfully to preserve the being of the creature. In order to this, God endured them with much long-suffering - exercised a great deal of patience towards them, let them alone to fill up the measure of sin, to grow till they were ripe for ruin, and so they became fitted for destruction, fitted by their own sin and self-hardening. The reigning corruptions and wickedness of the soul are its preparedness and disposedness for hell: a soul is hereby made combustible matter, fit for the flames of hell. When Christ said to the Jews (Mat 23:32), Fill you up then the measure of your father, that upon you may come all the righteous blood (Mat 23:35), he did, as it were, endure them with much long-suffering, that they might, by their own obstinacy and wilfulness in sin, fit themselves for destruction. [2.] Vessels of mercy - filled with mercy. The happiness bestowed upon the saved remnant is the fruit, not of their merit, but of God's mercy. The spring of all the joy and glory of heaven is that mercy of God which endures for ever. Vessels of honour must to eternity own themselves vessels of mercy. Observe, First, What he designs in them: To make known the riches of his glory, that is, of his goodness; for God's goodness is his greatest glory, especially when it is communicated with the greatest sovereignty. I beseech thee show me thy glory, says Moses, Exo 33:18. I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, says God (Exo 33:19), and that given out freely: I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. God makes known his glory, this goodness of his, in the preservation and supply of all the creatures: the earth is full of his goodness, and the year crowned with it; but when he would demonstrate the riches of his goodness, unsearchable riches, he does it in the salvation of the saints, that will be to eternity glorious monuments of divine grace. Secondly, What he does for them he does before prepare them to glory. Sanctification is the preparation of the soul for glory, making it meet to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light. This is God's work. We can destroy ourselves fast enough, but we cannot save ourselves. Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God that prepares saints for heaven; and all those that God designs for heaven hereafter he prepares and fits for heaven now: he works them to the self-same thing, 2Co 5:5. And would you know who these vessels of mercy are? Those whom he hath called (Rom 9:24); for whom he did predestinate those he also called with an effectual call: and these not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles; for, the partition-wall being taken down, the world was laid in common, and not (as it had been) God's favour appropriated to the Jews, and they put a degree nearer his acceptance than the rest of the world. They now stood upon the same level with the Gentiles; and the question is not now whether of the seed of Abraham or no, that is neither here nor there, but whether or no called according to his purpose.

Matthew Henry: Rom 9:25-29

Having explained the promise, and proved the divine sovereignty, the apostle here shows how the rejection of the Jews, and the taking in of the Gentiles, were foretold in the Old Testament, and therefore must needs be very well consistent with the promise made to the fathers under the Old Testament. It tends very much to the clearing of a truth to observe how the scripture is fulfilled in it. The Jews would, no doubt, willingly refer it to the Old Testament, the scriptures of which were committed to them. Now he shows how this, which was so uneasy to them, was there spoken of.

I. By the prophet Hosea, who speaks of the taking in of a great many of the Gentiles, Hos 2:23 and Hos 1:10. The Gentiles had not been the people of God, not owning him, nor being owned by him in that relation: "But,"says he, " I will call them my people, make them such and own them as such, notwithstanding all their unworthiness."A blessed change! Former badness is no bar to God's present grace and mercy. - And her beloved which was not beloved. Those whom God calls his people he calls beloved: he loves those that are his own. And lest it might be supposed that they should become God's people only by being proselyted to the Jewish religion, and made members of that nation, he adds, from Hos 1:10, In the place where it was said, etc., there shall they be called. They need not be embodied with the Jews, nor go up to Jerusalem to worship; but, wherever they are scattered over the face of the earth, there will God own them. Observe the great dignity and honour of the saints, that they are called the children of the living God; and his calling them so makes them so. Behold, what manner of love! This honour have all his saints.

II. By the prophet Isaiah, who speaks of the casting off of many of the Jews, in two places.

1. One is Isa 10:22, Isa 10:23, which speaks of the saving of a remnant, that is, but a remnant, which, though in the prophecy it seems to refer to the preservation of a remnant from the destruction and desolation that were coming upon them by Sennacherib and his army, yet is to be understood as looking further, and sufficiently proves that it is no strange thing for God to abandon to ruin a great many of the seed of Abraham, and yet maintain his word of promise to Abraham in full force and virtue. This is intimated in the supposition that the number of children of Israel was as the sand of the sea, which was part of the promise made to Abraham, Gen 22:17. And yet only a remnant shall be saved; for many are called, but few are chosen. In this salvation of the remnant we are told (Rom 9:28) from the prophet, (1.) That he will complete the work: He will finish the work. When God begins he will make an end, whether in ways of judgment or of mercy. The rejection of the unbelieving Jews god would finish in their utter ruin by the Romans, who soon after this quite took away their place and nation. The assuming of Christian churches into the divine favour, and the spreading of the gospel in other nations, was a work which God would likewise finish, and be known by his name JEHOVAH. As for God, his work is perfect. Margin, He will finish the account. God, in his eternal counsels, has taken an account of the children of men, allotted them to such or such a condition, to such a share of privileges; and, as they come into being, his dealings with them are pursuant to these counsels: and he will finish the account, complete the mystical body, call in as many as belong to the election of grace, and then the account will be finished. (2.) That he will contract it; not only finish it, but finish it quickly. Under the Old Testament he seemed to tarry, and to make a longer and more tedious work of it. The wheels moved but slowly towards the extent of the church; but now he will cut it short, and make a short work upon the earth. Gentile converts were now flying as a cloud. But he will cut it short in righteousness, both in wisdom and in justice. Men, when they cut short, do amiss; they do indeed despatch causes; but, when God cuts short, it is always in righteousness. So the fathers generally apply it. Some understand it of the evangelical law and covenant, which Christ has introduced and established in the world: he has in that finished the work, put an end to the types and ceremonies of the Old Testament. Christ said, It is finished, and then the veil was rent, echoing as it were to the word that Christ said upon the cross. And he will cut it short. The work (it is logos - the word, the law) was under the Old Testament very long; a long train of institutions, ceremonies, conditions: but now it is cut short. Our duty is now, under the gospel, summed up in much less room than it was under the law; the covenant was abridged and contracted; religion is brought into a less compass. And it is in righteousness, in favour to us, in justice to his own design and counsel. With us contractions are apt to darken things: -

- Brevis esse laboro, Obscurus fio -

I strive to be concise, but prove obscure.

but it is not so in this case. Though it be cut short, it is clear and plain; and, because short, the more easy.

2. Another is quoted from Isa 1:9, where the prophet is showing how in a time of general calamity and destruction God would preserve a seed. This is to the same purport with the former; and the scope of it is to show that it was no strange thing for God to leave the greatest part of the people of the Jews to ruin, and to reserve to himself only a small remnant: so he had done formerly, as appears by their own prophets; and they must not wonder if he did so now. Observe, (1.) What God is. He is the Lord of sabaoth, that is, the Lord of hosts - a Hebrew word retained in the Greek, as Jam 5:4. All the host of heaven and earth are at his beck and disposal. When God secures a seed to himself out of a degenerate apostate world, he acts as Lord of sabaoth. It is an act of almighty power and infinite sovereignty. (2.) What his people are; they are a seed, a small number. The corn reserved for next year's seedings is but little, compared with that which is spent and eaten. But they are a useful number - the seed, the substance, of the next generation, Isa 6:13. It is so far from being an impeachment of the justice and righteousness of God that so many perish and are destroyed, that it is a wonder of divine power and mercy that all are not destroyed, that there are any saved; for even those that are left to be a seed, if God had dealt with them according to their sins, had perished with the rest. This is the great truth which this scripture teacheth us.

Matthew Henry: Rom 9:30-33

The apostle comes here at last to fix the true reason of the reception of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews. There was a difference in the way of their seeking, and therefore there was that different success, though still it was the free grace of God that made them differ. He concludes like an orator, What shall we say then? What is the conclusion of the whole dispute?

I. Concerning the Gentiles observe, 1. How they had been alienated from righteousness: the followed not after it; they knew not their guilt and misery, and therefore were not at all solicitous to procure a remedy. In their conversion preventing grace was greatly magnified: God was found of those that sought him not, Isa 65:1. There was nothing in them to dispose them for such a favour more than what free grace wrought in them. Thus doth God delight to dispense grace in a way of sovereignty and absolute dominion. 2. How they attained to righteousness, notwithstanding: By faith; not by being proselyted to the Jewish religion, and submitting to the ceremonial law, but by embracing Christ, and believing in Christ, and submitting to the gospel. They attained to that by the short cut of believing sincerely in Christ for which the Jews had been long in vain beating about the bush.

II. Concerning the Jews observe, 1. How they missed their end: they followed after the law of righteousness (Rom 9:31) - they talked much of justification and holiness, seemed very ambitious of being the people of God and the favourites of heaven, but they did not attain to it, that is, the greatest part of them did not; as many as stuck to their old Jewish principles and ceremonies, and pursued a happiness in those observances, embracing the shadows now that the substance was come, these fell short of acceptance with God, were not owned as his people, nor went to their house justified. 2. How they mistook their way, which was the cause of their missing the end, Rom 9:32, Rom 9:33. They sought, but not in the right way, not in the humbling way, not in the instituted appointed way. Not by faith, not by embracing the Christian religion, and depending upon the merit of Christ, and submitting to the terms of the gospel, which were the very life and end of the law. But they sought by the works of the law; as if they were to expect justification by their observance of the precepts and ceremonies of the law of Moses. This was the stumbling-stone at which they stumbled. They could not get over this corrupt principle which they had espoused, That the law was given them for no end but that merely by their observance of it, and obedience to it, they might be justified before God: and so they could by no means be reconciled to the doctrine of Christ, which brought them off from that to expect justification through the merit and satisfaction of another. Christ himself is to some a stone of stumbling, for which he quotes Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16. It is sad that Christ should be set for the fall of any, and yet it is so (Luk 2:34), that ever poison should be sucked out of the balm of Gilead, that the foundation-stone should be to any a stone of stumbling, and the rock of salvation a rock of offence; so he is to multitudes; so he was to the unbelieving Jews, who rejected him, because he put an end to the ceremonial law. But still there is a remnant that do believe on him; and they shall not be ashamed, that is, their hopes and expectations of justification by him shall not be disappointed, as theirs are who expect it by the law. So that, upon the whole, the unbelieving Jews have no reason to quarrel with God for rejecting them; they had a fair offer of righteousness, and life, and salvation, made to them upon gospel terms, which they did not like, and would not come up to; and therefore, if they perish, they may thank themselves - their blood is upon their own heads.

Barclay: Rom 9:14-18

Paul now begins to meet the very arguments and objections which rise in our own minds. He has stated that in all Israel's history the process of selection and election has gone on; he has stressed the fact that this election was based not on any merit of the person elected but on nothing else than the will of God himself. The objector asks: "Is that fair? Is it just of God to pursue a policy of quite arbitrary selection altogether?" Paul's answer is that God can do what he chooses to do. In the terrible days of the Roman Empire, when no man's life was safe and any one might die at the whim of an irresponsible and suspicious Emperor, Galba said, when he became Emperor, that now "he could do what he liked and do it to anyone." To be honest, that is what Paul is saying about God in this passage.

Again he cites two instances to prove his point and buttresses them with scripture quotations. The first is from Exo 33:19. Moses is beseeching some real proof that God is really with the people of Israel. God's answer is that he will have mercy on those on whom he chooses to have mercy. His attitude of loving mercy to the nation depends on himself alone. The other instance is from Israel's battle for release from Egypt and the power of Pharaoh. When Moses first went to ask for that release, he warned Pharaoh that God had simply brought him on to the stage of history to demonstrate the divine power and to serve to all men as an example of what happens to the man who opposes it (Exo 9-16).

Once again our mind staggers at this argument. It is, of course, not true to say that God can do anything. He cannot do anything which contradicts his own nature. He cannot be responsible for any act which is unjust and which, in fact, breaks his own laws. We find it hard, and even impossible, to conceive of a God who irresponsibly gives mercy to one and not to another, and who raises up a king to be a mere puppet or lay figure through which his own avenging power may be demonstrated. But the argument would be valid and convincing to a Jew, because again it, in essence, means that God is behind everything.

When we get to the foot of this argument, it does conserve one great truth. It is impossible to think of the relationship between God and man in terms of justice. Man has no claim on God whatever. The created has no claim on the Creator. Whenever justice enters into it, the answer is that from God man deserves nothing and can claim nothing. In God's dealings with men, the essential things are his will and his mercy.

Barclay: Rom 9:19-29

In the previous passage Paul had been showing that all through the history of Israel there had been going on a process of election and selection by God. A very natural objection arises--if at the back of the whole process there is the selection and rejection of God, how can God possibly blame the men who have rejected him? Surely the fault is not theirs at all, but God's. Paul's answer is blunt almost to the point of crudity. He says that no man has any right to argue with God. When a potter makes a vessel, it cannot talk back to him; he has absolute power over it; out of the one lump of clay he can make one vessel for an honourable purpose and another for a menial purpose, and the clay has nothing to do with it and has no right whatever to protest. In point of fact Paul took this picture from Jeremiah (Jer 18:1-6). There are two things to be said about it.

(i) It is a bad analogy. One great New Testament commentator has said that this is one of the very few passages which we wish Paul had not written. There is a difference between a human being and a lump of clay. A human being is a person and a lump of clay is a thing. Maybe you can do what you like with a thing, but you cannot do what you like with a person. Clay does not desire to answer back; does not desire to question; cannot think and feel; cannot be bewildered and tortured. If someone has inexplicably suffered some tremendous sorrow, it will not help much to tell him that he has no right to complain, because God can do what he likes. That is the mark of a tyrant and not of a loving Father. It is the basic fact of the gospel that God does not treat men as a potter treats a lump of clay; he treats them as a loving father treats his child.

(ii) But when we have said that we must remember one thing--it was out of anguish of heart that Paul wrote this passage. He was faced with the bewildering fact that God's own people, his own kinsmen, had rejected and crucified God's own Son. It was not that Paul wished to say this; he was driven to say it. The only possible explanation he could see was that, for his own purposes, God had somehow blinded his people.

In any event, Paul does not leave the argument there. He goes on to say that this rejection by the Jews had happened in order that the door might be opened to the Gentiles. His argument is not good. It is one thing to say that God used an evil situation to bring good out of it; it is quite another thing to say that he created it to produce good in the end. Paul is saying that God deliberately darkened the minds and blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of the mass of the Jewish people in order that the way might open for the Gentiles to come in. We must remember that this is not the argument of a theologian sitting quietly in a study thinking things out; it is the argument of a man whose heart was in despair to find some reason for a completely incomprehensible situation. In the end the only answer Paul can find is that God did it.

Now Paul was arguing with Jews, and he knew that the only way he could buttress his argument was with quotations from their own scriptures. So he goes on to cite texts to prove that this rejection of the Jews and acceptance of the Gentiles had actually been foretold in the prophets. Hosea had said that God would make a people his people who were not his people (Hos 2:23). He said that a people who were not God's people would be called the sons of God (Hos 1:10). He showed how Isaiah had foreseen a situation when Israel would have been obliterated had not a remnant been left (Isa 10:22-23; Isa 37:32). It is his argument that Israel could have foreseen her doom had she only understood.

It is easy in this passage to criticize him, but the one thing that must be remembered is that Paul, in his despairing anguish for his own people, clung to the fact that somehow everything was God's work. For him there was nothing left to say but that.

Barclay: Rom 9:30-33

Here Paul draws a contrast between two ways of feeling towards God. There was the Jewish way. The aim of the Jew was to set himself right with God and he regarded a right relationship with God as something which could be earned. There is another way to put that which will show really what it means. Fundamentally, the Jewish idea was that a man, by strict obedience to the law, could pile up a credit balance. The result would be that God was in his debt and owed him salvation. But it was obviously a losing battle, because man's imperfection could never satisfy God's perfection; nothing that man could do could even begin to repay what God has done for him.

That is precisely what Paul found. As he said, the Jew spent his life searching for a law, obedience to which would put him right with God, and he never found it because there was no such law to be found. The Gentile had never engaged upon this search; but when he suddenly was confronted with the incredible love of God in Jesus Christ, he simply cast himself upon that love in total trust. It was as if the Gentile saw the Cross and said, "If God loves me like that I can trust him with my life and with my soul."

The Jew sought to put God in his debt; the Gentile was content to be in God's debt. The Jew believed he could win salvation by doing things for God; the Gentile was lost in amazement at what God had done for him. The Jew sought to find the way to God by works; the Gentile came by the way of trust.

"Not the labours of my hands

Can fulfil thy law's demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears for ever flow,

All for sin could not atone:

Thou must save, and thou alone."

Paul would have said "Amen" to that.

The stone is one of the characteristic references of the early Christian writers. In the Old Testament there is a series of rather mysterious references to the stone. In Isa 8:14it is said that God shall be for a stone of offence and a rock of stumbling to the houses of Israel. In Isa 28:16God says that he will lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. In Dan 2:34-35, Dan 2:44-45, there is a reference to a mysterious stone. In Psa 118:22the Psalmist writes: "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner."

When the Christians began to search the Old Testament for forecasts of Christ they came across these references to this wonderful stone; and they identified Jesus with it. Their warrant was that the gospel story shows Jesus himself making that identification and taking the verse in Psa 118:22and applying it to himself (Mat 21:42). The Christians thought of the stone which was the sure foundation, the stone which was the corner stone binding the whole building together, the stone which had been rejected and had then become the chief of all the stones, as pictures of Christ himself.

The actual quotation which Paul uses here is a combination of Isa 8:14and Isa 28:16. The Christians, including Paul, took it to mean this--God had intended his Son to be the foundation of every man's life, but when he came the Jews rejected him, and because they rejected him that gift of God which had been meant for their salvation became the reason for their condemnation. This picture of the stone fascinated the Christians. We get it again and again in the New Testament (Act 4:11; Eph 2:20; 1Pe 2:4-6).

The eternal truth behind this thought is this. Jesus was sent into this world to be the Saviour of men; but he is also the touch-stone by which all men are judged. If a man's heart goes out in love and submission to him, Jesus is for him salvation. If a man's heart is entirely unmoved or angrily rebellious, Jesus is for him condemnation. Jesus came into the world for our salvation, but by his attitude to him a man can either gain salvation or merit condemnation.

Constable: Rom 9:1--11:36

V. THE VINDICATION OF GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS chs. 9--11

A major problem concerning God's righteousness arises out of what Paul just claimed for God. It is this. If God is for His elect and will never remove His love from them, why has He set aside His chosen people, the Jews? It certainly looks as though something separated them from His love. If God has turned away from Israel, are Christians really that secure? The problem focuses on God's righteous dealings with humankind and therefore was one that Paul needed to deal with in this epistle.

In chapters 9-11 the apostle defended the righteousness of God in His dealings with Israel. Having explained how God justifies sinners Paul now found it necessary to justify God Himself, to prove and declare Him righteous.²⁸⁸ The apostle to the Gentiles proceeded to show that God had not removed His love from the Jews. Nothing had separated them from His love. God's present dealings with Israel do not indicate that He has abandoned them but need viewing in the light of His future plans for the nation. In the future God will also glorify Israel.

In chapter 9 Paul dealt primarily with God's dealings with Israel in the past, in chapter 10 with their present situation, and in chapter 11 with His future plans for the nation.

We note in these chapters that God's dealings with Israel as a nation are similar to His dealings with individual Christians whom Paul had been speaking of in recent chapters. God elected both Israel and each Christian.²⁸⁹ Unsaved Israel, as many unsaved individuals, tried to establish its own righteousness by obeying the law instead of by believing God's promise. A mass conversion of Israel will occur in the future (11:25-32). It is similar to the grand picture of the climax of salvation that we have in chapter 8. God will prove faithful to Israel as well as to individual Christians. The whole section dealing with Israel culminates in rapturous praise to God (11:33-36) as the section dealing with individual salvation did (8:31-39). While these parallels do exist, Paul did not stress them.

Constable: Rom 9:1-33

A. Israel's past election ch. 9

Paul began by tracing God's dealings with Israel in the past.

"No conjunction or particle connects the two chapters, and the tone shifts dramatically from celebration (8:31-39) to lamentation (9:1-3)."²⁹⁰

Constable: Rom 9:14-18

3. God's freedom to elect 9:14-18

The question of fairness arises whenever someone makes a choice to favor one person over another. Paul dealt with the justice of God in doing what He did in this pericope.

"These verses are a detour from the main road of Paul's argument. Paul takes this detour because he knows that his insistence on God's initiative in determining who should be saved and who rejected (see vv. 10-13 especially) will meet with questions and even objections. Appropriately, therefore, Paul reverts to the diatribe style, with its question-and-answer format and references to a dialogue partner, that he has utilized earlier in the letter (see 2:1-3:8; 3:27-31; 6-7)."³⁰¹

9:14 The apostle first flatly denied the charge that God is unjust. God cannot be unjust because He is God.

9:15 Then he proceeded to refute the charge. When the whole nation of Israel rebelled against God by worshipping the golden calf (Exod. 33), God took the lives of only 3,000 of the rebels. He could have justly slain the whole nation. His mercy caused Him to do something that appeared to be unjust. Likewise in His dealings with Jacob and Esau God blessed Esau greatly as a descendant of Abraham as He did all of Abraham's descendants. Nevertheless He chose to bestow special grace on Jacob.

"The grace of God has been spoken of in this Epistle often before; but not until these chapters is mercy named; and until mercy is understood, grace cannot be fully appreciated."³⁰²

9:16 It is not man's desire or effort that causes God to be merciful but His own sovereign choice. God is under no obligation to show mercy or to extend grace to anyone. If we insist on receiving just treatment from God, what we will get is condemnation (3:23).

9:17 God said He raised Pharaoh up. God had mercifully spared Pharaoh up to the moment when He said these words to him, through six plagues and in spite of his consistent opposition to God. God did not mean that He had created Pharaoh and allowed him to sit on Egypt's throne, though He had done that too. This is clear from Exodus 9:16, which Paul quoted. The NASB translation makes this clear by translating Exodus 9:16, ". . . for this cause I have allowed you to remain." Pharaoh deserved death for his opposition and insolence. However, God would not take his life in the remaining plagues so his continuing opposition and God's victory over him would result in greater glory for God (cf. Josh. 9:9; Ps. 76:10).

Here is another example similar to the one in verse 15 of God not giving people what they deserve but extending mercy to them instead.

9:18 This statement summarizes Paul's point. In chapter 1 the apostle had spoken about the way God gives people over to their own evil desires as a form of punishment for their sins. This is how God hardens people's hearts. In Pharaoh's case we see this working out clearly. God was not unjust because He allowed the hardening process to continue. His justice demanded punishment.

"Neither here nor anywhere else is God said to harden anyone who had not first hardened himself."³⁰³

". . . we say boldly, that a believer's heart is not fully yielded to God until it accepts without question, and without demanding softening, this eighteenth verse."³⁰⁴

"God's hardening, then, is an action that renders a person insensitive to God and his word and that, if not reversed, culminates in eternal damnation."³⁰⁵

"God's hardening does not, then, cause spiritual insensitivity to the things of God; it maintains people in the state of sin that already characterizes them."³⁰⁶

Paul did not mention the fact that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, which Moses stated in Exodus. Paul's point was simply that God can freely and justly extend mercy or not extend mercy to those who deserve His judgment.

Constable: Rom 9:19-29

4. God's mercy toward Israel 9:19-29

Next Paul dealt with a question that rises out of what he had just argued for, namely God's freedom to extend mercy to whom He will. Is it not logical that if God is going to show mercy to whom He will in spite of human actions and merit that human actions really provide no basis for His judging us? Is not the basis of judgment really God's will rather than human actions?

9:19 Paul posed the question in this verse and then answered it in the verses that follow.

9:20 In the first place it is presumptuous for human beings as the objects of divine judgment to sit in judgment on their Judge. Judging is God's prerogative, not ours. Creatures have no right to complain about their Creator's behavior.

". . . men are not lost because they are hardened; they are hardened because they are lost; they are lost because they are sinners."³⁰⁷

9:21 The illustration in this verse clarifies the inappropriateness of this critical attitude. Clearly Israel is in view as the vessel in the illustration (cf. Isa. 29:16; Jer. 18:6). Israel had no right to criticize God for shaping her for a particular purpose of His own choosing. Really Israel had nothing to complain about since God had formed her for an honorable use. Obviously the same is true of individuals.

"Neither Moses, nor Pharaoh, nor anyone else, could choose his parents, his genetic structure, or his time and place of birth. We have to believe that these matters are in the hands of God."³⁰⁸

9:22 People prepare themselves for destruction by pursuing sin (ch. 1). Pharaoh was such a vessel of wrath. However, Paul had in mind those in Israel who had opposed the gospel in his day. God was patient and merciful with them allowing them time to change their minds (repent) and believe (cf. 2:3-4; Acts 2:38; 3:19-20; 2 Pet. 3:9).

9:23-24 Those who believe the gospel are those in whom God will display the riches of His glory, not His wrath.

"Paul teaches that God has brought upon certain people whom he chooses on the basis of nothing but his own will a condition of spiritual stupor, a condition that leads to eternal condemnation."³⁰⁹

These vessels include both Jews and Gentiles (cf. 1:16; 2:10-11; 3:22).

9:25-26 The inclusion of Gentiles in this group is in harmony with Old Testament prophecy. Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 in their contexts refer to a reversal of Israel's status. Some interpreters say that this is a direct fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.³¹⁰ Others claim that this was an initial partial fulfillment that does not eliminate a future complete fulfillment.³¹¹ A better explanation, I think, is that Paul saw an analogy between God's present calling of Gentiles and His future calling of Israel.³¹² Gentiles were not a distinct people as were the Jews but constituted the mass of humanity. Nevertheless by God's grace believing Gentiles became members of the new people of God, the church.

9:27-28 Israel's election as a nation did not preclude God's judgment of the unbelievers in it. His mercy and faithfulness are observable in His sparing a remnant. Isaiah 10:22-23 anticipated the depletion of Israel through Sennacherib's invasion. That was God's instrument of judgment. When Paul wrote, the believing remnant of Israel was within the church as it is today.

9:29 If God had not tempered His judgment with mercy He would have destroyed Israel as completely as He had Sodom and Gomorrah. The remnant of believers among the mass of racial Jews is proof of God's mercy to the children of Israel.

Constable: Rom 9:30-33

5. God's mercy toward the Gentiles 9:30-33

This short pericope concludes Paul's argument concerning Israel's past election and begins the train of thought that he continued in chapter 10. The use of "righteousness" ten times in 9:30-10:21 illustrates the unity of this section and identifies a major theme in it.

9:30-31 Paul's question, that often marks a new argument in Romans, introduced his concluding summary that he couched in terminology suggestive of a foot race. Israel struggled hard to obtain the prize of justification but crossed the finish line behind Gentiles who were not running that hard. Israel as a whole hoped to gain justification by doing good works, but believing Gentiles obtained the prize by believing the gospel.

"Hardly a passage in the New Testament is stronger than this one in its exposure of the futility of works as a means of justification."³¹³

9:32-23 Israel as a whole, excluding the believing remnant, failed to gain a righteous standing before God because she tried to win it with works. A stone on the race track over which she stumbled impeded her progress. Intent on winning in her own effort Israel failed to recognize the Stone prophesied in Scripture who was to provide salvation for her.

The quotation is from Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 (cf. 1 Pet. 2:6-8). God intended the Messiah to be the provider of salvation. However the Jews did not allow Him to fulfill this function for them. Consequently this Stone became a stumbling block for them (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23).

Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ did not make God unfaithful or unrighteous in His dealings with the nation. What it did do was make it possible for Gentiles to surpass the Jews as the main recipients of salvation.

College: Rom 9:1-33

9:1-11:36 - PART FOUR

THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

IN HIS DEALINGS WITH THE JEWS

We now begin our consideration of one of the most difficult sections of the Bible, Romans 9-11. As N.T. Wright says, "It is as full of problems as a hedgehog is of prickles" ( Climax , 231). It is a premiere example of the common hermeneutical challenge: how can we know the meaning of the parts until we first know the meaning of the whole? But how can we know the meaning of the whole until we first know the meaning of the parts?

We begin by examining the question of the meaning of the whole. The reader may correctly assume, however, that the conclusions set forth here have been preceded by a great deal of dialectical (back-and-forth) analysis of the parts and the whole together.

A. THE PRINCIPAL THEME OF THIS SECTION

As we read through these three chapters, a number of prominent themes leap to our attention. They are as follows, listed in the order of their initial appearance in the text.

a) The Nation of Israel . From beginning to end this section is dominated by references to ethnic or physical Israel, the Jews as a nation, those whom Paul calls "my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel" (9:3-4). Paul makes several points about their role in God's plan (9:4-5,22-23; 11:11-15,25-32), their historical destiny (11:1,11-15,25-32), and their salvation (9:30-10:3; 10:16-21; 11:7-32).

b) God's Faithfulness . Another subject introduced near the beginning of this section is the faithfulness of God, specifically, whether God has been faithful to his word concerning his people Israel (9:6a). Has he kept his promises to them? Has he been and is he being fair in his dealings with them? "Is God unjust?" (9:14). See also 9:19; 11:29.

c) The Remnant . Another key subject is the distinction between Israel as a whole and remnant Israel: "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel" (9:6b). Membership in the former is determined by physical birth, but the latter is defined in spiritual terms as determined by God. See 9:23-29; 11:2-7. A key idea is stated in 9:27: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved." This is the "remnant chosen by grace" (11:5).

d) God's Sovereignty in Election . "God's purpose in election" is another important theme (9:11), especially his sovereignty in making the choices that he does. "For who resists his will?" (9:19). He has the same sort of sovereign authority that a potter has over his clay (9:21). See also 9:15-23; 11:5-10,28-29.

e) The Gentiles . Paul also raises the question of the relation between the Jews and the Gentiles. God's elect, he says, are drawn "not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles" (9:24). See 9:24-31. How the two are related dominates chapter 11 (vv. 11-32).

f) Law and Grace . We are not surprised that the main subject in chs. 1-8, law and grace, comes to the surface again in 9:30-31 as the key to the question of why God saves some and rejects others. A major part of ch. 10 (vv. 3-17) is the point that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by law or works of law. See also 11:6,20,23.

g) The Church . A final theme, discussed in 11:17-24, is the church. Though the word "church" itself is not used, this is clearly the point. The specific issue in this section is the relation between the church and Israel.

Having surveyed the various topics that arise in this section, we may now ask which of them is the main point of 9-11. What is Paul's purpose in writing this section? What is the underlying and unifying theme that ties it all together? What overall point is the author trying to establish?

1. Inadequate Answers

Several possibilities have been suggested as the main theme of these chapters, most of which are inadequate or off the mark. Three of these will now be briefly discussed.

God's Sovereignty in Election

A common idea is that Paul's main point here is the sovereignty of God in his election of individuals to salvation. Some see 9-11 as the locus classicus (main proof text) for the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. As Moo notes, Augustine taught that "Paul added these chapters to illustrate and expand on his teaching of predestination" (547, n. 1; see 548, n. 2).

In 1839 Robert Haldane said the same thing in his commentary on Romans. In earlier chapters, he said, Paul dealt mostly with justification and sanctification, but "now he proceeds to treat particularly of the doctrine of predestination, and to exhibit the sovereignty of God in his dealings both towards Jews and Gentiles." God's treatment especially of the Jews "furnishes the most ample opportunity for the illustration of this highly important subject" (438). "So," says Lloyd-Jones ( Chapter 9 , 2), "according to Haldane, the main object of this section is to deal with the doctrine of predestination and to illustrate it in that way."

William G.T. Shedd is another example of this view. Chs. 1-8, he says, show that the proximate cause of salvation is faith; but 9-11 are added to show that God is the ultimate and efficient cause. Here Paul "teaches that the ultimate reason why the individual believes, is that God elects him to faith, and produces it within him." Redemption thus rests upon "the divine sovereignty in the bestowment of regenerating grace." After touching on election in 8:28-33, Paul "now enters upon the full examination of it, together with the correlated doctrine of reprobation" (271-272).

This view must be rejected, however; neither election (predestination) as such nor God's sovereignty in election is the main point of 9-11. This conclusion has nothing to do with one's particular view of predestination, since scholars on both sides of this issue generally agree on this. Lloyd-Jones, a Calvinist, specifically rejects this view, saying that the subject matter here is "altogether bigger than predestination." Indeed, "for anyone to exalt predestination as the main theme in this section is almost to be guilty of blasphemy" ( Chapter 9 , 2,7). Godet, a non-Calvinist, agrees and declares that this view is refuted by "the entire course of this great exposition" (336). Nygren agrees: "If one uses chapters 9-11 as his point of departure in studying Paul's view of predestination, he ends with a false picture of it" (354). See also Moo, 548.

It is certainly true that the subject of God's sovereignty in election is present in these chapters, especially in ch. 9. It is not the main point, however.

Justification by Faith

Another view is that in 9-11 Paul is just continuing the theme of 1-8, that justification before God is by faith in the work of Jesus Christ, with a special emphasis on how this relates to Israel. For example, Fitzmyer sees Rom 1:16-11:36 as one unit in which the gospel is set forth. Part one (1:16-4:25) explains how the gospel reveals that the uprightness (or righteousness) of God justifies people by faith (253). Part two (5:1-8:39) explains that God's love further assures salvation to those justified by faith (393). Then part three (9:1-11:36), says Fitzmyer, discusses "the relationship of Israel to this mode of justification or salvation." He gives the following title to this section: "This justification and salvation through faith do not contradict God's promises to Israel of old" (539). Paul's main point is "to explain how the Jewish people fit into the new plan of God" (541).

Certainly the themes of law and grace are prominent in this section, especially in 9:30-10:21. Here Paul shows why God has rejected the Jews and accepted the Gentiles: the former have vainly sought justification by works of law, while the latter have accepted the free grace of Jesus Christ through faith. This theme appears also in ch. 11 (vv. 5-6,20-23). Thus there is a clear connection between this section of Romans and the first eight chapters. As Morris says, "Paul is not here proceeding to a new and unrelated subject. These three chapters are part of the way he makes plain how God in fact saves people" (344).

Nevertheless we must conclude that justification by faith is not the main point of 9-11. To be sure, the way the law-grace theme is presented in 1-8 indirectly leads to the question being dealt with here, as we shall presently see. But the main point is something else.

The Role of Israel in God's Plan

One other view, one that is quite common but still inadequate, is that Paul's purpose in writing 9-11 was to explain the role of the nation of Israel in God's redemptive plan. "God's Purpose for Israel" is the heading given to this section by Matthew Black (122). "Chapters 9-11 are concerned with the place of Israel within the framework of God's redemptive purpose," say Newman and Nida (196). According to W.H. Griffith Thomas, this section "deals with the relation of the Jew to the Gospel of Righteousness treated of in chs. i.-viii." (2:112). "Chapters nine through eleven of Romans have as their theme the destiny of Israel in the plan of God ," says Vanderlip (70). The subject here is "Israel herself," says Moo (548).

Many interpreters think this section is mainly concerned with the question of Israel's salvation. For example, MacArthur declares that "the major theme of chapters 9-11 is God's dealing with His elect nation" (2:17). In discussing this theme, he says, Paul addresses several basic questions. Has God forsaken his ancient people Israel, or does the gospel of grace apply to them, too? If it does apply, why have most Jews rejected it? Also, is there any hope for the nation of Israel (2:3-5)? The answer, of course, is in 11:26,29: "And so all Israel will be saved," since "God's gifts and his call are irrevocable."

Others believe that Paul's main point is to explain the relation between Israel and the Gentiles, or as Murray puts it, to "delineate for us the worldwide design in reference to Jew and Gentile." This is necessary in view of the fact that the gospel of grace is God's gift "to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (1:16, NASB; Murray, 2:xiii). The practical purpose of such an explanation would be to unite the squabbling Jewish and Gentile factions within the Roman church (see Moo, 553). It was especially crucial that they be united in their support of Paul's plan to preach the gospel in a new area, according to Wright ( Climax , 252-253).

These chapters are obviously quite heavily focused on the nation of Israel. The Jews are involved in Paul's argument throughout the whole section. However, I disagree that Israel is the main point here, whether it be Israel and salvation, Israel and the Gentiles, Israel and the church, or national Israel and remnant Israel. Thus I would not entitle this section "The Problem of Israel," as Moo does (547).

2. The Faithfulness of God

The real focus of these chapters is not upon predestination as such, justification as such, or Israel as such. The focus is rather upon God himself (see Wright, Climax , 235). Specifically, the theme is the faithfulness of God . True, Israel figures heavily in this discussion. In fact, it is God's dealings with Israel that give rise to the question of his faithfulness. Has God been faithful to his chosen people? Has he kept his promises to them (9:6a)? Has he been fair to them? Because of Israel's involvement here one could probably say, as does Dunn, that "the true theme of chaps. 9-11 is God and Israel" (2:520). More specifically, though, it is God himself; and more specifically still, his faithfulness. As Piper says ( Justification , 19), "What is at stake ultimately in these chapters is not the fate of Israel . . . . Ultimately God's own trustworthiness is at stake." Cranfield entitles this section, "The Unbelief of Men and the Faithfulness of God" (2:445).

What, specifically, has raised this issue? Two things: The Jews' rejection of the gospel, and God's consequent rejection of the Jews. First, it was a simple historical fact that most of the nation of Israel did not accept Jesus as the expected Messiah; they rejected the gospel of grace. Stott declares that in 9-11 "the dominant theme is Jewish unbelief, together with the problems which it raised" (262). I disagree that it is the dominant theme, but I agree that it helped to raise the problem that does dominate this section.

Second, it was also a fact that God rejected his people (9:3), the nation of Israel as a whole, when they rejected him. That is, he rejected them with respect to salvation. This fact in particular raised the issue of God's faithfulness. After all, God himself had chosen the Jews and showered them with covenant promises and covenant blessings. Is he now going back on his word? Piper speaks of "the tension between God's word and the fate of Israel" ( Justification , 19). This indeed is a "key tension" (Moo, 548), and it raises what Godet calls "the greatest enigma in history: the rejection of the elect people" (336). "How, at a given point in time, can God reject those whom He has elected?" (337).

The issue, then, is whether or not God has been faithful with respect to his promises to the Jews. Has his word failed (9:6a)? When he rejected his people, " God's word of promise seems to have lost its validity . . . . Does not that mean that God has revoked the promises He made to the fathers?" (Nygren, 356-357). "How stands his faithfulness in the face of Israel's unfaithfulness?" (Dunn, 2:530). As Wright puts it ( Climax , 236), "The main subject-matter of Romans 9-11 . . . is the covenant faithfulness of God, seen in its outworking in the history of the people of God." This is the point. See Piper, Justification , 46.

Paul's intent in these chapters is to show that, in spite of the nation's unbelief and God's subsequent rejection of them, God has nevertheless been completely faithful to the Jews and has kept all his promises to them (9:6a). "All of Rom 9-11 is written with a view to showing that God has not been and will not be unfaithful to his word" (Piper, Justification , 217-218). See Moo, 550-551.

This section, then, is in effect an exercise in theodicy , or an attempt to justify before men the ways of God. It is not, as some have thought, Paul's attempt to defend himself and his Gentile mission. "No, it is not his mission, and still less his person, which Paul means to defend when he traces this vast scheme of the ways of God; it is God Himself and His work in mankind by the gospel. He labors to dissipate the shadow which might be thrown on the character of God or the truth of the gospel by the unbelief of the elect people" (Godet, 337).

One final point should be made in this connection. We are saying here that the theme of 9-11 is the faithfulness of God. Some interpreters identify it instead as the righteousness of God. "God's Righteousness Vindicated" is Mounce's heading for these chapters (193). "Chapters 9-11 discuss the subject of God's righteousness in view of his apparent rejection of the Jewish nation" (195). See also Harrison, 100; and Edwards, 228.

It is true that the concept of the righteousness of God appears in 9-11. It is also true that there is a close relation between righteousness and faithfulness. Also, the theme of divine righteousness figures prominently in 1-8. Nevertheless it is best not to speak of the righteousness of God as the main point of 9-11. The main reason is that the righteousness of God that may also be called his faithfulness is not the kind of righteousness that is at the heart of the gospel as explained in 1-8 (see 1:17; 3:21-22; 4:6,9,11; 5:17). In these first eight chapters the divine righteousness is primarily God's gift of righteousness to believing sinners, on the basis of which he justifies them. This kind of divine righteousness does appear in 9-11 (see 9:30-31; 10:3-6), but it is not the main point. The righteousness of God that is equivalent to his own internal integrity and self-consistency and faithfulness is also found in 1-8 (see 3:25-26), but there the issue is whether God can be righteous (i.e., true to himself) when he saves sinners. The answer is yes, he can, because of the cross. But here in 9-11, though this kind of righteousness is alluded to in 9:14, the issue is very different, namely, whether or not God is un righteousness when he does not save the Jews.

Thus, in order to avoid any confusion that might arise because of these different connotations of divine righteousness, and to avoid the misconception that the main point here is the same kind of divine righteousness that is prominent in 1-8, I believe it is better to speak here of the faithfulness of God.

B. PAUL'S ANSWER TO THE QUESTION

OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

How then does Paul answer the question about God's faithfulness? The key to his answer is the distinction between service and salvation, with a corresponding distinction between utilitarian promises and redemptive promises. Being chosen for service is not the same as being chosen for salvation, and promises concerning the former do not necessarily entail promises concerning the latter. Thus it was concerning Israel: when God chose the Jewish nation to play a part in his great drama of redemption, he did not thereby guarantee the salvation of every individual Jew.

1. Chosen for Service

God did indeed choose Israel for a special role of unmatched service, which Paul spells out in detail in 9:4-5 (see 3:1-2). Their mission was filled with wonder and glory, leading up to the grand climax of bringing into the world the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. One cannot imagine a greater privilege.

The fact is, despite all her shortcomings, Israel did indeed accomplish this mission. Nursed along by God's patient and chastising hand, Israel at last yielded the Messiah. This is something in which every individual Jew can take pride: "Through us , through our nation, God brought the Savior into the world! What a wonder!" This, along with all the preparatory glories mentioned in 9:4-5, are privileges that will always belong to Israel and to Israel alone. These unique blessings have not been taken away from the elect nation, nor are they shared with anyone else, not even the church.

Thus Israel rendered to God and to the rest of the world the greatest possible service. But it was service nonetheless, and service is the only thing for which the Jews as a nation were elected or chosen. That God chose them to serve in even this exalted way did not include and was not even directly related to their salvation. Personal salvation - justification by faith - was never intended for nor guaranteed to any individual Jew just because he was a Jew (see Piper, Justification , 218).

Thus Schreiner is wrong when he declares that the crucial statement in 9:6a " refers to God's promises to save his people Israel ," and when he links the list of privileges in 9:4-5 to "the salvation of Israel" ("Election," 91). Schreiner infers this conclusion from the fact that in 9:1-3 Paul does refer to Israel's salvation, or the lack of it. But to say that 9:6a, and the rest of ch. 9, must then be speaking of salvation promises is a non sequitur . In fact, it misses Paul's whole point, which is actually just the opposite: the nonsalvation of individual Jews does not negate God's promises to the Israelite nation, because those promises did not have to do with individual salvation in the first place.

Thus Israel's rejection of salvation in no way implies that God's plan for the Jews as a nation was a failure. The problem or challenge concerning God's faithfulness arises only when one misunderstands God's intended role for the Jews in the first place. This was in fact a major mistake that the Jews themselves had made. They assumed that their election for service automatically involved salvation; but this was never the point, as Paul has already shown in 2:1-3:8. In ch. 2 Paul addressed the Jews' assumption that their very Jewishness, symbolized by their possession of the Law and circumcision, guaranteed their personal salvation. Paul very clearly showed that this is false, and that the way of salvation for individual Jews, despite the privileges of the nation as a whole (3:1-2), was no different from the way Gentiles themselves are saved, i.e., not through law but through grace alone.

Paul's discussion in ch. 9 (vv. 1-29) presupposes that God has the perfect right to make this distinction between service and salvation. One might think (as did the Jews) that God surely cannot deny salvation to the people whom he loved and whom he chose and whom he used in such a marvelous way. Somehow this would just not seem fair! But that is the very point: it is fair; it is righteous for God to do this. He has the perfect right to make such a distinction, and to keep his choice for service completely separate from his choice for salvation. The fact that God used Pharaoh for his redemptive purposes did not require the latter to be saved (9:17-18). The same is true of Israel. If God wants to use the Jews in his service yet deny them salvation because of their unbelief, that is perfectly consistent with his nature and his promises. God is completely within his rights when he does this (9:19-21).

2. Chosen for Salvation

But what about the salvation of the Jews? If they are not necessarily saved, are they then necessarily condemned? Are they totally cut off from Jesus and from his saving grace? No, they are neither automatically included, nor are they automatically excluded from grace. The point is simply that the salvation of any individual Jew - and salvation is open to them all - is an issue that is separate from the nation's election to service. God in his sovereignty has set up a way of salvation according to his own choosing, and he has sovereignly established the conditions under which anyone may receive this salvation, whether Jew or Gentile. Any individual Jew is free to meet these conditions and to accept this salvation.

This way of salvation, of course, is the same that Paul has expounded throughout 1-8: grace, not law; and the means by which any Jew may receive it is just as Paul has explained in these earlier chapters: faith in God's promises concerning the death and resurrection of Christ. See 9:30-10:21.

It is true that most Jews are not saved (9:1-3), but the reason is that they are trying to be saved by a way of their own choosing rather than the way of God's choosing, i.e., by law and not by grace (9:30-10:3). When the Jews thus reject God's saving promises and are then themselves rejected, this is not a "defeat" for God's "redemptive word" (contra Achtemeier, 154), because this is completely consistent with what has always been God's way of redemption. Nor is it a defeat for God's utilitarian word, i.e., his promises to use Israel to bring salvation into the world, because these promises have been completely fulfilled apart from the salvation of any or all Jews.

Have any Jews actually believed and been saved? Of course they have! These are the "remnant" (9:27; 11:5) and the "descendants" (9:29, lit. "seed") of which Isaiah spoke. They are the seven thousand who did not bow to Baal (11:4). Though they be relatively few compared with the total number of ethnic Jews, they were the true Israel (9:6b) in OT times; and they along with believing Gentiles are in NT times the new Israel, the church (9:23-29). This way of salvation is still open to any and all Jews (11:17-24).

Paul emphasizes the point that it is possible for all Jews to be saved, but it will happen only "thus" or "so" (ou{tw" , houtos , 11:26), i.e., only "in this way." The way of salvation for individual Jews is the same as for anyone else: grace, not law. Contrary to the speculations of many, God will not at some point in the future establish some totally different and special way of salvation for Jews (see Wright, Climax , 233). When we understand that God's utilitarian promises to Israel as a nation did not include salvation, and when we see that all these utilitarian promises have already been fulfilled, then we are able to see how God has been faithful in his promises to Israel without having to save every Jew. This also sets us free from an interpretation of ch. 11 that requires all physical Israelites to be saved in order for God to be true to his redemptive word.

C. THE RELATION BETWEEN 1-8 AND 9-11

Another introductory issue is the relation between 9-11 and the first eight chapters of Romans. How is this section related to Paul's overall argument thus far? What is the flow of his thought here? Is there a logical connection between 9-11 and 1-8?

1. Avoiding Extremes

In answering this question two extremes must be avoided. One is the view that there is no inherent connection, i.e., that chs. 9-11 are a kind of digression or parenthesis, or an appendix only loosely related to what has gone before. For example, C.H. Dodd sees this section as "a compact and continuous whole, which can be read quite satisfactorily without reference to the rest of the epistle" (148). He suggests that it may have been a sermon that Paul had written earlier and carried with him, which he would use when called upon to explain the role of the Jews, and which he decided to insert in his Roman letter at this point. Though its contents are not irrelevant to the material in 1-8, still, if he had omitted it, we would have had no sense of a gap between ch. 8 and ch. 12 (149-150).

At the other extreme is the view that 9-11 is not just inherently related to 1-8 but is the logical climax to the argument being developed there. Viewed this way, 9-11 is then regarded as the heart and essence of the entire letter. Krister Stendahl, for instance, calls these chapters "the climax of Romans," the section to which everything else is leading ( Paul , 4, 85). N.T. Wright also argues that 9-11 functions "as the climax of the theological argument. . . . The whole of Romans 1-11 is, in one sense, an exposition of how the one God has been faithful, in Jesus Christ, to the promises he made to Abraham." Rom 9-11 is the "climactic section" to the whole ( Climax , 234, 255).

Neither of these extremes is acceptable. On the one hand, chs. 1-8 do form a logically complete unit, to which 8:31-39 is a natural climax. These chapters deal with the question of personal salvation, affirming it to be by grace and not by law. But on the other hand, looking at it this way does not require us to regard 9-11 as a mere "aside or appendix, dealing with a different problem." A more moderate view will now be explained.

2. The Nature of the Connection

What has happened in the writing of Romans is this. Throughout Paul's explanation of how we are saved by grace and not by law (1-8), a question comes repeatedly to the surface but is not dealt with in detail lest the flow of the argument be too greatly interrupted. But once the main argument has been completed, it becomes possible, even necessary, to return to this question and to address it more specifically and completely, which is what Paul does in 9-11. Thus 9-11 definitely has a thematic connection with 1-8, though it is not a part of the logical flow of the latter. It is a separate unit. The point of 1-8 would stand without 9-11, and we could understand the main point of 9-11 without 1-8. But we would not know why Paul wrote these three chapters without referring back to 1-8.

To be specific, the very point of the first eight chapters - that salvation is by grace and not by law - seems in itself to render the Jews irrelevant, to render God's 2000 years of dealing with them futile and pointless, and definitely to raise the question of God's faithfulness to them.

The argument of 1-8 is that one is saved not by his response to any law code, including the Law of Moses, but only by the grace of God made available to all through the saving work of Jesus Christ (see 3:28; 6:14). But since the Jews are so closely identified with law (in the form of the Law of Moses), and since the way of grace appears to some to disparage or even dismiss the law, the gospel thus appears to be dismissing the Jews from God's plan as well. What then has become of God's promises to the Jews and of God's faithfulness to his promises?

This problem is compounded by the many positive references to the Jews and to the OT in 1-8. Paul begins the letter by declaring that the gospel was promised by the OT prophets (1:2). He then declares that the gospel is actually intended for the Jews first (1:16). He says the Jews were given many advantages, especially their stewardship of the OT Scriptures (3:1-2). These very Scriptures testify to grace as the way of salvation (3:21). In fact, the gospel of grace actually upholds the law (3:31). The law is holy, and righteous, and good (7:12); and the believer agrees with it (7:16) and obeys it with his whole heart (7:25).

But all of these positive things about the Jews and about law seem to be overshadowed and negated by statements of another kind and by the general contrast with grace. This is especially true in the thematic statements, that we are justified by faith not by works of law (3:28), and that we are not under law but under grace (6:14). In addition, the entire second chapter is extremely critical of the Jews and their law. In the final analysis there seems to be no distinction between Jews and Gentiles (2:9-12,25-29; 3:9). The law is of no value for justifying sinners; such justification must occur "apart from law" (3:20-21). Anyone who believes is a child of Abraham, whether he be Jew or Gentile (4:9-16). We who are alive to Christ are dead to the law (7:4) and released from it (7:6).

The fact that the Jews and the law seem to be cast in such a negative light is what raises the question with which 9-11 deals. The message of grace in effect seems to make the 2000 years of Jewish history superfluous. Why did God focus his loving attention upon the Jews, and shower so many privileges upon them, if in the final analysis we are saved by grace, not by law? Has God changed his mind? Has he gone back on his promises to the Jews? Has he reversed his plan, and arbitrarily abandoned his people? As Moo (553) expresses it, "Does the gospel presented in the NT genuinely 'fulfill' the OT and stand, thus, as its natural completion [as the positive statements cited above would suggest]? Or is the gospel a betrayal of the OT, with no claim therefore to come from the same God who elected and made promises to Israel [as the negative statements would seem to suggest]?"

Thus "Paul's whole argument" in 1-8 "demands an examination of the Jewish question" (Morris, 343). There must be a "harmonizing" of the OT with the NT, says Lloyd-Jones ( Chapter 9 , 6).

Especially troublesome is the simple fact that most Jews rejected the grace of God and even their Messiah when he came. But if the gospel is so rooted in the OT, why did the Jews refuse it? As Calvin put it, "If this be the doctrine of the law and the Prophets [3:21], how comes it that the Jews so pertinaciously reject it?" (333). If it all began with Abraham and was even patterned after Abraham's faith-relation to God, "how came it, then, that it was pre-eminently Abraham's descendants who refused to believe the gospel?" (Bruce, 183).

These are the sorts of questions that are left hanging in 1-8, and which Paul's discussion of God's faithfulness to the Jews in 9-11 is intended to answer. In the earlier part of the epistle they are closest to the surface in 2:1-3:8. See especially 3:1, where Paul asks, "What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?" But at this point he gives only one positive answer to the question (3:2). Then in 3:3-8 the very issue of Israel's unbelief and God's faithfulness is raised, with Paul simply confirming the latter and quickly moving on in his argument. But now in 9-11 he comes back to these very questions and deals with them in more detail.

It is noteworthy also that Paul's basic answer to these questions has already been suggested in 2:1-3:8, where he addresses the Jews' assumption that the very fact that they were the "chosen people" guaranteed their salvation. In ch. 2 Paul explicitly denies that this is the case. No one, not even a Jew, is saved by his relation to God's law, and especially not by his mere possession of that law (as the Jews possessed the Law of Moses). In this earlier section, however, he makes only an abbreviated reference to the distinction between election to salvation and election to service (3:1-2). Now in 9-11 he presents this in detail as the solution to the problem.

3. The Immediate Contextual Connection: 8:31-39

The theme of 9-11 is God's faithfulness in his dealings with the Jews. We have seen that this discussion is necessary because the gospel of grace-not-law seems to be inconsistent with God's covenant promises to Israel. It looks as if he is relegating his chosen nation to the trash pile with a dismissive "Never mind!" To prevent such erroneous thoughts from taking root and becoming a stumbling block to many, Paul shows why this is not the case.

But there is another reason why it is appropriate if not necessary for Paul to defend God's faithfulness at this point in his letter to the Romans. He has just concluded his explanation of the gospel of grace with one of the greatest hymns of hope in the human language, 8:31-39. In this paragraph the Apostle sets forth the precious promises that are the essence of God's new covenant through Jesus Christ.

After reading these promises, however, some may be tempted to ask whether they are as wonderful as they seem to be at first glance. Certainly their content cannot be surpassed: God is on our side; he gave up his Son for us; he will give us all things; Christ even now is interceding for us at God's right hand; nothing shall separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus. What, then, is the problem? As some may see it, the problem is whether or not we can truly count on God to keep all these promises! In other words, will he be faithful ?

Why should anyone raise such a question? Why should anyone dare to challenge the faithfulness of God? Here is where the question of Israel may possibly be raised. Someone may well ask, Did not God make equally great promises to the Jews under the Old Covenant? Did he not choose Israel as his special people and make them the special objects of his love and attention? But where are the Jews now? God seems to have abandoned them, and has even set aside the magnificent Law with which he entrusted them. So why should we count on him to keep all these high-sounding promises to us under the New Covenant? If his word has failed for the Jews, will it also fail for us Christians? The promises of 8:31-39 presuppose a faithful God. But if his faithfulness can be called into question concerning his promises to the Jews, how can we depend on him to keep his promises to us now?

Even if this is not the main reason why Paul wrote 9-11, it surely cannot have been absent from his mind as he constructed his careful argument concerning God's faithfulness in these chapters. Most interpreters see such a connection, and conclude that 9-11 serves to reinforce the Christian's confidence in God's promises. God did not in fact go back on his promises to the Jews; neither will he fail to keep his promises to us.

D. THE QUESTION OF GOD'S SOVEREIGN ELECTION

A final issue that must be briefly discussed in this introduction is the question of God's sovereign election as it relates to human responsibility and free will. As we have noted above, some have drawn the conclusion that predestination is the main point of this whole section of Romans. Though this is not the case, this subject does figure prominently here, especially in ch. 9. Thus some preliminary remarks are in order before we turn to a detailed examination of the text.

Key affirmations of God's sovereignty are as follows. Even before Isaac was born, God chose him for his purposes (9:7), and he chose Jacob and rejected Esau in the same manner (9:11-13). God told Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (9:15). God's choice does not depend on man's efforts but on God's mercy (9:16). He chose Pharaoh for his purposes (9:17). "God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden" (9:18). God is like a potter who has complete control over his clay (9:19-21). Some are prepared for destruction and some for glory (9:22-23). He calls individuals from among Jews and Gentiles (9:24). He has a remnant chosen by grace (11:5). The chosen obtained God's righteousness; the rest were hardened (11:7-8). God loves the Jews in accord with his purpose of election (11:28). His gifts and call are irrevocable (11:29).

These affirmations of God's sovereign election seem to be overwhelming, but at the same time there is considerable emphasis on human freedom and man's responsibility for his own fate. E.g., the Gentiles obtained righteousness because they pursued it by faith, whereas the Jews did not attain it because they pursued it by works (9:30-32). The key is personal faith (9:33; 10:4,10). The Jews did not submit themselves to God's righteousness (10:3). The conditions for salvation are faith and confession (10:9-10). God saves all who call upon the name of the Lord (10:12-13). Faith comes through hearing Christ's word (10:17). Some whom God calls do not answer (10:21). Paul hopes his evangelism of the Gentiles will move some Jews to accept salvation (11:14). Jews are rejected because of their unbelief, and Gentiles are accepted because of their belief (11:20). God will save those believing Gentiles who continue in their belief, and reject those who do not (11:22). He will also restore those unbelieving Jews who do not continue in their unbelief (11:23).

How are we to assess these data? How may we harmonize the references to divine sovereignty on the one hand, with the references to human beings' responsibility for their own fate on the other hand? Some see the answer in the distinction between the election of groups and the election of individuals. It is often argued (by Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike) that the main point in ch. 9 is corporate election, especially the election of Israel as a nation. This is the view of Forster and Marston: "People often fail to understand that in this whole section the apostle is talking about nations and not about individuals." Even in 9:14-18, "the bearing of Moses and Pharaoh on the earthly function and destiny of the nation of Israel" is the issue ( Strategy , 59, 75). See also Achtemeier: "Paul is addressing the problem of Israel as chosen people"; he "is not addressing the fate of some individual." In ch. 9 God is choosing the destiny "of peoples, not of individuals" (154-155). Fitzmyer also cautions us to remember that Paul's "emphasis is on corporate Israel despite the examples of individuals that he uses" (542). Cranfield agrees: "It is, in fact, with the election of the community that Paul is concerned in Romans 9 to 11" (2:450). See Morris: "We should bear in mind that Paul is here dealing with the community rather than with individuals" (345).

On the other hand, many deny that the main point is corporate election. In his book The Justification of God Piper believes he has shown that Rom 9 teaches "the predestination of individuals to their respective eternal destinies." At the same time he finds "the view that sees only national election in these verses" to be exegetically untenable ( Justification , 218). Schreiner agrees, as he defends the typical Calvinist view "that Romans 9 teaches that God unconditionally elects individuals to be saved" ("Election," 89). He argues against the view that Rom 9 "relates to the salvation of groups, of corporate entities, and not of individuals" (90; see 98-105).

What should we say about this? Surely, in our exegesis of 9-11 it is important to ask whether Paul is dealing with groups or with individuals. But actually this is not the key issue, and to approach this passage as if it were may cause us to miss its whole point. The key issue is the distinction between election for salvation and election for service . Also significant is the distinction between physical or ethnic Jews - the nation of Israel, and those who are Jews spiritually - those described as the remnant (9:27; 11:5). Paul's main point, though, is the difference between service and salvation, and whether these refer to individuals or groups in the final analysis will not affect the main point.

One point on which almost everyone agrees is that, somewhere in Rom 9, Paul deals at least in part with God's election of Israel as a nation for a role of service, or what Moo calls "this general (and nonsalvific) corporate election of Israel" (559, n. 24). But the problem, the point at issue, is this: exactly with what is this corporate election for service being compared or contrasted? Some say the contrast is with election of individuals to salvation, and that this is really the main point of Rom 9. This is the view of Piper, Schreiner, and Moo, as cited above. Others say the contrast is with salvific corporate election, with the election of a group , not individuals, to salvation. Forster and Marston say, "The prime point is that the election of the church [which is comparable to the remnant in Israel] is a corporate rather than an individual thing" ( Strategy , 136). "The election of grace is corporate rather than particular," says Shank ( Elect , 157; see 114, 122).

Which of these approaches is correct? In my judgment, neither of them. Does this mean that Paul is not concerned here with election to salvation at all? On the contrary, he is very much concerned with it as a fact , but especially in ch. 9 he is not concerned with any details relating to it. Again, the main point is the simple distinction between salvation and service. This is a distinction which the Jews themselves failed to make, and this very failure was the basis for questioning the faithfulness of God. "If God has chosen us, why is he now rejecting us and not saving us?" Because, says Paul, he did not choose you for salvation, but for service.

Election to service applies to the entire nation of Israel, and to every individual within it. Election to salvation applies only to the "Israel within Israel" - the remnant - and to every individual within it. Whether it be nations (groups) or individuals is not the point. This is contrary to the common Calvinist view, which tries to find individual election to salvation in this passage; it is also contrary to the view that salvific election is of groups, not individuals. The simple fact is that in Rom 9 it is not Paul's purpose to explain election to salvation at all.

Paul's discussion of Israel in Rom 9 in fact shows that God has the sovereign right to distinguish between salvation and service. The emphasis is on God's sovereign authority to choose unconditionally any group or any individual to fill any given role in the working out of his purposes, without being bound at the same time to guarantee their salvation. In this way God selected Israel from all the nations of the earth to perform the greatest act of service possible for an earthly agent.

At the same time God is sovereignly free to choose individuals for salvation in a way that is completely different from the way he chooses anyone for service. The fact is that he chooses to bestow salvation on the basis of grace and upon the primary condition of faith. This conditional election to salvation is established in 9:30-10:21. Certainly those unconditionally chosen for service can also be saved, but 9:30-10:21 shows that salvation is given only to those who through faith choose to relate to God in terms of grace instead of law. Those who put their trust in God's way of grace form another group within and distinct from ethnic Israel, namely, spiritual Israel, the remnant of believers.

This resolves the seeming paradox of divine sovereignty and human responsibility in 9-11. Many interpreters, especially Calvinists, are content to regard the presence of these two themes as a paradox, but this is totally unnecessary. God's sovereignty is exercised in his unconditional election of individuals and groups, Israel in particular, to roles of service in the working out of his redemptive plan. His sovereignty is also seen in the way he chooses to distinguish service from salvation, which allows him to choose and use Israel without guaranteeing the salvation of all individual Jews as part of the same package. Another expression of his sovereignty is his right to establish the system of salvation according to a way of his own choosing, in a way independent of works, namely, by grace. Those who accept this way to salvation become part of "the elect."

But it is made very clear from 9:30 onward that becoming a part of this grace category is the result of one's responsible choice to believe God's promises. In other words, salvation is conditional . This in no way contradicts the sovereignty of God, but rather upholds it, since it is perfectly consistent with the way God made human beings and configured his way of salvation in the first place.

E. AN OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS 9-11

Romans 9-11 is divided into three main sections. After a prologue (9:1-5) that sets up the problem to be discussed, the first main section (9:1-29) discusses the fact that God has made a distinction within the nation of Israel so that there are in fact two Israels: (1) physical, ethnic, or national Israel, i.e., Israel according to flesh; and (2) remnant or spiritual Israel, i.e., Israel according to faith. The former was chosen for service, the latter for salvation. The second main section (9:30-10:21) explains the criterion for distinguishing between the two Israels, i.e., the choice between law and grace. The third section (11:1-32) shows that there is still hope for the salvation of all ethnic Jews. The passage closes with a doxology of praise to God (11:33-36).

I. THE PROBLEM OF ISRAEL: THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF THE JEWISH NATION (9:1-5)

The transition from ch. 8 to ch. 9 is quite abrupt. No connecting word (e.g., "therefore," "however") links 9:1 closely with 8:39. There is an obvious shift in subject matter. Also, the tone changes dramatically. The spirit of joy and confidence characterizing the end of ch. 8 is replaced by a spirit of tension and sorrow.

The reason for this new direction in Paul's thought is the problem of his own kinsmen, the Jewish people. In view of the Jews' privileged role in God's plan, the logical expectation would be that they above all others should have been rejoicing in the hope Paul describes in 8:31-39. The shocking and tragic fact, though, was that most Israelites were rejecting the Messiah whose coming was their very reason for being. As a result, rather than celebrating their salvation, they were under God's curse.

Paul's reaction to the plight of the Jews took two forms. On a subjective, personal level his heart was filled with grief because of their lost state. On a more objective, theological level he was concerned that some might take Israel's rejection as an indication that God's word had failed. Though his personal grief was genuine, his greater concern was to show that the tragedy of the Jews in no way violated God's original promises and plans for them as a nation.

The main point of this section (9:1-5) is to set forth the contrast between the plight of Israel (1-3) and her privileges (4-5). How can these be reconciled? Has God's word somehow failed to come true? By raising these questions Paul thus prepares the way for his defense of the faithfulness of God in his dealings with his people.

A. ISRAEL'S AGONY: THEY ARE ACCURSED (9:1-3)

9:1 I speak the truth in Christ - I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit - With these introductory words Paul affirms in several ways the truthfulness of what he is about to say in vv. 2-3. In the Greek text of his positive statement, the word "truth" stands first, in the place of emphasis: " Truth I speak in Christ!" This point is reemphasized by saying the same thing negatively, "I am not lying."

To further confirm the veracity of his words, Paul invokes three distinct witnesses. One is his own conscience (see 2:15), which, he says, testifies or bears witness along with him. ("Testifies along with me" or "bears witness along with me" is a literal translation and is to be preferred over the NIV's "confirms it.") In other words Paul has no inward reservations at all about what he is saying.

The other two witnesses are Christ and the Holy Spirit. Paul says he speaks the truth "in Christ." This could mean simply that he speaks as one who is conscious of being in union with Jesus Christ, and who thus as a Christian is always bound to speak the truth (see Moo, 555; Cranfield, 2:452). I believe, though, in view of the parallel idea in 1 Tim 2:7, that he is referring to his appointment by Christ to be an apostle; and thus "in Christ" is an invocation of his apostolic authority (see Dunn, 2:523).

Similarly "in the Holy Spirit" could be referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit, through whose moral power every Christian can resist the temptation to lie (see 8:13). More likely, though, Paul is here referring to his consciousness of the fact that he is writing under the inspiration of the Spirit and is thus divinely prevented from speaking falsehood (see 1 Cor 7:40).

Seldom does Paul go to such lengths to reinforce the truthfulness of his assertions. Sometimes he declares that he is telling the truth (2 Cor 11:10; Titus 1:13) and sometimes he denies that he is lying (2 Cor 11:31; Gal 1:20). In 1 Tim 2:7, as here, he does both. Such attestations do not mean that on other occasions he is not telling the truth. They are simply his way of underscoring the seriousness of what he is saying.

Paul's appeal to Christ and the Holy Spirit in addition to his conscience is an important lesson for us. We must remember that the conscience itself is not an infallible guide. Rather, it operates on the basis of a standard of truth and right that must be established on other grounds (see 2:15). Unlike Paul, we do not have personal apostolic authority and divine inspiration, but we do have the Spirit-inspired Bible to serve as the reference point for guiding our consciences. Thus what we believe and teach to be truth must pass not only the test of conscience but the test of biblical teaching as well.

9:2 Exactly what is the momentous truth solemnly introduced in v. 1? Strictly speaking, it is the fact that Paul is personally filled with tremendous grief and anguish: I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. The cause of his grief is not actually stated in this verse, but is made clear in v. 3. It is the fact that his own natural kinsmen, the Jewish people, were under God's curse because of their unbelief.

That the Israelites were truly accursed will be established in the next verse, but Paul here certainly implies it by revealing the agony of his soul. The words "sorrow" and "anguish" refer to the emotional state of his heart, and their intensity is magnified by the adjectives "great" and "unceasing." Would Paul's spirit be filled with such deep suffering if he thought for a moment that the Jews as such were saved?

Just as Samuel "mourned for" the fallen King Saul (1 Sam 15:35), and Jeremiah wept for fallen Israel of old (Jer 4:19; 9:1; 13:15-17; 14:17), so was Paul in a state of constant grief because his own people would not accept the gospel and thus were not saved.

Why did Paul think it was so important to establish this fact in such an emphatic way? For one thing, he had already exposed the shallowness of the Jews (ch. 2) and consigned them to sin and condemnation (3:8-9). Also, in the discussion that is about to follow he is going to declare again that the Jews as such are lost, and that God is under no obligation to save them just because they are Jews. Thus Paul wants everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, to know that he is not indifferent to Israel's plight nor does he take delight in it. This establishes his authenticity; it shows that his negative judgment against his countrymen is not just the result of some personal spite against them, but is the true word of God, a word that afflicted him so deeply that he would give anything if it were not true.

9:3 Just how deep are Paul's feelings for his fellow Jews? Just how far would he go to save them? This verse tells us: For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, . . .

Exactly what was Paul willing to endure on behalf of his brethren? To be "cursed and cut off from Christ." The word "cursed" translates ajnavqema ( anathema ), used in other places for eternal condemnation (1 Cor 16:22; Gal 1:8-9). Literally this word refers to something delivered over to or consecrated to God, possibly for service but more often for destruction (see Deut 7:26; Josh 7:11-12, LXX). That the latter is its meaning here is made clear by the addition of the words "from Christ." There is no word for "cut off" in the Greek text. Literally it reads "accursed from Christ" (see 2 Thess 1:7-10). Most agree that this is a strong and clear reference to condemnation in hell (Lard, 294; MP, 377; Moo, 557).

The verb translated "I could wish" is difficult, not in itself but in view of what Paul was wishing. This word (eu[coma i, euchomai ) can mean either "to pray" or "to wish"; either meaning conveys the notion of a sincere desire. The content of Paul's desire is that he himself might be sent to hell in the place of his fellow Jews.

What makes this difficult to translate is that although this is no doubt a continuing wish in Paul's heart, the verb form is a kind of past tense (i.e., imperfect). The straightforward meaning is "I was praying (wishing)," or "I used to pray (wish)"; but a past tense does not fit the context. Thus most agree that it should be treated as hypothetical, i.e., as a "potential imperfect" (Nash, "Critique," 31) or "the imperfect of wishes" (Lenski, 583). In other words, "I would pray or wish this if it could be done, but I know it cannot."

But why is such a thing impossible? The Calvinist answer is that this would contradict the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, or "once saved, always saved." The more obvious answer, though, is that Paul knew that he as a sinful human being could not be an adequate substitute for even one other sinner, much less for the whole nation of Israel. Paul's words, "for the sake of my brothers," are the language of substitution (compare 6:6,8; see Moo, 559). But only the divine and sinless Messiah could be and was such a substitute (Gal 3:13).

What is unequivocally demonstrated by this statement is the reality of Paul's concern for his people, and the depth of his grief at their lost condition. "Paul felt such love that he was willing to relinquish his own salvation and spend eternity in hell if somehow that could bring his fellow Jews to faith in Christ!" (MacArthur, 2:11). This seems to go beyond even John 15:13 and Rom 5:7. Maybe this is why Paul felt he had to multiply his assurances and witnesses in v. 1, "because it seems unbelievable that a man should want to be damned in order that the damned might be saved" (Luther, 261).

Another thing that is demonstrated by this statement is that Israel as a nation, i.e., the majority of the Jews, were in fact lost. The language "accursed from Christ" certainly refers to eternal lostness, and Paul's willingness to endure this state in Israel's place without a doubt implies that Israel herself was under such a curse (see Moo, 557-558; Piper, Justification , 45). The Jews "are really in this state," as Godet says (340). Though Dunn doubts this (2:525), he is on the wrong track. The whole discussion in 9-11 is predicated on the fact that God's chosen covenant people are in fact lost; anything less than this would negate the seriousness of the problem with which Paul is dealing here.

There is no question that Paul's concern is directed toward the nation of Israel. He calls them "my brothers, those of my own race." Paul often speaks of his fellow Christians as his "brothers" - 130 times, according to Moo (559, n. 24). Some conclude from this that Paul's calling his fellow Jews "brothers" implies that they are in fact saved. "That is, he recognizes them still, in spite of their unbelief, as fellow-members of the people of God." Indeed, "unbelieving Israel is within the elect community, not outside it" (Cranfield, 2:458-459). See Fitzmyer (545) for a similar view.

This notion must be rejected, however. Sometimes in the NT Jews spoke of their fellow Jews as "brothers." This is true often in the Book of Acts (e.g., 2:29,37; 3:17,22; 7:2; 9:17; 13:26). Even Paul addressed unbelieving Jews as his "brothers" (Acts 13:26,38; 22:1,5; 23:1,5,6; 28:17). Thus no connotation of salvation is implied here by the term "brothers." In fact, one of Paul's main points in this very chapter is that membership in physical Israel is not equivalent to membership in the true spiritual people of God (9:6; see ch. 2).

In order to make it clear that he is talking here only about physical kinship, Paul adds "those of my own race," literally, "my kinsmen (relatives) according to the flesh." See 1:3 and 9:5 for uses of "according to the flesh" in the sense of physical lineage. Compare 11:14.

Despite the fact that Paul was "the apostle to the Gentiles," he never forgot his roots, his identity as a Jew. He never lost his sincere love for his original family, and his earnest desire for their salvation.

B. ISRAEL'S ECSTASY: THEY ARE RECIPIENTS OF

UNSPEAKABLY GLORIOUS PRIVILEGES (9:4-5)

Paul now turns to the other side of the paradox called Israel. The same nation which is the object of God's curse is the one that he chose to receive some of the greatest blessings imaginable. These next two verses give a list of these privileges, a project begun in 3:1-2 and now continued in detail.

These verses also give us more insight into why Paul was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of Israel's salvation. They were more than his relatives; they were the people who were next to God's own heart and who were at the very center of God's redemptive plan (Murray, 2:4).

One very important question regarding these privileges is whether they were related only to pre-Christian Israel, or whether they continue to apply to Jews in the Christian era and beyond. Some take the latter approach. Murray declares that the privileges enumerated here "have abiding relevance because 'the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of' (11:29)"; thus he sees them as applying to a future, restored Israel (2:xiv). Following Barth, Cranfield thinks this list of privileges indicates the "continuing fact" of Israel's election (2:459-460). Moo (560) argues that these blessings "relate not only to Israel's glorious past that she has forever forfeited; some of them, at least, relate also to Israel's present state and are pregnant with potential future significance (especially, 'adoption,' 'promises,' and 'patriarchs')." Piper agrees that these blessings will always apply, not to every individual Jew, but to the elect remnant at the end of the ages ( Justification , 30). "In some sense," he says, they are "still the prerogative of historical Israel," and even have "saving implications" (40). That is, "the privileges taken as a whole are redemptive and eschatological" (46). Dunn even argues that the privileges are "the blessings brought to all believers, Jew and Gentile, through the gospel" (2:534).

I strongly disagree with this approach. It is true that everything in this list of blessings pointed beyond the OT era to this age and beyond, as did Israel's very existence. The single purpose of Israel's election, and of all the preliminary privileges listed in 3:2 and 9:4-5a, is the climactic privilege named in 9:5b, i.e., the first coming of Christ. By serving God's purpose of bringing the Christ into the world, all of these prerogatives have played a preparatory role in the eternal salvation of all believers, both Jews and Gentiles. And every ethnic Jew who ever lived and will live, whether saved or not, has a right to look at this list and take humble and grateful pride in the fact that God chose his nation to be the recipients of these blessings and thereby to prepare for the Christ and his saving work.

But this does not mean that these blessings in themselves are still actually being applied to and enjoyed by anyone today, whether Jew or Gentile. In fact, they are not. It is one thing to receive the intended result of these privileges, as does every saved person; it is quite another to receive the privileges themselves, which was true only of the nation of Israel (including every individual within it) up to the time of Christ's first coming. Here Paul is talking only about the latter circumstance. He is referring only to the privileges God bestowed upon the Jewish nation in the OT era, privileges that applied in that day to every Jew whether he was part of the saved remnant or not. But they no longer apply in any direct sense to anyone : not to Jews as Jews, whether individually or collectively; not to Gentiles as such; and not to Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles.

Herein lies the nature of the tragic irony of Israel's existence. They were so absorbed with the privileges themselves (and continued to be, in Paul's day), that they neglected and even rejected the intended result of these privileges, God's gracious salvation through Christ. They glorified the means, and ignored the end. The very people who were, by God's gracious choice, responsible for bringing the Redeemer into the world were themselves the object of his wrath.

9:4 At the beginning of v. 4 Paul refers to his brothers and kinsmen (v. 3) as the people of Israel . This can be taken in two possible ways. On the one hand, it may be in apposition to "brothers" and "kinsmen," bringing the thought of v. 3 to an end (as in the NIV). On the other hand, it may be the first item in the list of the privileges themselves, as the verse division suggests. I prefer the latter view, though this is not a serious issue.

Taking these words as the first blessing, we find a total of nine privileges bestowed upon the chosen people. They are presented in four relative clauses relating back to the masculine plural nouns at the end of v. 3, "brothers" and "kinsmen." The first relative clause is this one, "who are Israelites" (NASB). This is a better translation than the NIV. The second relative clause begins with "of whom," and has six predicates: adoption as sons, divine glory, covenants, receiving of the law, temple worship, and promises (the verb "are" is understood). The third relative clause is "of whom [are] the fathers." The last relative clause is "from whom [is] the Christ according to the flesh." Schematically the list looks like this:

. . . my brothers and kinsmen -

- who are Israelites;

- of whom [are] adoption, glory, covenants, law, worship, and promises;

- of whom [are] the fathers; and

- from whom [is] the Christ.

The first privilege of the Jews, says Paul, is that they are Israelites . Most interpreters see this name as more than just a synonym for "Jews," and as signifying more than just ethnic identity. It seems to point back to the time of Israel's calling, to the period of their very formation as a people from the loins of Jacob, whom God renamed "Israel" (Gen 32:28). Thus "Israelites" calls attention to the Jews' origin and to their unique covenant relationship with God. It is in itself a title of honor that embodies the totality of their God-given privileges.

Some think the present tense ("who are Israelites") is significant (Fitzmyer, 545). It shows that "this title has not been revoked," says Moo (561). This may be true in the sense described above, namely, that Jews may still take pride in the fact that theirs was the nation God used in a special way. However, this does not mean he is still using them thus, nor that he will ever do so again. Nor does being an "Israelite" today guarantee one's personal salvation, any more than it did in OT times.

Theirs is the adoption as sons . . . . Literally it says, "of whom is the adoption." This term, uiJoqesiva ( huiothesia ), is used in the NT to represent the individual Christian's relationship with God (8:15,23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). As Christians we are his family, his adopted sons and daughters. Some see the term as applying here to the Jews in the very same way, with the "fullest saving significance" (Piper, Justification , 32). This saving sonship would then be a blessing possessed by present and future Israel.

I believe this view is quite mistaken. Here Paul is not talking primarily about individual Jews but about the nation as a whole. The term refers to God's sovereign choice of Israel collectively to be his son: "Israel is my firstborn son" (Exod 4:22). "I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son" (Jer 31:9). "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos 11:1). In a derivative sense each individual born as a Jew enjoyed this status of adoptive sonship: "You are the children [sons] of the LORD your God" (Deut 14:1; see Deut 32:19; Isa 1:2; 43:6).

This concept of Israel's adoption emphasizes God's initiative and deliberate choice in establishing this relationship with Israel. It "helps bring out the sense of election more clearly" (Dunn, 2:526). Also, it indicates that God's relation with his people was one of fatherly affection (Deut 1:31; 8:5; Isa 46:3-4; Jer 3:19).

Though this adoption was extremely significant, its limitations must still be recognized. For one thing, it did not in itself entail the salvation (spiritual sonship) of any individual Jew. (See Lard, 294-295; Moo, 562; MacArthur, 2:13.) Also, this father-son relation with Israel as a nation ended with the beginning of the New Covenant, under which adoption is now a saving relationship with all willing individuals, including both Jews and Gentiles (Gal 3:26-4:7).

[T]heirs is the divine glory . . . (literally, "and the glory"). Again some project this into the future history of Israel. They say that Paul is here guaranteeing that the Jews as Jews will participate in the messianic eschatological glory of Christ's second coming (Piper, Justification , 33-34; Dunn, 2:526-527, 534). In my opinion this is again a misreading of this text and of the whole section (9-11). "The glory" refers to the fact that God manifested himself to OT Israel and even dwelt among them in a glorious visible form (a theophany).

From the beginning of their exodus journey the people of Israel were blessed with the visible presence of God in their midst in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exod 13:21-22; 40:36-38). At least on some occasions "there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud" (Exod 16:10). "The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai" when God revealed the law to Moses (Exod 24:15-18). When the tabernacle was consecrated, "the glory of the LORD filled" it (Exod 40:34-35). "The glory of the LORD appeared to all the people" at times of sacrifice (Lev 9:23) and at times of judgment (Num 14:10; 16:19, 42). When Solomon's temple was dedicated, "the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD" (1 Kgs 8:11, NASB; see 2 Chr 7:1-3).

Later Judaism began to use the Hebrew term shekinah to refer to this glorious manifestation of God's presence. Shekinah means "dwelling" or "presence" (Cranfield, 2:462) and was thus a kind of shorthand for "the presence of God's glory." As a brightly shining radiance this visible entity marked the splendor of God's very presence among his people Israel. No wonder Paul included this in the list of Israel's privileges! Of course God is everywhere in the sense of his omnipresence, but to no other nation on the face of the earth has God displayed his special presence in glory as he did to his people Israel.

Today God is present in a special way within his church (1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:22) and within individual Christians (1 Cor 6:19). Though this presence is not one of visible glory, it is even greater than the shekinah because it is part of our salvation.

The next privilege is the covenants . A major question is, why is this plural? There are several possibilities. One is that Paul is speaking of the several ratifications of the Mosaic covenant - Exod 19:5-6, at Sinai; Deut 29:1, at Moab; and Josh 8:30-35, at Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal (Barrett, 177-178). Another is that he is talking about all biblical covenants, including the New Covenant (Piper, Justification , 35; Dunn, 2:534; Bruce, 185). To include the New Covenant, however, violates the intent of this list, which is to name those privileges which are exclusive to Israel.

The third and most likely possibility is that "covenants" refers to all OT covenants specifically involving Israel. This would not include the covenant with Noah (Gen 9:9), since this was not with Israel per se . It would include the covenant with Abraham and the other patriarchs (Gen 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-14; 26:3-5,24; 28:13-15); the covenant at Sinai (Exod 19:1-6; 24:8), as ratified at Moab and at Gerizim-Ebal; and the covenant with David (2 Sam 23:5). See Eph 2:12 for a similar use of the plural. In Gal 3:15-19 Paul treats the Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic covenant as two parts of a single covenant, with the promise aspect given first to Abraham and the law aspect added later (v. 19) through Moses.

The main point is that Israel is the only nation on earth with whom God chose to enter a special covenant relationship. This is just one more indication of their status of exalted privilege.

The next blessing named by Paul is the receiving of the law. This refers to the Law of Moses, and to the fact that being chosen to be the recipients of this law was an honor granted only to Israel. "He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD" (Ps 147:20). In ch. 2 Paul has shown that mere possession of this law did not guarantee salvation for any Jew, but still it was a unique privilege to receive it and to be granted stewardship of it (see 3:1-2).

In this and in the next two items we see examples of how these privileges overlap with one another at certain points. The law, the temple worship, and the promises are all included in the covenants to a certain degree.

Israel was also granted the privilege of the temple worship . This is the word latreiva ( latreia ), which means "service," usually in the sense of worshiping the true and living God (see 12:1). This could mean Israel's general privilege of being able to serve the true God in a world of idolatry, but the NIV is probably correct to take it in the more narrow sense of the temple services. This would include "the entire ceremonial system" of the Law of Moses (MacArthur, 2:15), and especially the system of sacrifices that dealt with sin and foreshadowed the Messiah's atoning work. See Moo, 564.

The last privilege listed in v. 4 is the promises. This refers to all the promises included in God's covenants, as well as all the other promises made to Israel. This includes the promises given to the Jewish people generally, and the promises given to individuals such as Abraham (Gen 12:1-3; Gal 3:16,21), Isaac (Gen 26:3-5), Jacob (Gen 28:13-14), Moses (Deut 18:18-19), and David (2 Sam 7:11-16; Acts 13:22-23). See Rom 15:8, "the promises made to the patriarchs."

All such promises ultimately pointed toward a single goal, the coming of the Messiah. Their fulfilment was the means to this one end. They are like individual notes that lead into the great symphony of messianic promises and prophecies themselves, e.g., Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; Jer 23:5; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-28; Micah 5:2; Zech 9:9-10; Mal 3:1. What is important to see is that all these promises made to Israel were fulfilled when Jesus came the first time; see Acts 13:32-34. Rom 9:5b is the goal and climax of them all. The promises made to Abraham and to the rest were fulfilled through Israel, in Christ, to us. These promises no longer apply to Israel today nor to Christians as such. We are not under these promises, but rather under their fulfilment. The promises of the New Covenant are different, and better (Heb 8:6).

9:5 Theirs are the patriarchs, . . . (literally, "the fathers"; see 11:28; 15:8). This refers especially to the "founding fathers" of the Jewish people: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see 9:6-13; Exod 3:15). From the perspective of the Jews, the fact that God chose these men to be the foundation of his chosen people made them not only national heroes but also the greatest figures in the history of the world (Deut 7:6-8). It was certainly a great privilege to be able to claim them as ancestors.

This leads to the climactic and most wonderful privilege of all: and from them [the Jews] is traced the human ancestry of Christ . . . . This is the blessing for which all the others were only means to an end, the one purpose for which the others existed in the first place, namely, to bring the Messiah, the Christ, into the world.

The emphasis here is on the human nature of Christ. The Greek text may be translated literally thus: "from whom is the Christ according to the flesh." Christ's saving work required that he have not only a divine nature but also a true and complete human nature. "Flesh" refers to the human origin of this human nature (body and spirit), in contrast with the divine origin of his divine nature. It was Israel's incomparable privilege to provide the former (see 1:3).

The blessings mentioned earlier in the list are described as belonging to Israel: "theirs" (vv. 4a,5a), literally, " of whom." Here the expression changes to " from them." This shows that the relation between the Messiah and national Israel was one of origin or ancestry only. Jesus did not "belong" to Israel; he was not their Messiah in the sense of their personal Savior, since most Jews remained unbelievers. Although this did not contradict God's purpose for the nation, since their election was not meant to guarantee the salvation of individual Israelites (see 9:6-7), it was nevertheless a great irony and a greater tragedy. The very people granted the prerogative of bringing the Christ into the world rejected him when he came. Their greatest privilege was the very obstacle over which they stumbled.

What compounds the tragedy is the fact that by rejecting this climactic and teleological blessing, the Jews in effect repudiated the significance of all the others! As pointed out above, Paul is not here portraying Christian-era Jews as having a continuing and perpetual claim to the blessings listed here; these were privileges that belonged strictly speaking to pre-Christian Israel. But the tragedy is that whenever ethnic Jews hear the gospel of Christ and reject it, they are rejecting everything that has ever made their nation special from its very beginning.

This simple fact that from Israel came the Christ was the ultimate fulfilment of all God's promises to and covenants with the Jews as a nation. God's word thus did not fail, and his purpose for physical Israel was thus achieved.

The next clause - . . . who is God over all, forever praised! Amen - has been interpreted in two main ways. The basic question is whether the term qeov" ( theos , "God") refers to Christ or not. If it does, this verse is one of the strongest NT affirmations of the divine nature of Jesus.

Since the original Greek text has no punctuation, every translation of this verse is actually an interpretation by virtue of the way the translators choose to divide and punctuate it. Those who deny that theos refers to Christ insert a period somewhere in the middle of the verse, usually after the word "Christ." Verse 5b then becomes a statement of praise to God, a doxology that is separate from the statement about Christ. The following are examples: From the Jews "according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever" (RSV). "Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever!" (TEV). The NEB is similar.

The other main possibility is to take the entire verse (after "the patriarchs") as a single statement about the Christ, which thus would be affirming that he is theos , or God. The NIV is an example of this view, as are the following: From the Jews "is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever" (NASB). "From them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever" (NRSV).

The evidence favors the latter interpretation. The first three arguments have to do with the wording in v. 5b. (1) The Greek words at the beginning of the clause (oJ w[n , ho ôn ) most naturally introduce a relative clause that refers to something in the immediately preceding context, i.e., "Christ." (2) Paul's doxologies of praise in other places do not stand alone but are attached to a word in the preceding context (1:25; 11:36; 2 Cor 11:31; Gal 1:5; 2 Tim 4:18). (3) In independent statements of blessing, the word "blessed" almost always precedes the word or words for God (e.g., 2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3). These first three arguments can be summed up together thus: if v. 5b were referring to God the Father and not to Jesus Christ, to be consistent with other biblical usage, the wording would have been different, as follows: "Blessed be God, who is over all forever."

Other arguments have to do with the context. (4) The reference to Christ's human nature in v. 5a calls for a complementary reference to his divine nature. (5) Taking the latter part of the verse as a doxology seems out of place in a paragraph "otherwise expressing sorrow and regret" (Fitzmyer, 549). (6) Taking v. 5b as affirming Christ's deity is compatible with the climactic nature of this last and highest privilege bestowed upon Israel. "Without some predication expressive of Jesus' transcendent dignity there would be a falling short of what we should expect in this climactic conclusion" (Murray, 2:247).

Over against these arguments from wording and context it is argued that Paul nowhere else refers to Christ as theos ("God"). It is true that Paul's usual title for Jesus is kuvrio" ( kyrios , "Lord"), and that theos is usually reserved for God the Father (e.g., 1 Cor 8:6; 12:3-6; Eph 4:5-6; Phil 2:11). But Paul certainly attributes deity to Christ elsewhere (see Gal 1:1; Phil 2:6; Col 2:9), and a strong case can be made that he calls Jesus theos in Titus 2:13 and 2 Thess 1:12 (see Murray, 2:247-248). The title kyrios is itself a title of deity (see 1:4; 10:9-13).

Moo is therefore correct in concluding that Paul is calling Jesus theos in this verse, thus "attributing to him full divine status." This view, he says, is "exegetically preferable, theologically unobjectionable, and contextually appropriate" (568).

The other descriptions of Christ in v. 5b are also indicative of his divine nature. He is the one who is "over all," an expression of his universal Lordship (Acts 10:36), which belongs only to God. He is the "blessed" one (NIV, "praised"), a term which elsewhere in the NT refers only to God (Mark 14:61; Luke 1:68; Rom 1:25; 2 Cor 1:3; 11:31; Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3). He is blessed "forever," indicating his eternality.

This concludes our discussion of 9:1-5, where Israel's "ecstasy" (4-5) stands in sharp contrast with her "agony" (1-3). This paragraph certainly reveals Paul's own deep love and concern for his kinsmen, as he contemplates their lost state. But an even deeper consideration is his love for God and his concern for the integrity of God's faithfulness to his words of promise. How can Israel's accursedness be reconciled with all these glorious privileges? This is the question he begins to address in 9:6.

II. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ETHNIC

AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL (9:6-29)

The main theme of 9-11 is God's faithfulness in his dealings with Israel. The issue is summarized in 9:1-5 thus: in view of the privileges for which Israel was chosen (vv. 4-5), how is it possible for a faithful God to reject them and curse them (vv. 1-3)? Does this mean that God's purpose for Israel has in fact failed? "Have not God's promises to Israel ended in nothing as far as the Jews are concerned?" (Fitzmyer, 558).

Paul's answer, of course, is that God's purposes and promises have not failed (9:6a; see 3:4). The apparent paradox of 9:1-5 is easily resolved by seeing that there is not just one Israel, but two (9:6b), and by discerning the proper nature and purpose of each. National, ethnic, physical Israel was chosen by God to play a primary role in his plan of redemption. This entitled them to all the blessings of 9:4-5, but these blessings did not include the guarantee of personal salvation. Every covenant promise God made to Israel as a nation was completely fulfilled, irrespective of the salvation status of any individual Jew. God has the sovereign right to choose and use any individual or group in this manner. This is the point of 9:6-18.

Is it true, then, that every individual Israelite is actually lost? In 9:3 Paul implies that physical Israel, his "kinsmen according to the flesh," are indeed "accursed" (NASB). But he does not say this applies to every Jew without exception. Yes, some (most) Jews are lost, but some are saved! Those who are saved are still part of national Israel and participate in all the covenant blessings bestowed upon the nation as a whole, but they constitute an "Israel" of a different sort, an "Israel within Israel," one that is defined not just in terms of physical descent from Jacob but also in terms of a saving relationship with God. This is the point of Paul's key statement in 9:6b, "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." God's sovereign right to make this distinction within the larger body of ethnic Israel is the point of 9:19-29. He can use the entire nation for his redemptive purposes, while limiting salvation only to spiritual Israel, the remnant. "It is the remnant that will be saved" (9:27b, NASB).

It is extremely important to understand how the issue of salvation figures into the discussion in 9:6-29. Some points are accepted by almost everyone. It is agreed that election (choosing, making distinctions) is a key theme in this section. It is agreed that Paul is stressing God's sovereign freedom to make distinctions and choices in whatever way he pleases. It is also agreed that belonging to physical Israel was not in itself a guarantee of personal salvation.

But there is sharp disagreement, usually (but not always) along Calvinist vs. non-Calvinist lines, as to which parts of vv. 6-29 refer to God's election to service , and which refer to his election to salvation . This disagreement occurs in view of the fact that Calvinism generally teaches unconditional election to salvation, and because (especially) vv. 7-23 seem to be affirming unconditional election. Thus it is quite common to see Calvinists use this passage as a proof text for the doctrine of the unconditional election of individuals to salvation (and usually, the unconditional reprobation of all others to hell). Examples are Murray (2:15-24), Schreiner ("Election," 89-106), Moo (584-588), and Piper ( Justification , 50-73).

Non-Calvinists of course disagree, and usually take one of two approaches to this passage. Some say the election described therein does have to do with individual salvation, but it is conditional rather than unconditional. Even though the conditions (such as faith) are not specifically named in the text itself, they are taken to be implicit in view of other biblical teaching. A common form of this view is that God made his choices, e.g., of Jacob over Esau, based on divine foreknowledge of the lives and character of each. Examples of this view are cited in Piper (52, n. 13). Many are from ancient writers such as Philo and Chrysostom. A later example is Godet, who speaks of "God's prevision of the power of faith" in the case of Jacob (350). Foreseen faith is not at all the same as foreseen works, he says (348). See also Smith, 2:16-17.

Since the text itself does not mention foreknowledge and seems to exclude human conditions as such, others have taken the approach that Paul is here talking about unconditional election to service , not salvation. Piper (57) cites several examples. Speaking of 9:12, Morris declares, "It is election to privilege that is in mind, not eternal salvation" (356). In my judgment this is the correct view.

Piper (58) argues that this view does not fit the context, that it "cannot successfully explain the thread of Paul's argument as it begins in Rom 9:1-5 and continues through the chapter." Especially, it does not address the problem of Israel's unbelief and rejection, and it is not a logical follow-up to Paul's statement about the two Israels (9:6b).

One reason Piper says this, is his erroneous view of 9:4-5, in which he takes these benefits as having saving implications for Israel (49). Thus, he says, since these blessings "imply the eschatological, eternal salvation" of the people of Israel, the line of thought developed in the following context " must address the issue of individual, eternal salvation" (65).

But Piper is wrong to include saving content in 9:4-5 (see above), and he is wrong to say that the concept of election for service is inconsistent with the problem as set forth in 9:1-5 and the solution as summed up in 9:6b. The following summary of the argument in 9:1-29 shows this to be the case.

First, Paul expresses his grief over the fact that most Jews are accursed - the very Jews who were chosen to receive the greatest of privileges (9:1-5). But how is this possible? Is this some kind of contradiction? Has God's word failed? No! God's purposes and promises have not failed (9:6a), basically because there are two different kinds of "Israel" (9:6b). One is national Israel, which was unconditionally chosen by God to be a party to the covenant made with the fathers, and thus to receive the blessings of 9:4-5. This was an election and a call to service only, and it was a matter of God's sovereign and unconditional choice with no requirement for saving faith on the part of any individual Israelite. Israel's founders were chosen apart from any decisions, qualifications, faith, or works on their part; and God kept his promises to the nation and carried out his purposes for them not because of their belief but in spite of their frequent unbelief (9:7-13).

The other Israel is composed of those individuals within the ethnic body which do in fact have a saving faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Salvation is promised and given not to the nation as a whole, but only to this spiritual Israel, which is in a sense the "true" Israel (see 2:28-29), the redeemed remnant. The fact that God has withheld salvation from the majority of Jews is not a violation of his covenant with them, for that covenant as such did not include a promise of automatic salvation based on ethnic heritage alone.

Paul's key point in v. 6b is in effect that God has made a distinction within the nation of Israel, using all Jews to serve his saving purpose but giving salvation only to some. This is his solution to the problem raised in vv. 1-5. But his following discussion shows that he anticipates that this solution to the original problem will itself be seen as a problem, namely, its fairness will be questioned (see v. 14). Does God have the right to make this kind of distinction within his chosen people, a distinction resulting in two kinds of Israel?

In defense of his statement in 9:6b and in anticipation of such an objection, in 9:7-13 Paul makes a point that no Jew can deny, namely, that in the very events that gave rise to the nation of Israel, God had already made some unconditional distinctions within the progeny of Abraham. These verses are not talking about the distinction within Israel as affirmed in v. 6b, which is a distinction between service and salvation. Rather they describe divine choices whereby some were chosen for service and others were passed by, choices by which Israel as a nation was created in the first place.

This has two applications. The first refers to the distinction specified in v. 6b. To those who might suggest that such a distinction is unfair, Paul is simply pointing out that making such distinctions is nothing new for God; he did this sort of thing in the very beginning when he brought Israel into existence. Granted, that was a matter of selecting certain individuals and a certain people for service rather than for salvation, but it set a precedent showing that God was not acting out of character or contrary to established patterns when he made the distinction between the two Israels as such.

The second application of 9:7-13 relates directly to the problem of Israel's lostness raised in vv. 1-5. The point is that this lostness does not negate God's promises because his original choice of the founders of Israel had nothing to do with their works, character, merits, faith, or salvation status in general. It was simply his sovereign will to use these individuals (Isaac and Jacob) rather than the alternatives (Ishmael and Esau), and the purpose for which he chose them was such that they did not have to be personally saved to carry it out. God could and did choose to use them just as they were. The same is true for the entire nation of Israel that sprang from their loins. God intended to use them for his service whether or not they believed and were saved. Thus there is no conflict between vv. 1-3 and vv. 4-5.

In 9:14-18 Paul specifically raises the problem of fairness that some are bound to see in such divine distinguishing. Doesn't it seem unjust for God to choose people for service in this way? Shouldn't individuals have the right to volunteer, or at least consent to being thus used? And if they are going to be conscripted into service, as it were, shouldn't they at least be rewarded with salvation?

In response Paul simply declares that God has the right to choose whomever he wills to use for his purposes, whether they be saved or not. The subject is election for service, not salvation. The mercy and compassion of which Moses spoke is not saving grace, but God's selection and appointment of a person (or a nation) to have the privilege of serving him (see below). That such a person does not have to be saved to serve God's redemptive purposes is perfectly illustrated by Pharaoh, upon whom God had mercy by choosing him for a vital role in his plan, but who at the same time was hardened in order that he might fulfill that role. In like manner God chose the nation of Israel for his grand redemptive purpose, and he used them for it even though most individual Jews (like Pharaoh) were hardened.

In 9:19-29 Paul turns specifically to the original distinction set forth in 9:6b, the distinction between national Israel as a whole (used for service) and the spiritual Israel existing within it (blessed with salvation). Does God have a right to make this distinction? The objection is put into the mouths of those Israelites who are lost, as they try to blame God for their lost state (9:19). They say, if God is orchestrating this whole thing, how can he hold us responsible and condemn us for our unbelief? Hasn't God made us the way we are?

Paul's primary answer at this point is that the lost person (specifically, the unbelieving Jew) has no right to complain to God at all, since God is indeed the sovereign Lord who has by decree created this single "lump of clay" known as Israel (9:21). It is his plan and his clay, and he (like a potter) can do with it what he wills. Since it is his to begin with by right of creation (9:7-13), it is also his right to divide it as he chooses and to make different kinds of vessels from it. Some are vessels of wrath and are under the curse of v. 3; others are vessels of mercy and will be saved. These vessels of mercy are the remnant of which the prophets spoke, i.e., the true believers, or spiritual Israel, to which in this church age are added all true believers from among the Gentiles.

This main section comes to a close with this point, but in itself it does not resolve the issue of divine faithfulness raised in 9:1-5. It simply establishes the fact that God has made a distinction between the two Israels, only one of which is saved. It shows clearly that ethnic Israel's role of service had no essential connection with personal salvation. It also asserts God's sovereign right to make this distinction between the serving and the saved (9:19-29), but it does not go into detail as to the nature of such a distinction. In particular, this section does not raise the question as to the basis, or conditions, upon which God distinguishes the remnant from the larger group of Israelites according to the flesh.

Those of a Calvinist bent will insist that this is an improper question to begin with, since they are convinced that election to salvation is unconditional. But this conclusion is invalid in view of the fact that the language of unconditionality in 9:7-18 applies only to election to service. Election to salvation is a completely different issue. The divine distinguishing that separates the saved from the lost is conditioned upon the free human choice either to accept or to reject the saving promises of God. This is the point of the next main section, 9:30-10:21. Only when this point has been made is the issue of divine faithfulness regarding Israel completely resolved.

A. ISRAEL'S SITUATION AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS (9:6-13)

The relationship of this section to Paul's overall argument has been discussed just above. It is clear that these verses deal with divine election. Morris's title for this paragraph is, appropriately, "God Works by Election" (351). But the question is, election to what ? There are, as Cranfield says (2:471), "different levels or forms of election." The relevant choices are election to service and election to salvation . This distinction relates to the two Israels named in 9:6b: ethnic Israel, chosen for service; and spiritual Israel, chosen for salvation. But which of these two is the main subject of 9:6-13?

Many simply assume that spiritual Israel is the main subject, and that God's choice of Isaac and his choice of Jacob are prime examples of how God distinguishes the true spiritual Israel (the saved) from ethnic Israel as a whole. They argue that the terminology used in these verses can only be salvation language: seed or children of Abraham, children of God, children of promise, God's purpose, God's call as opposed to human works, God's love.

A brief reflection upon the individuals and incidents being discussed in these verses will show, however, that Paul is not talking about how God makes distinctions within Israel (between the ethnic and the spiritual, as in v. 6b), but how he established ethnic Israel in the first place. Ishmael and Isaac as a pair were not the original "ethnic Israel" from which God elected only Isaac to be the first member of "spiritual Israel." Ishmael was never a part of Israel in either sense; he was chosen neither for service nor for salvation (as far as we know). The same is true of the twins Esau and Jacob.

The point of these verses is that Isaac and Jacob were chosen to be the first representatives of ethnic Israel (after Abraham himself). Whether they were saved or not, i.e., whether they were also part of spiritual Israel, is not relevant. In fact, the nonrelevance of their salvation status is the key to Paul's argument: Isaac and Jacob, like ethnic Israel as a whole, could be chosen and used for God's service whether they were saved or not. This is the key to v. 9:6a, "It is not as though God's word had failed." God's promises to physical Israel have not failed, even though most Jews are unbelievers, because these promises did not include salvation as such.

But what about the language used in this section? Is it not the language of salvation? This depends solely upon the context. In other NT contexts the terminology does refer to salvation and the saved, but it is not inherently limited to this. It is covenant language, to be sure, but covenant language is not always salvation language. A common error in modern theology is to erase the proper distinction between the Abrahamic covenant and the New Covenant, and to project the salvation content of the latter back into the former. This is common among Calvinists, and it is why someone such as Murray or Piper cannot separate the covenant realities of 9:4-5 from salvation, and why they cannot see anything but salvation in the language of 9:7-13.

The point of the Abrahamic covenant, though, was not the salvation of its recipients. Its point was rather that through Abraham and his (physical) seed the means by which all peoples could be saved would be brought into the world. This was a covenant of service; and the recipients of this covenant, i.e., ethnic Israel, were chosen to render this service and to experience its accompanying temporal privileges and rewards (vv. 4-5). Fitzmyer is simply wrong to say that "the OT promises were not made to the ethnic or historical-empirical Israel, those of physical descent or of flesh and blood, but to the Israel of faith" (559-560).

The language of 9:7-13 is perfectly consistent with the role played by ethnic Israel in God's plan. God had a definite purpose for choosing this nation (9:11), which he did by choosing its forefathers, Isaac and Jacob. He called them into his service without regard for any meritorious qualifications on their part and without even asking for their own conscious participation in the choice (9:11-12). It was all a matter of God's choice and promise, i.e., his covenant promise to bless and to use these individuals and their physical descendants for the purpose of bringing the Savior into the world. In this context "children of Abraham," "children of God," and "children of promise" (9:7-8) are perfectly consistent with God's purpose for ethnic Israel, and perfectly applicable to Isaac and Jacob and their natural descendants in contrast with Ishmael and Esau and their descendants. Isaac and Jacob were the progenitors not just of spiritual Israel, but of ethnic Israel as a whole.

Thus I agree with Lenski (597-598), that Isaac and Jacob are not types of election to salvation: "Paul's two illustrations have nothing to do with an eternal election or predestination of Isaac and of Jacob to salvation and with a reprobation of Ishmael and of Esau to damnation."

Shall we say, then, that 9:6-13 has no bearing at all upon the election of individuals to eternal salvation? Not necessarily. The error is to take the references to Isaac and Jacob as examples of election to salvation and therefore as exact models for the way God saves any individual. In other words, according to this erroneous view, just as God unconditionally chose Jacob and rejected Esau, so he unconditionally predestines some to heaven and some to hell. But this is not Paul's point. At the most, we may possibly say that God's choosing Isaac and Jacob for service is analogous at some points with his electing of individuals to salvation. For one thing, members of spiritual Israel are "children of promise" and not "children of the flesh," even though the promises that apply in this case are not the same promises that set ethnic Israel apart from the rest of the world. Members of spiritual Israel are also chosen and called, though not in the same way that God chose and called ethnic Israel. "Not by works" (9:12) is likewise a key ingredient in being chosen for membership in spiritual Israel, though such membership does require the precondition of faith, as Paul goes on to show in 9:30-10:21 and 11:20-23.

In other words, there are some similarities between election to service and election to salvation, but they are not the same in every detail. To assume that they are would defeat Paul's whole purpose in this section (9:6-13), which is to answer the charge that God is somehow being untrue to his word unless all ethnic Israel is saved. The very essence of his answer is that being chosen for service is different from being chosen for salvation. The two Israels are constituted differently, or are established on different bases. The process by which God established ethnic Israel, i.e., through the unconditional choosing of Isaac and Jacob, did not in itself involve their personal salvation, which requires a specific decision of faith.

Thus we must strongly disagree with Piper when he says that this sort of distinction between election to service and election to salvation goes against the point of chapter 9. Referring to the unconditional election of Isaac and Jacob "apart from all human distinctives," he says it is "an unwarranted leap to infer against the context of Rom 9 that this principle applies when the promised blessing at stake is 'theocratic blessing' or a 'historical role' but does not apply when the promised blessing is personal, eternal salvation" ( Justification , 64). On the contrary, the fact is that the context demands this very distinction, the distinction between unconditional election to service and conditional election to salvation. The one thing that Piper wants to find in this paragraph - the " ongoing principle ," "the principle of unconditional election" to salvation (66, 69) - is the one thing that would undermine Paul's whole argument.

1. God's Word Concerning Israel Has Not Failed (9:6a)

9:6 It is not as though God's word had failed. This statement presupposes an unstated implication that someone might try to draw from vv. 1-5. In spite of the impressive list of covenant blessings bestowed upon the people of Israel (vv. 4-5), the majority apparently are "cursed and cut off from Christ" (v. 3). Has something thus gone wrong with God's plan for Israel? Has he failed to keep his word to his people?

Paul immediately rejects these unspoken suggestions. His response begins with a strong negative expression, "But it is not as if" or "But this does not mean." He is saying that the seemingly conflicting circumstances described in vv. 1-5 do not mean that "God's word has failed."

The word "failed" is ejkpivptw (ekpiptô ), literally, "to fall from" or "to fall off of" (see Acts 12:7; Jas 1:11; 1 Pet 1:24). In Gal 5:4 and 2 Pet 3:17 it is used metaphorically for "falling from" grace. Here it has the more general meaning of "fail, come to nothing, be annulled." This is parallel to its meaning in (some manuscripts of) 1 Cor 13:8, "Love never fails."

Paul declares that "God's word" (oJ lovgo" tou' qeou' , ho logos tou theou ) does not fall away or fail. What is meant by "God's word"? Certainly what the Apostle says here is true of "the Word of God" in the most general and inclusive sense. Every word of God, including the entire Bible, is true, passes every test, will accomplish its purpose, will be fulfilled, cannot be broken. (See Ps 12:6; Prov 30:5; Isa 55:11; Matt 5:17-18; John 10:35; 17:17; Rom 3:4.) It is "the living and enduring word of God," says Peter; "the grass withers and the flowers fall [ekpiptô ], but the word of the Lord stands forever" (1 Pet 1:23-25).

In this text, though, "God's word" means something more specific. "The declared purpose of God" (SH, 240) is still too broad. So is Barrett's suggestion that it refers to "the whole plan and intention of God in salvation," including messianic promises and "the gospel" as preached by Paul (126-127). The context shows rather that "God's word" here refers specifically to his words of promise , i.e., the promises he made to and about OT Israel (Dunn, 2:539). These "promises made to Israel and its patriarchs" (Fitzmyer, 559) are the word of God that has not failed.

2. The Key to the Puzzle: the Existence of Two Israels (9:6b)

But in view of Israel's lostness and the apparent inconsistency between vv. 1-3 and vv. 4-5, how can it be said that God's promises to Israel have never failed? The answer, says Paul, lies in the fact that there is not just one Israel, but two. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. This statement clearly affirms the existence of two groups, both called "Israel" but in two different senses: ethnic Israel and spiritual Israel. The former includes all those who bear Abraham's genes through physical descent from Isaac and Jacob, i.e., the Jews; the latter is composed only of those Jews who also share Abraham's faith in the God of salvation.

The literal sense of the Greek sentence is thus: "For all the ones who are from Israel - these are not Israel" (see Moo, 573, n. 19). The first group is called "the ones of [or from] Israel." This expression may mean simply "the ones who belong to the nation of Israel," or it may mean (as the NIV suggests) "the ones who can trace their physical lineage back to the man Israel," i.e., to Jacob whom God renamed Israel. The second group is simply called "Israel," but it is usually (and rightly) referred to as spiritual Israel or even as the true Israel, to distinguish it from the former.

These two Israels are not two totally distinct groups, with some Jews belonging to one and some to the other. In fact, all Jews belong to the first group, and only some to the second. I.e., those in the latter group actually belong to both. The relationship between the two Israels may be depicted not by two side-by-side circles, but by two concentric circles, thus:

We should note that this passage has in view Jewish people only, and thus the "spiritual Israel" in this verse includes only Jewish believers (as the concentric circles indicate). Other NT teaching warrants the conclusion that in this dispensation the church as a whole, including believing Jews and believing Gentiles, may be called the true Israel or spiritual Israel. See Rom 9:23-30 and 11:17-24, where Jews and Gentiles together constitute the remnant and the one olive tree. Together they are called "the Israel of God" (Gal 6:16). This may be depicted thus:

This is not the point of 9:6b, however. See Moo, 573-574.

A key word in this second sentence in 9:6b is gavr ( gar ), "for" or "because." This word indicates that 6a is explained by 6b, i.e., the latter is the reason why the former is true. God's promises concerning Israel have not failed, because there are really two Israels.

Everyone seems to agree that this is how the two parts of the verse are meant to be connected. There is a serious disagreement, though, as to the nature and recipients of the promises included in the phrase "God's word." Some take God's word (of promise) to be referring specifically to his promises of salvation , or "all his promises relative to the salvation of Israel" (Lard, 298). How can one say, then, that this promise of salvation has not failed, in view of the lostness of most Jews (v. 3)? Here is how the point about the two Israels enters in, according to this view: the promises of salvation were made not to ethnic Israel as a whole, but only to spiritual Israel, the remnant (Lard, 298). As Murray puts it, "The purpose of this distinction is to show that the covenantal promise of God did not have respect to Israel after the flesh but to this true Israel and that, therefore, the unbelief and rejection of ethnic Israel as a whole in no way interfered with the fulfilment of God's covenant purpose and promise" (2:10). See also Hendriksen (2:317), Nygren (361-362), and Fitzmyer (559-560).

In my judgment this misses Paul's point completely. "God's word" does indeed refer to "the promises made to Israel and its patriarchs" (Fitzmyer, 559), but the main reference is to the promises made to ethnic Israel as a whole, especially the covenant promises made to the patriarchs regarding God's messianic purpose for the nation collectively and including the accompanying privileges that served as a means to this end. In other words, God's promises to ethnic Israel included everything named in vv. 4-5, and every one of these promises was kept.

But did not God's OT promises include forgiveness and eternal life? Certainly, but here is where the distinction between the two Israels is crucial. Personal salvation was not among the unconditionally guaranteed promises enjoyed by the entire nation of Israel. This blessing was promised only to spiritual Israel, the believing remnant. The existence of the two Israels thus resolves the dilemma of vv. 1-5. "All who are descended from Israel" experience the covenant blessings of vv. 4-5, but only the true Israel escapes the curse of eternal damnation. The promises of salvation applied only to the latter. This had always been God's plan; this is the way it happened; thus his word did not fail.

3. Ethnic Israel Exists by God's Sovereign Choice (9:7-13)

The subject of these next seven verses - this is very important - is not spiritual Israel but ethnic Israel. In them Paul is responding to a possible objection that might be raised by what he has just said in v. 6. There he affirmed, contrary to the beliefs of practically every Jew at that time, that just because a person was a Jew did not necessarily mean that God would save him. In other words, Paul has said that God could use the nation of Israel for service without giving them salvation.

This paragraph responds to expected resistance to this idea. Paul simply points out that this has been God's modus operandi from the very beginning. That is, Israel's existence as a nation is the result of God's sovereign, unconditional choice of Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. God elected them (and the entire nation through them) for service - apart from any salvation promises on his part or any salvation responses on their part - just because that was the way he wanted it. Because of God's sovereign "purpose in election" (v. 11) Israel would fulfill God's plan for the Messiah and God would thus fulfill his promises toward them, whether they as individuals entered into a saving relationship with him or not.

Thus we must not interpret vv. 7-13 as further elaboration upon the distinction between the two Israels in v. 6, as if these verses are describing how or why God made that distinction. Nor are these verses somehow meant to justify this distinction, contrary to Moo's view (570-571). They are in fact making a point that is separate from 9:6b. The progression of thought from 6b to 7a is thus: Not all members of physical Israel are also members of spiritual Israel; neither are they called the children of Abraham just because they are physically descended from Abraham. Thus v. 7 begins a separate thought. The paragraph through v. 13 focuses on the origin and role of ethnic Israel as such, explaining the manner in which God called them into his service. The main point is that this is different from the way he calls individuals to salvation. Only when the two are confused do questions about God's faithfulness to Israel arise.

The Choice of Isaac (9:7-9)

9:7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. This verse begins with the negative particle oujdev ( oude ), which joins concepts that are related but not identical. Thus it introduces another consideration in answer to the charge that God has treated Israel unfairly. The erroneous assumption to which Paul is responding is the Jews' mistaken idea that just because they were descendants of Abraham, God was obligated to treat them in a certain way. Paul's point is that this is not true even with regard to Israel's role of service in God's historical plan of redemption, much less their participation in eternal life.

There has been much debate as to the respective meanings of "descendants" (lit., spevrma , sperma , "seed") and "children" (tevkna , tekna ). This debate is usually waged with the assumption that Paul is simply repeating his distinction between physical Israel and spiritual Israel (9:6b). Assuming this, a few proceed to identify the former with Abraham's "children" and the latter with his "seed" or "descendants." Most, however, take the reverse approach, equating "seed" with physical Israel and "children" with spiritual Israel.

The fact is that the terms "seed" and "children" seem to be used interchangeably in vv. 7-8, as they are in John 8:33-39 ( vv. 33, 37, "seed of Abraham"; v. 39, "children of Abraham").

The most common error here is the assumption that v. 7 is parallel to v. 6b, which it is not. Spiritual Israel is not in view in v. 7, thus neither term ("seed," "children") applies to it in this context. The distinction rather is between all the physical descendants of Abraham, including those born to Hagar (Gen 16:15) and Keturah (Gen 25:1-5) as well as to Sarah, and only those physical descendants of Abraham born through Sarah and Isaac (Gen 21:1-3). Only the latter may be called Abraham's true seed or children. Just being physically descended from Abraham did not establish someone as the "seed of Abraham" named in the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 15:5, 18; 17:6-8; 22:17-18). Something more than physical descent is required, as v. 8 specifies.

On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." This is an exact quotation from the LXX translation of Gen 21:12. God made this promise to Abraham as he was explaining to him why the patriarch should not hesitate to sever his connections with his son Ishmael (Gen 21:8-21). The sense of it is, "Through Isaac alone , not through Ishmael or any other possible progeny, will come the seed specified in my covenant with you."

The word translated "reckoned" literally means "called." Here it does not have the theological connotation of "called unto salvation," as it does in 8:28-29; 9:24-26. At most it may refer to God's call to service , i.e., only children born to Isaac will be called upon to continue the covenant responsibilities and receive the covenant blessings given to Abraham. Only those connected with Isaac will be called (named, counted as, recognized as, acknowledged as, reckoned to be) Abraham's true covenant seed. Dunn is correct: "God had told Abraham that his promise of seed and land applied only to the line of descent through Isaac, that so far as his covenant with Abraham was concerned only Isaac and his offspring would be recognized as Abraham's seed" (2:547). The only thing to remember is that this covenant did not include the promise of salvation as such; "Abraham's seed" in this context is not the same as spiritual Israel.

As the next two verses will show, Paul's main point in bringing up the "divine distinguishing" between Isaac and Ishmael is to emphasize the sovereign, unilateral way in which God established the nation of Israel and enlisted it into his service.

9:8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. "In other words" ("this is to say," "this means") introduces the basis upon which God chose Isaac. Though this may well be a general principle that God applies in the context of salvation, that is not how the statement functions here. In this case it relates to the choice of Isaac and thus to the manner in which Israel came into existence.

"The natural children" is literally "the children of the flesh," or children born by purely natural means. It is similar to the expression in 1:3 and 4:1 (kataΙ savrka , kata sarka , "according to the flesh"), where "flesh" is used in a morally neutral sense. "The children of the promise" refers to God's promise to Abraham and Sarah concerning the birth of Isaac, as v. 9 shows. They are "children of promise" because they owe their existence to this promise; they are "born as a result of a promise" (Morris, 354). These children of the promise are identified as "God's children" and as "Abraham's offspring." The latter expression is a loose but accurate paraphrase for one word, "seed" ( sperma ). "Regarded" is logivzomai ( logizomai ), the same word used for the concept of imputation almost a dozen times in Rom 4. Here it simply means "considered to be, counted as, looked upon as." It is equivalent to "reckoned" ("called") in v. 7.

It is easy to see why many take this verse to refer to the distinction between physical Israel and spiritual Israel, and thus take it as referring to the way God elects some to salvation while rejecting others. "God's children" and "children of the promise," as well as the verb logizomai , all have salvation connotations in other contexts. (See Moo, 577.) Indeed, we may agree that there is a significant analogy between the way God chose Isaac for service and the way he chooses individuals for salvation. The concept of promise is the main similarity. See Gal 3:14, 16-22, 29; 4:23.

We must remember, though, that such terminology does not always connote the eternal salvation of individuals. The covenant made with Abraham (and Isaac and Jacob) was primarily a series of promises, culminating in the promised coming of the Messiah (Acts 13:23,32; 26:6; Rom 15:8; Heb 8:6; 11:9). Thus it is appropriate to think of Israel as a whole as "children of the promise." The expression "children of God" is surprisingly rare in Scripture. Sometimes it refers to those in a saving relationship with God (Rom 8:16,21; Phil 2:15); at least once it refers to the Jews as a nation (John 11:52; see also Deut 14:1 and Ps 82:6, "sons" of God). It is not inappropriate to see the latter sense here.

We conclude, then, in accord with the present context, that it is ethnic Israel that is here identified as "God's children" and "children of the promise," and that these terms describe Israel's role as the special family through whom God brought the Messiah into the world. This is consistent with 9:4, which says that the Israelites received "the adoption as sons" and "the promises."

What is Paul's point? He is simply reminding Israel that their status as God's children and Abraham's seed was not something they possessed by an accident of nature, by inherent right, or by meritorious acquisition. It was theirs only by God's gracious choice and promise. God alone controls the selection process and the terms of selection. In this case God demonstrated his sovereign control by specifying that Abraham's covenant family would come into existence through one whose own existence was dependent upon nothing except the promise and power of God.

9:9 For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son." Paul's statement of the promise concerning Isaac is a combination of thoughts from Gen 18:10 and 18:14. God spoke these words during a glorious visitation (a theophany) to Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18:1-15). "At the appointed time" is usually taken to mean "about this time next year." "I will return" is literally "I will come." This does not necessarily mean that God was promising another visible manifestation of himself to Abraham and Sarah a year later; no such theophany is recorded in Genesis. It means only that God would come upon Abraham and Sarah in his providential power, opening Sarah's barren and "dead" womb (Gen 11:30; 18:11; Rom 4:19; Heb 11:11-12) and causing her to conceive contrary to all natural means.

This verse is important because it shows us that Paul's main concern here is not the general promise of salvation made to all who will believe in God's mercy, but rather the specific event of the choice of Isaac rather than Ishmael as the one who would carry on the covenant line of his father Abraham - which was a call to service, not to salvation. In fact, v. 8 says that the Israelites were "the children of the promise," meaning the specific promise identified in v. 9.

The first part of this verse specifically reads, "For the word [lovgo" , logos ] of promise is this." The term logos ties this in with 9:6a, where Paul says, "It is not as though God's word [ logos ] has failed." This shows that he is mainly concerned here with the charge that somehow God's words of promise to the nation of Israel had failed. The promises are those which establish Israel as the covenant nation, and as words of promise they establish God as the one who is in complete control of Israel's tenure as the covenant people.

Thus there is no reason for anyone to think that God has lost control of the situation with respect to Israel. Though most individual Israelites are accursed, God has still kept every promise he ever made to them as a people, as is evidenced by the way he kept one of the very first promises that brought them into existence in the first place.

The Choice of Jacob (9:10-13)

These next four verses show how God chose a particular son of Isaac to be the one who would carry on his covenant purposes. The debate continues, of course, as to whether this incident is intended to describe the way God chooses individuals for salvation. Does God's choice of Jacob demonstrate the way he distinguishes true spiritual Israel from ethnic Israel as a whole, or does it tell us how he chooses those who will serve him in the carrying out of his redemptive purposes? In my judgment only the latter point is being made here . The focus is exactly the same as in vv. 7-9, namely, the sovereignty of God in establishing the nation of Israel.

9:10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. This truth does more than simply repeat the lesson from Isaac and Ishmael; it strengthens it and clarifies it. Regarding the earlier example, someone might try to argue that the natural circumstances surrounding the births of Abraham's (first) two sons were so different that the choice of Isaac was no surprise. After all, the boys had different mothers, and Ishmael's mother was not even Abraham's true wife. But this cannot be said of Jacob and Esau. As twins, they were the product not only of the same mother, but of the same pregnancy. In addition, Esau was the first-born twin. Thus according to every natural expectation, Esau should have been selected as the covenant seed. The fact that God chose Jacob for this role shows unequivocally that his election of those who will serve his purposes need not be conditioned upon any human circumstance or qualification.

The grammar and syntax of this section are notoriously difficult, but the NIV generally sorts it out quite well. Literally v. 10 does not speak of Rebekah's children but of Rebekah herself. It says that she conceived "from one." The use of the Greek word koivth (koitç ) leads to some rather graphic interpretations. The word basically means "bed," but was also used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse and even the emission of semen. Thus some say the verse means that Rebekah conceived "by the one act of sexual intercourse" (Dunn, 2:542) or even "from one seminal emission" (Hendriksen, 2:319). Thus "from one" is given a dual force: not only were Jacob and Esau conceived from one father , namely, "our father Isaac," but also from just one act of intercourse . The point is to minimize any natural distinctions between Esau and Jacob.

9:11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad . . . . This is a participial phrase. The subject ("the twins") is not in the Greek but is properly supplied by the NIV. The whole phrase modifies the main verb in v. 12b, "she was told." The participles themselves may be expressing simple temporal priority in relation to the main verb (" Before the twins were born . . . , she was told," NIV), or they may express a contrary or unlikely circumstance (" Even though the twins were not yet born" - see the NASB). The NRSV captures the meaning very succinctly: "Even before they had been born."

The point is that God had already made his decision as to his choice between Jacob and Esau, and had already announced it to Rebekah (v. 12), before anything had happened from the human side that might have any possible bearing upon that choice. "Before the twins were born" indicates that the birth order would be irrelevant. Before they "had done anything good or bad" shows that their future conduct was not a factor in the selection.

To introduce divine foreknowledge into the picture here, as some non-Calvinists do, misses the point. Certainly the omniscient God had a complete foreknowledge of the entire lives of both the twins, including which would be born first (v. 12b). But that is not only irrelevant; it tends also to obscure the very point Paul is making, namely, that the choice had nothing to do with either the works or the faith of either twin, whether foreknown or not. God wanted Jacob and not Esau, and that's that.

But someone will say that this sounds a lot like unconditional election, which is a main doctrine of Calvinism, and that we need the concept of foreknowledge here in order to avoid it. I will reply that the choice of Jacob over Esau was a case of unconditional election. But this is not a concession to Calvinism, because Paul is not talking about election to salvation , but to service .

Calvinists themselves usually fail to understand this point. They assume that God's choice of Jacob and his rejection of Esau had to do with the twins' eternal destinies, thus seeing this passage as biblical proof of the Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election. Murray says it indicates "the pure sovereignty of the discrimination which the covenant promise implies" (2:13). Cranfield says it shows that a key characteristic of the "divine distinguishing" is "its independence of all human merit" (2:477). Moo says it implies "that it was God's will alone, and not natural capacity, religious devotion, or even faith that determined their respective destinies" (578).

Such statements are true as they apply to God's selection of Jacob for covenant service, and they may be true of election to service in general; but the context does not warrant applying them to election to salvation, as these writers do.

- in order that God's purpose in election might stand. This is the first part of a parenthetical comment (vv. 11b-12a), separated from the rest of the sentence in the NIV by dashes. In this comment Paul is explaining why ("in order that") God's choice of Jacob (and thus of the nation of Israel) was unconditional (v. 11a), namely, so that his purpose according to election might not fail. What was God's purpose for choosing one or the other of these twins? It was the same purpose he had for choosing Abraham in the first place, then Isaac. It was the purpose expressed when God first made his covenant with Abraham: "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen 12:3). This purpose was fulfilled with the birth of the Messiah (9:5b; Acts 13:32-33).

This redemptive purpose was too important to be allowed to depend on the vicissitudes of human behavior. Thus God made it clear from the very beginning that he was going to accomplish his purpose through this particular family regardless of their individual decisions and the direction of their personal piety. He showed this by the very way in which he chose Jacob over Esau, i.e., unconditionally. This means that even if he had chosen Esau over Jacob, he would still have accomplished his purpose.

How this applies to the issue under discussion should be clear. At stake is God's faithfulness in his dealings with the Jews. How could he shower them with the covenant blessings of 9:4-5 and allow them to be lost at the same time? The answer is that the covenant did not include a promise of individual salvation for all Jews; it was limited to God's special use of the nation of Israel as the conduit for bringing Christ into the world. From the beginning God determined that he was going to do this, regardless of whether any individual Jews were saved. Just as "God's purpose in election" did not depend upon the spiritual status of the twin he chose from Rebekah's womb, so it did not depend upon the salvation status of the Jews in Paul's day.

Again it is an error to see in this expression, "God's purpose in election," any reference to God's general method of saving individuals. "God's purpose in election" is roughly parallel to "God's word" in 9:6a, i.e., to his covenant promises to the nation as a whole. In 9:6 Paul says these covenant promises have not failed; here in 9:11 he says that God's purpose for choosing Israel will "stand" or remain firm. These are basically the same idea stated first negatively then positively.

9:12 . . . not by works but by him who calls. Like many others, Schreiner says that the phrase "not by works" always is used in the context of individual salvation; thus that must be the subject here ("Election," 93). But the present context is different. It is clear that "not by works" simply explains or restates "before the twins . . . had done anything good or bad" (9:11), and (as we have seen) this refers to Jacob's unconditional election for service, not salvation. God's choice of Jacob had nothing to do with any superior qualifications he might have possessed, and it was in spite of any of his potential weaknesses or character flaws. It was simply God's sovereign decision to choose him and use him, and this was a paradigm representing his choice of the nation of Israel as such.

This entire phrase modifies 9:11b; it tells us why it is that God's purpose in election will stand, namely, not by virtue of the accomplishments, faith, or faithfulness of the ones called to fulfill that purpose, but solely by the invincible power of the God who called them.

Many of a Calvinist bent insist that the concept of calling must mean "the effectual call to salvation" (Murray, 2:19), or "the call to faith and obedience" (Cranfield, 2:478-479). Others rightly see it as a call that has "exclusive reference to time, and with no reference to eternity" (Lard, 301-302). "It is election to privilege that is in mind, not eternal salvation," as Morris says (356). The terminology of calling is not used exclusively for calling to salvation in the NT, but on several occasions refers to calling to service. Abraham was called to inaugurate God's covenant plan (Heb 11:8), and Aaron was called to the high priesthood (Heb 5:4). Jesus called James and John to apostleship (Matt 4:21). Paul was called to be an apostle (Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:15).

In Jesus' statement, "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt 22:14, NASB), the "many" who are called are probably the nation of Israel as a whole, which was called into God's service; and the "few" who are chosen are probably the spiritual Israel of Rom 9:6b. This verse from Matthew, especially in its context of the parable of the wedding feast, definitely helps us to understand the nature of the calling to which Paul refers here in 9:12.

- she was told, "The older will serve the younger." This picks up the thought from v. 11a: before the twins were even born or had done anything good or wrong, God had already told Rebekah which one he was choosing for his covenant purposes. The quote is directly from Gen 25:23 (LXX). The "older" is Esau, who was born first; "the younger" is Jacob.

Commentators argue over whether this divine decree refers to Jacob and Esau as individuals or to the two nations established by each. From Jacob, of course, came Israel; and from Esau came the Edomites. God's full statement to Rebekah, recorded in Gen 25:23, shows that he originally had the two nations in mind: "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." That is probably the main point here. The OT does not record any instance where Esau personally assumed the role of a servant to Jacob, but it does refer to times when the Edomites were in a kind of servitude to Israel or Judah (see Num 24:18-19; 2 Sam 8:14; 1 Kgs 11:15-16; 2 Kgs 14:7).

This is not a serious issue except for those who want to read election of individuals to salvation into this context; they may be inclined to limit Paul's reference to Jacob and Esau to these men as individuals. Even if this is the case, though, election to service (not salvation) is Paul's point. The language of servanthood is simply a way of indicating which of the twins would be favored by God and chosen to be the covenant son, and which would not.

9:13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." This quotation, from Mal 1:2, continues the thought already elaborated in vv. 10-12 and carries it a step further. By introducing it with the formulaic "it is written," Paul presents it as a proof text for the point he is making. The main idea is that God's choice of Jacob and his rejection of Esau were based not on something within these men but upon something within God himself, i.e., his own love and hate.

Two main issues arise here. One is the common question of whether God's love and hate relate to Jacob's and Esau's temporal fortunes or to their eternal destinies. Consistent with their approach to the passage as a whole, many see God's love as the basis for his unconditional election of Jacob to salvation, and God's hatred as the basis for his unconditional reprobation of Esau to hell. This is then generalized into the Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election as such (see Moo, 585-586).

As we have already seen, however, the subject here is not individual salvation but election to service. This election is unconditional to be sure, but it is election to service nonetheless. In reference to this verse we can see this is the case by examining the context of the quotation as it appears originally in Malachi. There it is clear that the main point is not God's attitude toward and treatment of the two brothers themselves, but of the two nations springing from them. Even more significantly, the consequences of these contrasting attitudes are not eternal destinies but different earthly fortunes.

The other main issue is the meaning of "Esau I hated." In what sense did God "hate" Esau? Some say Paul is merely employing a semitic hyperbole, in which the strong term "hate," when used in comparative conjunction with "love," sometimes simply means "to love less"; see Gen 29:33 (cf. v. 30); Deut 21:15; Luke 14:26 (cf. Matt 10:37); John 12:25 (MP, 389; Fitzmyer, 563). Others agree this is a valid meaning of "hate," but say that it does not apply here. They equate love with election, and see "hatred" as God's nonemotional decision to reject Esau (decline to choose him) and just set him aside (Moo, 587; Morris, 357; Dunn, 2:544-545). Still others believe, and I agree, that neither of these explanations is strong enough. Murray correctly observes that the treatment of Esau (Edom) in Mal 1:1-5 can hardly be called just a less intense love or even nonselection. It is "a positive judgment, not merely the absence of blessing." It is "disfavour, disapprobation, displeasure," a true "holy hate" (2:22-23).

It is difficult to think of this "holy hate," even in the form of temporal destruction as described in Mal 1:1-5, as unconditional and in no sense related to Edom's conduct - or as Dunn puts it (2:544), "without any reference to Esau's (Edom's) deeds." Here is where I believe the thought of 9:13 goes a step beyond the basic point of 9:10-12. The main point throughout is God's sovereignty in his selection of those who will carry out his purposes. His initial choice of Jacob over Esau stresses this sovereignty, even to the point of unconditionality. This quotation seems to show, though, that God's subsequent historical treatment of their respective nations was conditioned to some extent upon their conduct.

This can be seen in other OT references to God's wrath upon Esau's people, Edom (Isa 34:5-15; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 35:1-15; Obad 1-21). In these and other texts it is made clear that this wrath is divine vengeance against Edom because of its wicked treatment of Israel (Ps 137:7; Isa 5:8; Jer 49:12; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:5,11-15; Obad 10-16). Thus even if God's original choice of Jacob and rejection of Esau were totally unconditional, his subsequent treatment of them did have respect to their conduct. This does not contradict Paul's basic premise regarding the manner of God's original choice of Jacob (and the people of Israel); it simply adds another dimension to his continuing historical relationship with this nation.

The overall main point of this section (vv. 7-13) is still the sovereign freedom of God to set up his plan of redemption as he chooses. He can choose whomever he pleases, whether individuals or nations, to carry out his redemptive purposes, apart from their own choice or cooperation if necessary. His chosen servants do not have to be a part of "spiritual Israel" to be of service to him, and he is not obligated to reward them with eternal life just because they have played their intended part in the messianic drama. There is no inherent connection between service and salvation.

Such is Paul's reply (in part) to those who would accuse God of unfaithfulness in his dealings with the Jews. He appeals, as Godet says, to "the great truth of God's liberty." Godet (351) makes these perceptive comments:

The two examples of exclusion, given in the persons of Ishmael and Esau, have served to prove a fact which Israel embraced with their whole heart: God's right to endow them with privilege at the expense of the Arab (Ishmael) and Edomite (Esau) nations, by assigning to them in the history of redemption the preponderating part to which the right of primogeniture seemed to call those excluded. Now, if Israel approved the principle of divine liberty when it was followed in a way so strikingly in their favor, how could they repudiate it when it was turned against them!

B. GOD'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE AND USE PEOPLE

WITHOUT SAVING THEM (9:14-18)

As we have said earlier, Paul's main purpose in Rom 9 is to affirm God's sovereign right to choose any individual or group for service without at the same time choosing them for salvation . The emphasis is not simply upon God's right to choose some while rejecting others; it is also upon the manner in which God makes his choices.

The bottom line is that God's distinction between physical Israel and spiritual Israel is based upon his freedom to choose in whatever way he wishes. There is indeed a spiritual Israel which enjoys the blessings of salvation, and God has determined to bestow these blessings on the condition of faith (9:30-10:21). But at the same time he has reserved the right to choose and use people for service with no strings attached, as in the case of physical Israel. If it suits his purposes, he can choose them unconditionally, and use them without saving them or rewarding them in any way.

This present paragraph lies at the heart of this argument. In the previous paragraph Paul demonstrates that this is the way God works by citing the concrete examples of Isaac and Jacob. Now in vv. 14-18 he affirms the general principle of divine sovereignty that underlies all such specific examples: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (v. 15).

This is not an argument in the sense that Paul is attempting to justify God's actions before the bar of reason. He is not trying to defend God by appealing to some cosmic code of conduct that is independent of God and to which God himself is bound. Rather, by citing the general principle as stated in OT Scripture, Paul is simply showing that God's choices of Isaac and Jacob - and therefore of the nation of Israel - were consistent with his own nature and with his own plainly stated principles of action. This is the only sense in which this paragraph may be called a theodicy.

Throughout this study of Rom 9 we must keep in mind that the main issue is the status of physical Israel . I.e., if they have been chosen for covenant service, why are they not saved? Thus in 9:14 the question ("Is God unjust?") is not about those whom God has not chosen (such as Ishmael and Esau), but about those whom he has chosen, i.e., Isaac and Jacob - as forerunners of the nation of Israel. Like Isaac and Jacob, physical Israel did not receive its role in God's plan through personal achievement but solely through God's unconditional choice (vv. 15-16). Therefore it does not have any claim on God's saving grace, and can be chosen and hardened at the same time, like Pharaoh (vv. 17-18).

Again we must insist that the issue here is not how God chooses individuals for salvation, contrary to the common Calvinist effort to use this text as a proof for unconditional election. Achtemeier (163) is correct: "Paul is dealing in this passage with the place of Israel in God's plan of salvation. He is not dealing with the fate of individuals." Dunn (2:562) warns against "generalizing too quickly from this passage. . . . Paul is thinking solely in terms of salvation-history, of God's purpose for Israel. . . . A more extensive doctrine of election is not to be found here."

1. God's Righteousness Is Challenged (9:14)

9:14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! Paul dialogues thus with himself when he knows he has just said something that is likely to be misunderstood or to raise objections or false conclusions in the minds of his hearers. "What then shall we say?" is parallel to 3:5; 6:1,15; 7:7. "Not at all!" is mhΙ gevnoito (mç genoito ), the very strong negative expression frequently used by Paul; see 3:4 above. The question itself, "Is God unjust?" is stated in such a way in the Greek (using the negative particle mç ) that a negative answer is implied and expected. Also, "unjust" is actually a noun, ajdikiva ( adikia ). The NASB has a literal translation: "There is no injustice with God, is there?"

The term adikia has been used several times already, always for human unrighteousness or wickedness (1:18, 29; 2:8; 3:5; 6:13). It is the opposite of righteousness, the essence of which is conformity to the proper norm or standard (JC, 1:116-117). That God is righteous does not mean that he conforms to some norm outside himself, since such a norm does not exist. God's essence is itself the highest and ultimate norm, even for his own actions. To say, then, that God is righteous means that his actions always conform to his own essence. He never goes against himself and never acts in a way that is inconsistent with or contradictory to his own nature. He is always faithful to himself.

Thus to say that God is unrighteous or unjust is to accuse him of doing something that violates his very nature - which is impossible. Since it is his nature to be true (3:4) and never to lie (Titus 1:2), his righteousness thus requires that he always be faithful and true to his word. In the context of Rom 9, to suggest that God may be unrighteous or unjust is simply to raise the question again as to whether or not God's word of promise to Israel has failed (9:6a). "The question is - Is God righteous ? - i.e., has he been true to his covenanted word?"

We must remember that the issue here is the status of national Israel. Thus the objection stated in 9:14 is one that would most likely be raised by the Jews regarding God's treatment of them as a nation. It is a mistake to see this question as something that relates only to the immediately preceding section, and especially to limit it to the rejection of Ishmael and Esau. It relates rather to everything Paul has said in vv. 1-13. "What then shall we say - about the way God chose and has been using Israel? Has his treatment of the nation been unjust? Has his word failed, as some seem to think? No! Absolutely not!" Paul's answer has the intensity and the content of Abraham's conviction in Gen 18:25, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

Why is God's treatment of Israel not unjust? Because, as 9:6b says, there really are two Israels, and God is not obliged to treat them in the same way. Specifically, he is free to use the nation as a whole for his covenant purposes, while limiting salvation only to those who trust his saving promises. The unconditional nature of God's choice of the larger group is illustrated in vv. 7-13. These verses in themselves show that God's use of Israel has not been unjust. The question in v. 14 is not so much an objection to the content of vv. 7-13 as it is a statement of the implied objection that underlies the whole chapter. And Paul's answer to the question in vv. 15-18 is not different from what he has already said in vv. 7-13, but is a generalized restatement of it. He simply shows, as Lard says (304), "that God acted according to his own avowed principles of conduct."

2. God's Sovereignty in Election for Service (9:15-16)

9:15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." The connecting word "for" ( gar ) has several possible meanings. Ordinarily it introduces the cause or reason for the preceding statement. In this case the idea would be, "No, God is not unjust, because . . . ." This would then raise the question as to how God's statement to Moses shows that God is not unjust. The best answer is that Paul believes that the quoting of OT Scripture is sufficient to establish his point. (See also v. 17.) Since the main source of the objection in v. 14 would be the Jews, refuting it from their own Scripture would be especially effective. This would also be indicative of Paul's high view of the authority of Scripture. See Murray, 2:25.

Gar suggests, then, that in these verses Paul is confirming his affirmation of God's justice or faithfulness. He confirms it by quoting Scripture, and especially by citing the general principle or general divine prerogative that embraces all the specific cases at issue. No, God has not acted unjustly in his choice of Isaac, in his choice of Jacob, and especially in his choice of the nation of Israel, because Scripture itself records his sovereign right to choose anyone he pleases according to his own terms. He has simply acted in accord with his established word.

The divine statement cited by Paul was spoken "to Moses." It is an exact quote from the Greek version (the LXX) of Exod 33:19b and is very close to the Hebrew. The general occasion for the statement was Moses' intercession for Israel following their unfaithfulness with the golden calf. Specifically it was part of God's reply when Moses requested to see the very essence of God: "Then Moses said, 'Now show me your glory'" (Exod 33:18).

Paul's citation of this statement by God raises several questions. First, does it apply to the eternal salvation of individuals, or to temporal election for service? Second, how does it relate to the overall argument of ch. 9? Third, why is the statement only positive , with no corresponding negative reference to exclusion from God's mercy?

The most crucial (and by now, most familiar) issue, of course, is whether the statement applies to God's choice for salvation or for service. Many, such as Murray, argue for the former: "In this context we may not tone down the soteric import" (2:26). Others declare that salvation is not the point here. For instance, DeWelt states that the choices of which this text speaks "never involve salvation of a man's soul" (148).

Either way we must show that our view fits into the overall context. But since this statement in 9:15 is a quotation from the OT (Exod 33:19b), this raises the question as to which context should be used to determine whether Paul is referring to salvation or service: Exod 33 or Rom 9? Lenski (611) says it is best to stay with the NT context, to take the words as Paul quotes them, "and not to consider the whole episode with regard to Moses, his prayer to see God's face, etc." DeWelt, on the other hand, declares that it is imperative to see "that this free reign of God's mercy and compassion is all related as occurring in the Old Testament and must not be carried over into the New Testament dispensation" (148). Such extremes are inadequate, however; both contexts are important, and in the end they yield the same result regarding the issue of salvation or service.

The OT context is important here and definitely must be considered. Why did God originally make this statement? It was addressed to Moses, but for what purpose? What was its intended application? To ask the question another way, to whom was the statement originally intended to apply: to Moses himself, or to the nation of Israel? Many have concluded the former, i.e., that God was telling Moses that he would be the recipient of God's blessing. This would happen not because of any meritorious accomplishment on Moses' part, however, but solely because of God's sovereign choice.

Fitzmyer says it refers to "how God called Moses" (565). This hardly fits the context, however. Others say it refers to God's decision to answer Moses' request, "Now show me your glory" (Exod 33:18). In response to this request, God says first of all that he will grant it: "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence" (33:19a). Then he says immediately, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" (33:19b).

Why did God make the latter statement immediately after declaring that he would answer Moses' request? Piper tries to make the case that it is a paraphrase of God's name as later revealed in the theophany in 34:6-7 ( Justification , 84-89). Verse 19b is just "a brief, preliminary declaration of the verbal theophany," he says (88). This understanding does not fit the flow of the conversation between Moses and God, however. Verse 18 states Moses' request, "Now show me your glory." God's reply is threefold: the statement of his intention to grant the request (19a); the reason for his decision (19b); and the one qualification (20a), "'But,' he said, 'you cannot see my face.'"

This latter view is most consistent with the context and is held by many. Keil and Delitzsch ( Pentateuch , 237) say v. 19b expresses "the reason why Moses' request was granted, viz. that it was an act of unconditional grace and compassion on the part of God." It definitely refers to Moses' request, according to Godet (352): in Exod 33:19 God, "when condescending to grant the bold request of Moses that he might behold His glory with his bodily eyes, gives him to understand that nothing in him . . . merited such a favor." See also DeWelt, 148; GRe, 364.

In my judgment the view just described is correct, being true to the context and to the terminology used (as will be explained shortly). But I have concluded that this is not the whole picture, and that the statement in 33:19b must be taken also in the broader context of the immediate crisis concerning Israel, and thus also applies to the nation as a whole. Only then is it relevant to Paul's argument in Rom 9.

Israel's episode with the golden calf, as an act of great sin and even apostasy, certainly raised the question of the salvation of those who were involved (Exod 32:25-35). But it also raised the question of Israel's preservation as the people chosen to serve God's covenant purposes. Moses was very concerned with the latter, especially when God told the people that from that point on he would not be personally present among them on their journey (33:3-5). The visible presence of God had up to that time been a crucial factor in their lives (33:7-11), and Moses argued before God that without his continuing visible presence among them they would not really know if they were still God's unique people, nor would anyone else know (33:12-16).

At this point in the narrative the issue is not the eternal salvation of individual Jews, but Israel's preservation as a nation and her continuing role in God's plan. In reference to God's threat to withdraw his presence, Moses reminds him, "Remember that this nation is your people" (33:13). Certainly it is true that Moses' prayer is "for the salvation of the whole people," to use Calvin's words (356), but the point is not the eternal salvation of individual Jews but the temporal preservation of the nation as such. See Fitzmyer, 566.

In the face of Moses' intercessory prayer God relents and tells Moses that he will indeed once more bestow his personal presence upon them (33:15,17). This is the point at which Moses makes his bold request, "Now show me your glory" (33:18), i.e., as an assurance that he and Israel had been restored to God's favor. What follows is the marvelous event of God's unique revelation to Moses, both visibly and audibly (33:19-34:7). Moses' response is a final and humble plea for the nation's reinstatement as God's "inheritance" (34:8-9), though they obviously did not deserve it. God concludes the matter by reestablishing his covenant with Moses and with Israel (34:10-28).

The point is that the critical statement in 33:19b refers not only to God's sovereignty in his choice of which prayers to answer (according to which he granted Moses' request), but also to his sovereignty in his choice of those who will serve him in the accomplishment of his plan of redemption. That God answered Moses' prayer and showed himself to Moses in a unique way was symbolic of his intention to relent and once more to grace the nation with his presence. His ultimate answer to Moses' prayer was in "His sparing the people and continuing to guide and protect them" (MacArthur, 2:32).

In this light we can see why Paul chose to quote Exod 33:19b in support of his own argument that God's word toward Israel has not failed and therefore that he cannot be accused of injustice in his treatment of them. The issue in Exod 33 and Rom 9 is very much the same: not the salvation of individuals, but the role of the nation in God's plan. The point is that God is free to choose whomever he will, according to whatever conditions he pleases.

One main problem that many will have with this interpetation is the meaning of the terms "have mercy" and "have compassion." Do not these terms refer to eternal salvation? Not necessarily. These terms and their Hebrew counterparts have a variety of uses, depending upon context.

The second word in God's statement is "have compassion": racham ) in Exod 33:19b and oijkteivrw (oikteirô ) here. This verb and its cognates (words with the same root) refer to the attitude of compassion, mercy, or pity upon someone in any kind of need. It can refer to God's compassion upon the lost, leading to salvation (see Isa 55:7; Rom 12:1), but it can also refer to divine or human compassion expressed in temporal ways (see Luke 6:36; Heb 10:28). In the OT, racham is frequently used for God's temporal blessings upon his people, either as bestowed or as withheld (see Isa 14:1; Jer 13:14; 21:7; 33:26; 42:12; Zech 10:6). As Ezek 39:25 says, "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion [ racham ] on all the people of Israel."

The first word in God's statement, "have mercy," is used much more often in both testaments. The Hebrew word in Exod 33:19b is /nj ( chanan ). Because it is sometimes translated "be gracious" (as in the NASB in Exod 33:19b), and because its noun form (/j, chçn ) is often translated "grace," some just assume that it refers to saving grace in this text. The word does have that meaning in some contexts; but saving grace is actually one of its lesser meanings. Basically it means to do someone a favor, to show favor, to be merciful and kind, or to bestow a blessing. Human beings are said to be merciful (gracious) to other people, and God is said to be merciful (gracious) to various people.

The word is often used as a preface to prayer, as in Ps 27:7: "Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me." Thus in Exod 33:19b, when God says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," he could very well be simply saying to Moses, "All right, Moses; I will answer your prayer this time; but remember that it is my sovereign prerogative to determine which prayers I will answer and which I will deny."

God's mercy (grace, favor) is sometimes the grace of forgiveness and salvation for individuals (Ps 51:1), but more often it refers to some temporal blessing (Gen 33:5,11; 2 Sam 12:22). The nation of Israel as such is often the recipient of such temporal mercy (favor, grace). For example, Ps 102:13 says, "You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her." See also 2 Kgs 13:23; Isa 30:18-19; Amos 5:15. Thus it is completely consistent with the meaning of the word chanan to interpret Exod 33:19b as referring to God's sovereign choice to spare the people of Israel and to continue to use them as his servant nation.

In Rom 9:15 the Greek word used to translate chanan is ejleevw ( eleëô ), and it, too, has a range of meanings other than saving mercy (as does its noun form, e[leo" , eleos ). A few times it does refer to salvation (1 Tim 1:13,16; 1 Pet 2:10). More often, though, it refers to showing compassion to the poor, sick, or needy (Rom 12:8; Phil 2:27). Thus it is used as a prelude to a request for such mercy: "Have mercy on me, and help me" (e.g., Matt 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30-31; Luke 16:24). Most significantly, it is sometimes used to refer to God's choosing or calling someone for service, specifically, Paul's call to apostleship: 1 Cor 7:25; 2 Cor 4:1. This last meaning is the one Paul intends in 9:15, I believe; and it has special reference to God's choice of the nation of Israel to play a crucial role in his covenant purposes. In other words, when God chooses anyone for service, it is the bestowal of a great favor upon that person (or nation), whether that person (or nation) is saved or not.

The next question is how Paul's citation of Exod 33:19b relates to his overall argument in Rom 9. The answer should be obvious. At stake is the righteousness or faithfulness of God in relation to Israel. Does not his choosing of Israel for covenant service imply that all Jewish people should be saved? No, says Paul; as in his choice of Isaac and Jacob, God chooses as it pleases him. He is free to choose whomever he likes. He can choose and use people, including the whole nation of Israel, whether they are saved or not. Salvation is neither a prerequisite for nor a necessary result of such a choice. The quote from Exod 33:19b states this as a general principle; the example of Pharaoh in 9:17-18 is a specific example.

The last question about v. 15 is, why does the statement refer only to a positive choice, i.e., one grounded in mercy and compassion? Why is there no reference to God's sovereign rejection of others? This question is meaningful only when one concludes that the passage is talking about the eternal salvation of individuals rather than election to service. For those who hold the former view, the issue is whether or not there is such a thing as double predestination, i.e., both election to salvation and reprobation to damnation.

Some see such a double predestination in vv. 7-13,18,21-24; thus they accept it as an inference in v. 15. Others see v. 15 as softening the negative side of predestination elsewhere in the chapter. It "shows that God is out to secure mercy, not condemnation," says Morris (359). A "symmetry between grace and wrath . . . is missing here," says Achtemeier, since Paul "speaks exclusively of God's decision to be merciful." Indeed, "the whole discussion is marked rather by the asymmetry of a dominating grace" (162). See Cranfield, 2:483-484.

This whole discussion is meaningful, however, only if this chapter is dealing with the eternal destinies of individuals. If it is, the double-predestination folks are correct. To say that God is free to show saving mercy unconditionally on whomever he chooses definitely implies that he is free to withhold saving mercy unconditionally from whomever he chooses, and his decision to do the former necessarily entails his decision to do the latter. Such a decision to withhold mercy is in effect a decision to send these nonrecipients to hell, with all the resulting negative implications for the nature of God.

This is why it is so important to see that the issue is not a kind of sovereignty by which God chooses some for salvation and condemns others to hell. Rather, the issue in vv. 7-13 is his sovereignty in choosing one (Isaac, Jacob) rather than another (Ishmael, Esau) for a role of service, and the issue in the chapter as a whole is his sovereignty in choosing and using the nation of Israel apart from the promise of individual salvation. Such choosing of Isaac, Jacob and national Israel was a matter of (temporal) mercy and favor, but the nonchoosing of Ishmael and Esau was not ipso facto an act of eternal condemnation. Those who were not so chosen are just no longer relevant to the discussion. Thus to have added, "I will condemn whomever I will condemn" would have been irrelevant and beside the point, not to mention untrue. Even the references to Pharaoh and hardening in 9:17-18 are not about condemnation as such.

9:16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. Since the issue in this context is not the eternal salvation of individuals, the considerable amount of rhetoric that attempts to extract Calvinist unconditional election from this verse is wasted. Since the subject is the election of individuals and groups for service, all conclusions concerning divine sovereignty and unconditionality in election must instead be applied thereto. Further argument on this point is unnecessary.

The main point is that God's final decision to select someone for his covenant service is based not upon anything in the person himself, but entirely and only upon the divine purpose. If it is God's purpose to choose someone, he will do so, whether that person is willing or unwilling, or whether he is prepared or not. Of course, God would rather use a willing person who will devote his entire strength to God's cause. Also, for those tasks that require someone who is especially gifted and trained, God will prepare such a person through his providential control of life circumstances. Examples are Moses and Paul. But for other tasks he can use those who are unwilling and even hostile toward him. Examples are Balaam (Num 22-24) and, of course, Pharaoh (9:17-18). Many in Israel were in this last category.

The thought of this verse is not different from that of v. 15, and is set forth as a logical conclusion ("therefore") from it. The subject of v. 16 ("it") is not stated but must be supplied from the context. "Mercy" is the choice of many (e.g., SH, 254; Cranfield, 2:484; Moo, 593), and those who interpret the entire passage in terms of election to salvation naturally take this to be saving mercy, eternal life, or being a child of God (e.g., Hendriksen, 2:325; MacArthur, 2:32; Stott, 269). It is best not to take "mercy" as the subject, however, since whatever the subject is, it depends "on God's mercy." In keeping with our overall interpretation, I believe the subject is simply "being chosen for God's service."

Being thus chosen does not depend upon human desire or willing. Jacob is a perfect example; he was chosen before he was born and contrary to the will of his father Isaac (Gen 27). Nor does it depend on human effort. "Effort" is literally "the running one" or "the one who runs." This refers to "moral attainment" (Piper, Justification , 153), or vigorous, purposeful striving as in the running of a race. Paul uses this metaphor often, sometimes for the work of his apostolic ministry. These two terms together "sum up the totality of man's capacity," his motivation and his action (Dunn, 2:553; see Phil 2:13). Sometimes this motivation and this action are good, sometimes bad. Either way, as Dunn says, "they are not factors in election, neither in the initial choice nor in its maintenance" (2:553). This applies, of course, to election to service in general, and specifically to God's purpose for Israel. As Dunn says, "God's purpose is not conditioned on Israel's good will and effort" (2:562).

Such election for service is a matter of "the one who shows mercy, namely, God," as the text literally says. This simply repeats v. 15, where we saw that "showing mercy" refers to the mercy God bestows in choosing someone to serve his covenant purposes.

3. God's Purposes Can Be Served by the Unsaved (9:17-18)

9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Paul takes this quote directly from Exod 9:16. Obviously "the Scripture" did not say this to Pharaoh. God himself, through Moses, spoke these words to him. By thus personifying Scripture and thinking of it as interchangeable with God himself, Paul shows us his very high view of the nature of the Bible. This phenomenon is "a graphic illustration that Paul thinks of scripture as the word of God," says Dunn (2:553). "The Scripture says" is essentially the same as "God says." A similar equation is seen in Gal 3:8.

How are vv. 17-18 related to the preceding verses? This depends on how we understand the word "for" ( gar ) at the beginning of v. 17. Some say that gar ties this verse sequentially to v. 16, making vv. 17-18 an example of the principle in v. 16 (Achtemeier, 162), or "a development of v 16" (Dunn, 2:553). This is possible, but I believe it is more likely that the gar in v. 17 is parallel to the gar in v. 15, each relating equally to v. 14. Thus vv. 15-16 and vv. 17-18 are two distinct points, each confirming that God's treatment of the Jews is not unjust (v. 14) by citing data from the OT. See Lenski, 613; Cranfield, 2:485; Moo, 593-594.

What, then, is the progression of Paul's argument? First, God's treatment of the Jews is not unjust because he has complete sovereignty in the way he chooses those who will serve his purposes. The way he chose Isaac and Jacob demonstrates this by example (vv. 7-13), and this is further confirmed by the citation of the general principle from Exod 33:19b (vv. 14-16). All of this together shows that God is free to choose whomever he pleases for roles of service.

But this by itself does not fully address the issue of the Jews. The question specifically is whether God is unjust because he called the nation of Israel into his service while at the same time condemning many if not most individual Jews to hell. If God is going to use them, is he not thereby obligated to save them? This is the point addressed in vv. 17-18. Here Paul shows from the OT that God's sovereignty in election for service includes the prerogative of choosing and using someone without saving them. His premiere example is Pharaoh. Not only was he chosen ("shown mercy"), but he was also hardened (confirmed in his unbelief).

A very common approach to this text is to take Pharaoh as an example of reprobation (condemnation to hell), in contrast with Moses, who is an example of election to salvation . Verses 15-18 are taken as parallel to the two parts of v. 13. "Jacob I loved" is equivalent to the positive example of Moses in vv. 15-16, while "Esau I hated" corresponds to the negative example of Pharaoh in vv. 17-18 (Moo, 593; Morris, 360). According to Pendleton (MP, 398), Moses and Pharaoh are a pair between whom God chooses, just as he chose between Isaac and Ishmael, and between Jacob and Esau. And in this "third case he granted favor to Moses, and meted out punishment to Pharaoh."

I believe this approach is a very serious error, not only because the context is not dealing with the question of eternal destinies, but also because it is not warranted by what the text specifically says about Pharaoh and the others. For one thing, Moses is not introduced here as the object of election, whether for service or for salvation. He is simply the one to whom God spoke the statement in 9:15 and is not being used as an example of anything. Thus it is not proper to speak of a "contrast between Moses and Pharaoh." For another thing, there is no parallel between Esau and Pharaoh. Esau was not chosen for anything; but Pharaoh was chosen for a significant role, a fact that is crucial for Paul's point. (This is contrary to Dunn's assertion that Pharaoh "filled the same sort of antithetical role" toward Israel that Esau did [2:563].)

God's rejection and punishment of Pharaoh are indeed significant, but not as a parallel with Ishmael and Esau, and not even as a contrast with Isaac, Jacob, or Moses. They are significant only insofar as they make Pharaoh an exact parallel of the nation of Israel itself. God chose both Israel and Pharaoh for a role of service, and he used both of them not only despite their hardness of heart, but even because of it. Pharaoh is not an example of God's freedom to reject whom he will, contrary to Godet (352-353). Rather, he is an example of God's freedom to elect some for service while at the same time withholding salvation from them. Thus Pharaoh is a special kind of example of "God's freedom and sovereignty in the choice of instruments to achieve his end" (Fitzmyer, 568). The pagan King Cyrus is another such example (Isa 44:28-45:7).

In Exod 9:16 the LXX translates the Hebrew word for "raised up" with diathrevw (diatçreô ), "to keep, to preserve." Thus some, following the LXX, interpret God to be saying in Exod 9:16 that he has preserved Pharaoh alive or spared his life, in contrast with Exod 9:15. The NASB translates v. 16, "But, indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain." Hendriksen (2:325) says it means "spared you" both in Exodus and here in 9:17. The majority of interpreters, however, rightly take the Hebrew verb (literally, "I have caused you to stand") in a more general sense, as referring to God's causing Pharaoh to appear on the stage of history at this particular time for this particular purpose. See Cranfield, 2:486; Godet, 353; Moo, 595; Morris, 360; Murray, 2:27.

Thus in the affirmation "I raised you up," God is saying that he exercised his sovereign prerogative to choose Pharaoh for a very specific role in his redemptive plan. "For this very purpose" stresses the fact that Pharaoh was being used by God, even when it seemed that he was most emphatically opposing God. He was carrying out the divine purpose in and through his hardened heart.

God's purpose for Pharaoh was twofold: to be an instrument for displaying God's power and for proclaiming God's name in all the earth. The power to which God refers is not the power to save individuals from their sins (1:16), but the power to overthrow opposing earthly rulers and their so-called deities, and thereby the power to deliver his people from Egyptian slavery and oppression. How did God display this power "in" or "through" Pharaoh? By hardening his heart so that he continued to refuse to let the people go, thereby giving God the opportunity to add plague upon plague all the way to the climactic death of the Egyptian firstborn. What God needed from Pharaoh was not his immediate acquiescence but his continuing resistance. This he achieved by his providential power to harden the Egyptian's heart (GRu, 203), thus providing the occasion for the public and overwhelming display of his might.

The second part of God's purpose for Pharaoh (a direct consequence of the first) was the proclamation of the name of the true God in all the inhabited earth. "My name" does not have to refer to any one particular name, such as Exod 3:14, or Exod 33:19 or 34:6-7. The point is simply that God intended his utter defeat of Pharaoh's gods (via the plagues) and Pharaoh's forces (in the Red Sea) to be trumpeted abroad, so that everyone would know that Israel's God was the one true God, and that all other so-called "gods" are nothings.

In fact, thanks to the way God used Pharaoh through the whole episode of the Exodus, God's name and power were magnified in all the nations. The Song of Moses included these words: "The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away" (Exod 15:14-15; see vv. 16-17). See Joshua 2:9-11; 9:9; 11:1-4 for the fulfillment of these words.

The display of power in Egypt was a continuing testimony to God's omnipotence for the Israelites themselves (Deut 6:22; 7:18-19; 11:1-4), and it continued to be celebrated throughout their history (Ps 78:12-13; 105:26-38; 106:9-11; 135:9; 136:10-15; Acts 7:36).

The main point is that God is free to use as his instruments even hardened unbelievers; this is not contrary to his justice (v. 14). That God was justified in using Pharaoh thus was something any Jew would have granted. Paul simply wanted the Jews to see that the same principle applied to them as a nation. They could serve God's purposes, whether as individuals they were believers or not.

9:18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. "Therefore" indicates this is the logical conclusion or summarized result, not just from vv. 15-17, but from the whole discussion in vv. 6-17.

Two errors must be avoided from the outset. One error is the common assumption that this statement applies to eternal destinies, and that it therefore confirms the Calvinist concept of unconditional election (see, e.g., Moo, 596-599). But as we have stressed repeatedly, the subject of this section is not eternal salvation but election to service. That is true of this verse also. Cranfield (2:489) is correct: "The assumption that Paul is here thinking of the ultimate destiny of the individual, of his final salvation or final ruin, is not justified by the text."

The other error is the assumption that the objects of the two verbs, "have mercy on" and "harden," are exclusive and cannot refer to the same individual or group. This error naturally follows from the first, and is accepted without question by those who think the subject is eternal destinies.

Once these two errors are accepted, it is extremely difficult to avoid the conclusion of double predestination. The parallelism between the two sides of Paul's statement would seem to make the condemnation as unconditional as the salvation. Yet sometimes even the most ardent Calvinists interject qualifications. Moo, for example, while acknowledging the "strict parallelism" here (597), nevertheless declares that the showing of mercy and the hardening "are not equivalent acts" (599-600). Likewise Murray, who says the divine sovereignty is "as ultimate in the negative as in the positive" (2:27), softens the negative by saying that the hardening was "judicial," or "presupposes ill-desert" (2:29). However, such qualifications are inconsistent with the parallelism of this verse and with the references to the irrelevance of works in other verses (9:11-12,16). They are introduced in order to avoid the harsh conclusion that unconditional reprobation is equally ultimate with unconditional salvation.

Both of the errors mentioned above, along with their necessary implication of double predestination, are easily avoided by understanding that the sovereign choices to which Paul refers in 9:18 are for historical roles of service, not eternal destinies. As Achtemeier says, "Paul is dealing in this passage with the place of Israel in God's plan of salvation. He is not dealing with the fate of individuals" (162-163).

The divine sovereignty in this matter is the main emphasis: "on whom he wants." This verb is qevlw (thelô ), "to wish, to will." God's choice of the one to receive mercy and the one to harden is purely a matter of his own will. He does not have to justify his choices; his sovereignty is grounded in the very fact that he is, after all, God . Just because he is God, he "is free to choose whom he will for what he will" (MP, 400).

The common approach to this verse, whether seen as dealing with salvation or service, is that 18a refers to Moses and 18b to Pharaoh. Murray's statement is typical: "As Moses, in this context, exemplifies mercy, so Pharaoh hardening" (2:28). The verse means that "Moses was redeemed and Pharaoh was not," says MacArthur (2:35). Cranfield generalizes the disjunction as it refers to service: God gives some a positive role in which they serve consciously and voluntarily; he gives others a negative role in which they serve unconsciously and involuntarily (2:488).

In my judgment, though, this is not the point of v. 18. The mercy and the hardening are not exclusive, but may be bestowed upon the same person (or group). We have already seen that "having mercy" in this context refers not to saving mercy but to the favor of being chosen by God to play some role in the working out of his redemptive purposes (see v. 15). Whether one is conscious of being chosen and used is irrelevant; even whether one is saved or not is irrelevant (see Isa 45:4-5, concerning Cyrus). "God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy" refers thus to God's sovereign choosing of whomever he pleases to serve his purposes. It is an all-inclusive statement, embracing all who are selected for whatever roles they will play in his plan - even Pharaoh.

The second half of v. 18 thus does not refer to individuals or a group of individuals that are separate and distinct from those in 18a. It refers rather to certain individuals within the first, inclusive category. God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, i.e., he calls into his service whom he wants to call into his service; but some of these can serve his purposes only by being hardened. Thus it was with Pharaoh. God bestowed favor upon him by selecting him for a key role, but he could fill that role only by being hardened.

Only when we understand v. 18 thus can we see how this discussion really speaks to the issue raised in 9:1-5: how can God use Israel for his covenant purposes and at the same time condemn them? Is he being untrue to his word? No, because his original covenant with the nation did not guarantee salvation for individual Jews; and there is no inherent connection between service and salvation, as the example of Pharaoh shows. Thus the obvious and intended application of this whole section, 9:14-18, is to the nation of Israel. God bestowed a temporal mercy upon them when he chose to use them in his redemptive plan, but he also hardened at least some of them (11:7,25) in reference to the role he wanted them to play. There is no inconsistency or contradiction here, either with Pharaoh or with Israel.

What is the nature of the hardening of which Paul speaks? This is obviously a reference to the OT teaching about Pharaoh, and to the fact that God used him in his service specifically by hardening his heart. The Greek word is sklhruvnw (sklçrynô ), which means "to make firm, to harden." It can refer to something physical but is more often used figuratively for a hardened attitude or state of mind. In Scripture it usually refers to a hardened attitude toward God, an attitude of resistance and rebellion toward God's will. Also, in Scripture it is something that a person does to himself; hence the warnings in Hebrews to "not harden your hearts" (Heb 3:8,15; 4:7, quoting Ps 95:8). In the OT the Israelites are often accused of being stiff-necked, i.e., hardened in their hearts; and they are considered responsible for being in this state. See Deut 10:16; 2 Kgs 17:14; Neh 9:16-17,29; Jer 7:26; 17:23; 19:15.

The Exodus narrative refers to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart in various ways: (a) his heart "became hard" or "was hardened" (7:13,14,22; 8:19; 9:35; 13:15); (b) he hardened his own heart (8:15, 32; 9:34); (c) God promises to harden his heart (4:21; 7:3; 14:4); (d) God did harden his heart (9:12; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:8). God also hardened the hearts of other Egyptian officials and soldiers (9:34; 10:1; 14:17).

Much is made of these different ways of speaking. It is assumed from them that the occasions when Pharaoh hardened his own heart are somehow distinct from those occasions when God hardened it. Then it is usually declared that Pharaoh's self-hardening preceded God's action. For example, Lenski says, "Ten times Exodus reports that Pharaoh hardened himself; then, only in consequence of this self-hardening, we read ten times that God hardened this self-hardened man" (617). Morris says that nowhere in Scripture "is God said to harden anyone who had not first hardened himself" (361). "Harden your heart against God, and He will harden your heart," says Smith (2:19).

I believe this analysis is unnecessary and misleading. Throughout the series of encounters between Moses and Pharaoh, from beginning to end, God was working providentially to harden Pharaoh's heart. On every occasion where his heart was hardened, the hardening was accomplished by both God and Pharaoh. On each occasion it was Pharaoh who made the conscious and deliberate decision to not let the people go. But prior to this moment I suggest that God was working within Pharaoh's mental processes, causing such thoughts to enter his consciousness that he could not bear to grant or follow through with permission to let the people go. The following observation by Sherlock is relevant:

Let a man be never so much bent upon any project, yet hope or fear, some present great advantage or great inconvenience, the powerful intercession of friends, a sudden change of circumstances, the improbability of success, the irreparable mischief of a defeat, and a thousand other considerations, will divert him from it; and how easy it is for God to imprint such thoughts upon men's minds with an irresistible vigour and brightness, that it shall be no more in their power to do what they had a mind to, than to resist all the charms of riches and honours, than to leap into the fire, and to choose misery and ruin ( Providence , 51).

How did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Perhaps by flooding his mind with the kinds of thoughts to which Sherlock refers, i.e., what a great loss of free labor it will be to lose these Israelites! or what a laughing-stock the king of Egypt will be when other nations hear how a bunch of slaves had their way with him! Such thoughts would have great validity in the mind of Pharaoh, and God could have pressed them upon his consciousness at just the right time, i.e., when he was weakening and about to let the people go (GRu, 203).

While it is true that Pharaoh's heart was already self-hardened toward God in a general way before God hardened his heart, this was not in fact the reason why God worked this specific hardness upon him. Many emphasize such a cause/effect connection, though, because they think God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart had something to do with his salvation . But the two are not causally related. Like any pagan unbeliever, Pharaoh had a heart that was self-hardened toward the true God (1:18-32), and God may already have confirmed him in that unbelief according to the principle implied in 1:24,26,28. But the divine hardening of Pharaoh in 9:18 is of a different kind. It is not about salvation as such; it is about how someone whose heart is already self-hardened by sin can in fact be fitted into God's cast of characters for working out his redemptive plan.

Thus we do not have to think of God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart as some kind of punishment for his sins. Such a view is very common, though. Morris says, "God's hardening follows on what Pharaoh himself did. His hardening always presupposes sin and is always part of the punishment of sin" (361). Murray says divine hardening always "presupposes ill-desert," i.e., a person so hardened deserves it because of his prior sin. "Hardening may never be abstracted from the guilt of which it is the wages" (2:29-30). Godet calls it "retribution" and "punishment" (355). See also Stott, 269; Lenski, 616.

This sort of thinking, however, is a serious misunderstanding of Paul's concept of hardening. It confuses the general self-hardening of rebellious unbelief with God's providential hardening in order to accomplish a specific temporal purpose. The hardening of Pharaoh, both in Exod 4:14 and here in 9:18, is of the latter type, not the former. It in fact had only one specific goal: to cause Pharaoh to oppose God's demand that he set the Israelites free. God expressed his purpose clearly: "I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go" (Exod 4:21).

This particular hardening was not a natural consequence of Pharaoh's already rebellious heart, nor an act of divine retribution against him because of this rebellion. It did not cause him to be lost, nor did it somehow intensify his lostness. It simply brought him to a state of mind that resulted in his decision to forbid the Israelites to leave. This occurred over and over, which in turn allowed God to send plague after plague, which in turn accomplished the purposes stated by Paul: "that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (9:17).

What this shows, in reference to Paul's overall point in Rom 9, is that God can call into his service someone who is lost (by his own choice), and can use him in a significant way even if that person's heart must be divinely hardened in some special manner. The ultimate application of this truth is to the nation of Israel. It demonstrates how God could take Israel, a nation comprised mostly of self-hardened sinners, and use them in their lost state to carry out his purposes. Paul's point is not to explain why such people are lost, but simply to affirm that God can use them even though they are lost.

The hardening of Pharaoh in 9:18 must not be equated with the general self-hardening that characterizes the lost state of every sinner. Nor is the hardening of Pharaoh necessarily the same as the hardening of Israel mentioned later (11:7,25), though they are of the same general type (i.e., a providential hardening that helps God carry out his purposes, rather than a hardening that causes them to be lost). That God has hardened Pharaoh, and even Israel, as part of his use of them, does not imply in any way that he has a hand in the hardening of sinners unto condemnation.

C. GOD USED ETHNIC ISRAEL TO PRODUCE

SPIRITUAL ISRAEL (9:19-29)

We must remember that the main point in Rom 9-11 is the issue of God's faithfulness in his dealings with the nation of Israel. Despite their covenant privileges (9:4-5), the nation as a whole stands "cursed and cut off from Christ" (9:3). What does this imply, then, concerning God's commitment to Israel, and concerning his faithfulness to his word? Has he failed to keep his promises (9:6a)?

The reason why first-century Jews saw this as a problem was that they assumed that God's calling them into his covenant service guaranteed their final salvation. Paul is in the process of pointing out that this is a false assumption. Godet declares (373) that the Apostle's main concern in ch. 9 "is to destroy the false conclusion drawn by Israel from their special election, their law, their circumcision, their ceremonial works, their monotheism, their moral superiority. These were in their eyes so many bonds by which God was pledged to them beyond recall." But such was not the point of God's relation to Israel, says Paul.

But is not God the God of salvation ? And is not salvation the inherent and ultimate purpose of the covenant with Israel? So how can God be true to his word and at the same time cut Israel off from this very salvation? The basic answer is that there are two Israels (9:6b). Israel the physical nation was God's main historical instrument or means for making salvation a reality (9:5); the Israel whose origin and essence is spiritual is the actual recipient of the salvation.

Paul develops this thought in two stages. First, in 9:7-18 the subject is physical Israel, Israel the nation. The Apostle sets forth the manner in which God elected this nation, and separated them from all the other nations of the world. By reminding them of the free and sovereign choices used to bring them into existence, he establishes God's sovereign right to choose and use them as he pleases. I.e., their election to covenant service was unconditional. God can use even the unbelieving and the hardened, as the example of Pharaoh shows.

But now in the second stage of this explanation, of which 9:19-29 is a part, the focus of attention is spiritual Israel, the group which is the recipient of God's saving mercy. A major point of this section is the fact that the calling and saving of spiritual Israel was all along a part of the very purpose for the existence of ethnic Israel. In other words, it has always been God's sovereign purpose to distinguish between the two Israels, as the remnant prophecies show (9:27-29). The means by which God distinguishes between them is explained in 9:30-10:21.

In summary, just as 9:7-18 explains how God separated physical Israel from the rest of the world, so does 9:19-10:21 explain how God separates spiritual Israel from physical Israel.

Here is how the present section (9:19-29) unfolds. First, by way of transition, Paul words an objection he anticipates from his Jewish readers (v. 19). His immediate response (vv. 20-21) is to issue a stern generic warning about how presumptuous it is for the creature (the clay) to challenge the ways of the Creator (the potter).

Applying the potter-clay analogy to the particular issue at hand, Paul then begins his specific reply to the objection in v. 19 by succinctly summing up God's purpose and intention for the two Israels (vv. 22-24). Like a potter, God has the right to take one lump of clay (the original nation of Israel) and make two completely different kinds of vases from it. One consists of those individuals who are Israelites by physical birth only. Like Pharaoh, they are unbelievers and will ultimately suffer the wrath of God. This is actually the bulk of Israel. So why does God put up with these "vessels of wrath"? Because only through them can he bring into existence the "vessels of mercy," i.e., spiritual Israel, which is the church - a group composed not only of believing Jews but of believing Gentiles as well.

In these three verses (22-24) is summed up one whole major aspect of the history and purpose of Israel. It is a supplement, as it were, to vv. 4-5.

To show that this is not some new and alien concept that he has hatched out of his own brain, Paul then cites prophecies from Hosea and Isaiah. These biblical texts show that this has been God's intention for Israel - and the Gentiles - all along (vv. 25-29). Dunn (2:575) points out that these verses turn on its head "Israel's belief that others were rejected in order that Israel might be chosen and redeemed." As the quotes from the prophets show, God's ultimate purpose was never physical Israel as such.

This does not end Paul's reply to the objection in v. 19, "Why does God still blame us?" Actually it only prepares the way for the main response to this question, which is given in 9:30-10:21. The curse upon physical Israel (9:3), and upon the individual Jews of which it is composed, is not unconditional , as if God were arbitrarily assigning some to eternal wrath. Nor are the individuals within spiritual Israel unconditionally elected to salvation. As 9:30-10:21 shows, the difference between the two Israels is justification by faith . Physical Israel, the vessels of wrath, are those who seek to be justified by their own righteousness, while spiritual Israel, the vessels of mercy, accept Christ's salvation through faith. This connection between 9:19 and 9:30-10:21 must not be missed.

This point is missed, of course, by those who think ch. 9 is a fundamental proof text for unconditional election. They find this doctrine especially in vv. 19-23, which they see as simply repeating the point of vv. 7-18. For example, speaking of vv. 14-23, Moo declares that "this text . . . gives further support (see Rom. 8:28-30) to the doctrine of unconditional election," and to some extent to the doctrine of reprobation as well (609). As Piper sees it, 9:14-23 deals specifically with unconditional election ( Justification , 184). However, this approach hopelessly confuses two entirely distinct acts of God: one, his dealing with physical Israel in terms of unconditional election to service; and two, his way of distinguishing between physical Israel and spiritual Israel by the condition of faith.

It is important to see that in this present section (9:19-29), unlike in vv. 7-18, eternal destinies are now an important part of the picture, since the distinction between the two Israels has eternal consequences. But we must be careful not to apply the affirmations of God's sovereign, unconditional choice of the nation as such (vv. 7-18) to the respective eternal destinies of the individuals within the two groups.

In this paragraph, for the first time in this major section (chs. 9-11), Paul introduces the issue of the Gentiles. For some, the incorporation of the Gentiles into spiritual Israel is the key point of the paragraph. For example, Achtemeier (165) says, "The passage is therefore about the enlargement of God's mercy to include gentiles, not about the narrow and predetermined fate of each individual. We gentiles can now be part of his gracious purpose, we can be part of his people, chosen by grace through Christ Jesus. That is the point of this passage." Morris (363) says that this passage shows that God's work of showing mercy and hardening (v. 18) has been done "to extend his mercy to the Gentiles."

It is true that believing Gentiles are here identified as being included within the new Israel. Nevertheless, in my opinion, this is not a major point of the paragraph. The main emphasis here is still God's faithfulness in his dealings with physical Israel. I.e., his use of them has been in every way consistent with his stated purposes.

1. The Objection (9:19)

9:19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" At this point Paul anticipates an objection and directly addresses a representative of his audience, literally, "You [singular] will say to me therefore, 'Why does he still find fault?'" We immediately ask, find fault with whom? To whom is the objector referring? To Pharaoh? Piper calls the objector Pharaoh's "advocate" ( Justification , 186; see Lenski, 618). But this application seems too narrow. But Pharaoh might be seen as a representative of sinners in general, especially those who are thought to be unconditionally condemned to eternal hell. MacArthur applies it thus: "How can human beings . . . be blamed for their unbelief and sin, when their destiny has already been divinely determined?" (2:36; see Murray, 2:31). But this application is probably more inclusive than the questioner intends.

Who, then, is the objector? He is probably a typical first-century Jew. Forster and Marston say he is "obviously Hebrew" and call him "Paul's Pharisee critic" ( Strategy , 80-81). These questions come from "the prejudiced mind of the Jew," says DeWelt (155). "It is an in-house Jewish argument," says Dunn (2:555). See also Fitzmyer, 568; Moo, 600.

The context supports this conclusion. In v. 20 Paul addresses the objector as "O man," using exactly the same Greek phrase with which he addressed the Jewish objector in 2:1 (see JC, 1:180). Also, the Greek word ou ( oun , "then, therefore") shows that the objection grows out of the preceding discussion, especially what was said in vv. 15-18. But these verses cannot be isolated from the total context, where the issue is the status of the Jewish nation as such. In 9:3 Paul clearly implies that the bulk of his physical brethren were under eternal condemnation, "cursed and cut off from Christ." He recognizes that the intervening references to God's unconditional decisions regarding mercy and hardening may cause some Jews to conclude that this explains why they were lost, even though this is not his point. This in turn generates their objection, which "runs thus: But, Paul, if God shows mercy to whom he will, and if he hardens whom he will, then it is he who has hardened us Jews in unbelief against the gospel. Why, then, does he still find fault with us, since he himself, according to your argument, has excluded us from blessedness, and made us unfit for mercy?" (MP, 402).

The word for "blame" (mevmfomai , memphomai ) includes the idea of "finding fault with" or "holding responsible for." I.e., how can God hold us responsible for our unbelief and therefore condemn us to hell (v. 3), if our hardening and therefore our unbelief are his own doing? Does this not all the more suggest that he is unjust (v. 14)?

In his second question - literally, "For who has resisted his will?" - the objector seeks to justify his first question by appealing to what seems to be an unassailable theological axiom: no one can resist the will of the sovereign God. Has not Paul himself appealed to this very axiom in vv. 15 and 18? The word for "resist" is ajnqivsthmi (anthistçmi ), which in the middle sense means "to resist, to oppose, to withstand, to go against, to set oneself against" (AG, 66). His "will" is bouvlhma (boulçma ), a word which means "counsel, intention, will, purpose."

But is it not possible for a free-will creature to resist or oppose God's will? Is this not the very essence of sin? Yes, if by "will" we mean God's preceptive will, i.e., his laws, his commandments, and even his desires. God's preceptive will can be rejected and thwarted by human beings. (See Matt 7:21; 23:37; Luke 7:30; Rom 2:18; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9.) But if we are talking about God's purposive will, i.e., his deliberate purposes and determinative decisions, then the answer is no, it is not possible for any human being to oppose, violate, or resist his will in this sense (Ps 33:11; Prov 19:21; Isa 14:27; John 6:40; Acts 2:23; 4:28; Eph 1:11).

In 9:19 the objector's questions seem to have the latter aspect of God's will in mind, and so the objection does involve a valid theological truth, i.e., no one has ever truly resisted God's purposive will. But if this is the case, then why is God blaming us for our sin and rebellion against him? If "he hardens whom he wants to harden" (9:18), then our sin and rebellion are actually his will, are they not? So why is he punishing us as if we were resisting his will, when in reality we are not - since no one can? (See Cranfield, 2:489; Piper, Justification , 186).

A crucial issue at this point is whether or not the objection is valid in the sense that it correctly and accurately represents the meaning of Paul's teaching in the previous verses. Is this a legitimate conclusion to draw from vv. 15-18? Many say that it is. Piper declares, "I have assumed with most commentators that the objection in Rom 9:19 is based on a sound interpretation of 9:18. That is, Paul agrees with the objector that no one can resist God's will and that nevertheless God still finds fault" ( Justification , 189). Certainly if the objection was based on a misunderstanding, then "Paul would very simply have set the objector straight and removed the bogus stumbling block" (190). But as it is Paul "does not give the slightest trace of disagreement with the objector's interpretation of Rom 9:18" (191). Dunn agrees: "The question is a legitimate one, and Paul's response indicates that he does not dispute its logic: the objector has not misunderstood the thrust of vv. 17-18 . . . , and Paul does not attempt to deny its force" (2:555-556).

I have concluded that this approach is incorrect. As Lard says, "God does not do what is here ascribed to him" (309). I agree with Forster and Marston that "the question of Paul's critic . . . is based on a flagrant misrepresentation of Paul's teaching" ( Strategy , 80).

Wherein lies the error? First, we should emphasize that it does not lie in the objector's second question, "For who has resisted [resists, can resist] his will?" As noted above, there is such a thing as God's purposive will, his eternal purpose which is irresistible and immutable, and which therefore cannot be opposed by mere creatures. This is God's "deliberate purpose" (SH, 259), his "determinate purpose" and "irresistible decree" (Murray, 2:31), his "effectual will" or "will of decree" (Piper, Justification , 192).

Wherein, then, is the error? The objector's misunderstanding was in assuming that this purposive will of God applied to Israel's salvation status (9:3) as well as to the nation's historical role in accomplishing God's redemptive plan. To say it another way, the objector took Paul's statements in vv. 15-18 as explaining why most Israelites were hardened to the point of rejecting their Messiah and thus being cursed. However, as we have seen, this is not Paul's point. In these verses he is affirming God's right to sovereignly choose and use anyone, even sinners, to serve his covenant purposes, and even to harden them with regard to certain decisions if this is necessary.

Calvinist interpreters and theologians commit the same sort of error. While correctly distinguishing between God's preceptive and purposive wills, they err in assuming that the latter is all-inclusive . I.e., they conclude that everything that ever happens, period , has been decreed to happen by God's purposive (secret, determinative, decretive, efficacious) will. This especially includes every individual's choice to believe or not to believe in God's saving promises. See my explanation and critique of this in GRu, 169-173, 301-310, especially the section on Eph 1:11 (306-309). This concept of an eternal, comprehensive, efficacious, unconditional, irresistible decree is simply not a biblical teaching; it finds no support in Rom 9.

One reason why interpreters assume that the objector must have understood Paul correctly is that they conclude that the Apostle does not try to refute the objection; he simply rebukes the objector for his presumptuous attitude. But this is simply not true, as I have explained in the introduction to this section. Paul does rebuke the questioner (20-21), and he does reaffirm and explain God's inviolable purposive will for Israel the nation (22-29). But then (9:30-10:21) he sets forth a lengthy reply to the objector's first question, "Then why does God still blame us?" The reply, in effect, is simply this: "Because you refused to believe in your own Messiah." The attempt to excuse such unbelief by illegitimately applying God's purposive will to this circumstance is thereby repudiated.

2. Paul's Initial Rebuke of the Objector's Attitude (9:20-21)

These two verses are not a specific response to the objection worded in v. 19, nor are they meant to preclude such a response. They are only a preface to the more detailed response which follows. As a rebuke, they are directed more toward the tone of the objection than its content. The rebuke is actually generic and may be applied to many a presumptuous and misguided complaint against God's purposes and providence.

9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? In the NIV, "but" translates a much stronger Greek expression better rendered "on the contrary," as in the NASB. This indicates that Paul is about to correct the erroneous thinking by which the objector seeks to justify himself: "Hey, it's not my fault! God made me do it. So why should I be blamed?" "On the contrary," says Paul; "you have missed the whole point. Let me explain it to you."

In view of this expression - "on the contrary" - it is strange that Dunn should say that Paul does not dispute the objector's logic (2:555), and that Piper should say that Paul "does not give the slightest trace of disagreement with the objector's interpretation of Rom 9:18" ( Justification , 191). If 9:19 embodied a misunderstanding, says Piper, then "Paul would very simply have set the objector straight" (190). Well, the fact is that this is exactly what Paul is doing in the rest of ch. 9 and in all of ch. 10!

The first part of Paul's correction (vv. 20-21) is directed toward the objector's presumptuous attitude; the Apostle rebukes him for arguing with God. We must realize that the objector is not portrayed as simply raising a sincere question concerning God's ways as does Habakkuk (1:1-4,12-13), and as 9:14 seems to do. Rather, the man is described as arrogantly taking a debater's stance against God; he is "talking back" to God, says Paul. The word for "talk back" has strongly negative connotations, including "to make unjustified accusations," "to dispute" (Büchsel, "krivnw ," 945). It has a "nuance of contention," as Moo says (602). Compare 3:1-8.

The objector is addressed as "O man." This seems to be a way of emphasizing his mere creaturehood, in contrast with the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator. "Who are you, a mere human being , a 'feeble morsel of sinful dust' (MP, 403), to argue against God ?" "By thus setting man over against God, Paul is certainly putting man in his place" (Cranfield, 2:490).

"Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" The NIV puts this question in quotation marks because it represents the thought of Isa 29:16 and Isa 45:9, where the clay and the vessel made from it are likewise depicted as sitting in judgment on the potter. As Paul uses the metaphor in v. 20b, the complaint comes not from the clay as such but from the piece of pottery formed from it. The scene is almost comical: a finished pot is lifted from the potter's wheel and, personified, looks upon itself with disappointment. It then glares accusingly at the potter and reprimands him thus: "Why did you make me to look like this? I'm a mess! Is this the best you could do? Haven't you made some sort of mistake?"

The potter-clay analogy can be used to teach many lessons (see Job 10:8-9; Isa 64:8; Jer 18:1-12), and we are rightly warned to stick to the point Paul is making here and not to try to apply all the details indiscriminately (Cranfield, 2:491). What is Paul's point? Just this: in a potter-clay relationship it is obviously the potter who decides how the clay will be used. Once his decision is made and the vessel has been formed, it is the height of absurdity and arrogance for the vessel to criticize the potter.

Why does Paul use this metaphor here? To what or whom does it specifically apply? Not to the original creation event (contra Achtemeier, 161; Dunn, 2:564-565); not just to individuals such as Pharaoh; and especially not to "the destinies of individual men" (contra Piper, Justification , 193). Its specific application is to the nation of Israel. This is how the analogy is used in Jeremiah: "Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel'" (Jer 18:5-6). Even the thought in Isa 29:16 and 45:9-10 is "that God formed Israel into a nation," says Morris (365).

Thus Paul is rebuking the objector of v. 19 not in the latter's role as a creature nor as a condemned sinner as such, but in his role as a representative of Israel who is complaining that God's treatment of the nation is basically unfair. To such an objection Paul simply says, "Whoa! Let's not forget who we are, shall we? Remember: God is the potter; you (Israel) are just clay in his hands. Who do you think you are, to challenge the one who formed you in the first place?"

9:21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? While Paul's reference to the potter and the clay in v. 20 was somewhat general, here he gets more specific. He refers to the potter's right and authority to do with the clay (Israel) whatever he chooses, particularly to his right to make from the same lump the two Israels of 9:6b.

This verse begins with the word "or" (h[ [ç ], untranslated in the NIV). Here it has the force of "to put it another way." Whereas the question in v. 20b has the Greek particle that shows a negative answer is expected ("Shall what is formed say . . . ? Of course not!"), v. 21 has the particle indicating that the answer is "Yes!" Thus it is the same as an affirmation.

The basic affirmation is the potter's authority over the clay. He, not the clay, has the right to decide how the latter will be used. And since this is where the authority lies, the clay itself has no basis for uttering a complaint such as "Why did you make me like this?" (v. 20b). And if a mere potter has this right, how much more does the sovereign God!

It is obvious that the potter here represents God, but to whom does the "same lump" refer? A common assumption is that it refers to the human race in general (Lard, 310; MP, 404), the "mass of humanity" (Moo, 603), "the same mass of human beings" (Hendriksen, 2:327), the "same human clay" (Lenski, 621; Dunn, 2:565). Understood thus, this verse is often taken as confirming the Calvinist concept of predestination, especially the twofold predestination of some sinners to heaven (election) and others to hell (reprobation). As Lenski says (620), "Calvinism assumes that the whole story as to why some are saved and others are lost is figuratively described in this verse." An example is this statement by Hendriksen (2:327):

The main idea Paul is putting across is this: If even a potter has the right out of the same lump or mass of clay to make one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor, then certainly God, our Maker, has the right, out of the same mass of human beings who by their own guilt have plunged themselves into the pit of misery, to elect some to everlasting life, and to allow others to remain in the abyss of wretchedness.

Thus this "same lump" would refer not to the dust from which God made the two kinds of human beings, but to the mass of "fallen humanity" (Stott, 271), some of whom God chooses to save and others he chooses to condemn.

In my judgment this approach is a serious error. In keeping with the overall context, the "same lump" here refers not to the mass of human individuals as such but to the totality of Israel, from which God makes the two derivative groups, physical Israel and spiritual Israel. As Smith rightly says (2:20), "Israel as a nation, is in the hand of God as a potter holds clay." Smith reminds us of Jer 18:1-12, where the clay in the potter's hand is the people of Israel.

From the same lump of clay, says Paul, the potter has the right to make pieces of pottery that are very different in their nature and disposition. On the one hand he can make from it a vessel eij" timhvn (eis timçn ), "unto honor"; on the other hand he can make from it a vessel eij" ajtimivan ( eis atimian ), "unto dishonor."

This statement raises some key issues. First, how are these terms - honor and dishonor - related to each other? One approach is to take them in a comparative sense: one vessel is given more honor, the other less honor. This is the point of the NIV: some "for noble purposes and some for common use." It is the difference between exalted use and menial use, says Fitzmyer (569). As Lenski says (620), one vessel might be a beautiful ornamental vase, and the other "a slop jar" (a chamber pot). Both are useful, but for very different purposes (see 2 Tim 2:20).

The other approach is to take the terms timç and atimia in their more natural sense as opposites rather than as comparatives. Though the latter sense for these terms is possible (as in 2 Tim 2:20), such a relationship would more naturally be expressed with the comparative adjectival form, as in 1 Cor 12:23 (ajtimovtera , atimotera , "less honorable"). Also, if the vessels unto honor and unto dishonor in v. 21 are equivalent to the vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath in vv. 22-23, then they must be taken in an opposite and not just a comparative sense. This is also more in keeping with the actual meaning of the words. Timç means "honor, value, respect, worthiness"; atimia means "dishonor, contempt, shame, disgrace" (On the latter see Hübner, "a[timo" ," 177.)

In my opinion the terms should be regarded as opposites, and the NIV is thus misleading.

This leads to the second and more overriding issue, namely, do these terms refer to God's creation of all individuals for the specific purpose of saving some ("for noble purposes") and sending the rest to hell ("for common use")? Or do they refer to God's preparation of some individuals and even some nations for specific uses in the accomplishment of his historical plan of salvation? Those taking the former view naturally see the terms timç and atimia as opposites; advocates of the latter view see them as comparative.

Calvinists argue for the former view. The terms refer to "the eternal destinies of individuals," says Moo. "Honor" means the eternal glory of the saved; "dishonor" means the eternal wrath suffered by the lost (603). God deliberately designs and forms individuals for these purposes. The evidence shows that v. 21 is "a reference to the predestining of individuals to their respective eternal destinies," says Piper ( Justification , 202; see 200-204). The emphasis of the verse is upon God's sovereign right (as a potter) to do this.

Others, especially non-Calvinists, argue for the latter view, i.e., that God like a potter has prepared various vessels to be used in comparatively more honorable and less honorable ways for his covenant purposes. The emphasis is on God's sovereign right to form and use individuals and nations - particularly the latter - in this way. According to Dunn, "the more natural sense of the metaphor is of vessels put to differing uses within history" (2:557). "The vessels are nations" (MP, 404).

Those who take this latter view especially insist that eternal destinies are not in view, and that "dishonor" does not mean destruction or damnation (Fitzmyer, 569; Lard, 310; DeWelt, 156). Vessels "unto dishonor" are simply those chosen or appointed by God to carry out certain lesser tasks involved in salvation history. Just as a potter "never makes pots simply in order to destroy them" says Morris, so also "it would not be right for God to create sinners simply in order to punish them." But with regard to "the working out of the divine purpose," God certainly has the right to make certain vessels, such as Pharaoh and unbelieving Jews, for menial or "dishonorable" uses (366).

Cranfield agrees that the proper conclusion to be drawn from this verse is that God is free "to appoint men to various functions in the on-going course of salvation-history for the sake of the fulfilment of His over-all purpose" (2:492). See Moo, 602-603.

I cannot accept either of these two views. I do agree that the main reference here is to the nation of Israel, and not to the human race as such. But at the same time I believe Paul is referring not to how God used this nation in his historical plan, but to the eternal destinies of individuals within it.

It is unlikely that the point here is simply God's right to prepare and use individuals and nations - especially Israel - for his covenant purposes, because Paul has already made this point in vv. 7-18. An even more convincing reason, though, is the use of the word atimia , or "dishonor." The source and nature of the objection worded in v. 19 indicates that Paul is addressing here in vv. 20-21 the status of unbelieving Jews; thus the terms "honor" and "dishonor" must apply in some way to this group. Most who take the latter view outlined above would see unfaithful Israel as an example of a "vessel of dishonor" (e.g., Morris, 366).

My contention, though, is this: if this verse applies only to the way God uses nations, especially Israel, for his historical redemptive plan, there is no way that the role of Israel - believing or unbelieving - can be described as dishonorable or even menial. The term atimia , however interpreted, simply does not fit the use God made of the nation of Israel. Theirs was indeed the most exalted and honorable role imaginable, apart from that of the Messiah himself (9:4-5). Thus this interpretation of v. 21 cannot stand.

What, then, is the alternative? I believe Calvinists are right to see "honor" and "dishonor" as referring to eternal destinies, heaven and hell. But I believe they are wrong on two counts. First, they are wrong to assume that the "clay" refers to the human race in general. The clay is not the mass of humanity, but the nation of Israel only. Second, Calvinists are wrong to think that God made two separate vessels from this clay for the express purpose of sending one to heaven and the other to hell. "Unto honor" and "unto dishonor" do indeed refer to the eternal destinies of individuals within Israel, but these respective destinies are not determined by God himself. The next main section, 9:30-10:21, shows that individuals determine their own eternal destinies according to whether or not they put their trust in God's saving promises.

This distinction applies even to the people of Israel. God used the nation in its totality to accomplish his exalted redemptive purposes, and this honor belongs to believing and unbelieving Jews alike. But with regard to eternal destinies, God has exercised his sovereign right, like a potter, to make an internal separation among the individuals of whom this nation is composed. He makes from the one lump a vessel of honor, spiritual Israel , whose distinguishing characteristic is faith in God's gracious promises. Also from this same lump he makes a vessel of dishonor, the majority of the original nation, whose distinguishing characteristic is that, even though they are Jews physically, they have never given their hearts to God. As Forster and Marston say, "God obviously has the right to make from the nation of Israel two vessels rather than one, just as a potter can divide one lump and make two pots. This is, in fact, what God has done. The unrepentant portion of Israel has become a vessel unto dishonor , and the faithful part a vessel unto honor" ( Strategy , 82).

A key point here is that this distinction between the vessel of honor and the vessel of dishonor, though decreed by God, is ultimately the responsibility of the individuals placed within each group. As Forster and Marston say, "The basic lump that forms a nation will either be built up or broken down by the Lord, depending on their own moral response" (ibid.). This view is supported by Jer 18:1-12, where God compares his relationship with Israel as that of potter to clay. "'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel'" (18:6b). But God makes it clear that this potter-clay relationship does not mean that he arbitrarily determines the destiny of the nation. He declares that he tailors his final decision regarding any nation or kingdom to the way it responds to his warnings (18:7-12; see Smith, 2:20). In his role as a potter, God's method of dealing with nations must surely also apply to his dealing with individuals.

We should remember that the main point of vv. 20-21 is to rebuke the objector in v. 19 for his presumptuousness in talking back to God. The metaphor of the potter and his clay is a generic warning applicable to anyone who presumes to do the same in any sort of circumstance. We know that Paul intends that it be applied to Israel in the way explained above because of the way he himself continues the metaphor in vv. 22-24.

3. Beyond Ethnic Israel to Spiritual Israel (9:22-24)

In these next three verses Paul begins his specific response to the objection in v. 19. Basically he grants the objector's second point, that no one truly resists God's purposive will. This is surely true regarding Israel. Undeterred by massive unbelief, yea, even enduring it, God used this nation to accomplish his intended purpose for them.

That purpose first and foremost was to bring the Messiah himself into the world (9:5). But that is not the whole story. In these three verses Paul reveals another purpose for which God was using the nation of Israel: through them he brought into existence the other Israel, the true Israel, spiritual Israel, the remnant (9:6b). And here he mentions for the first time in this chapter the fact that believing Gentiles are also included within this spiritual Israel, the entity for which it was the glorious purpose of physical Israel to prepare.

In its fulness, then, spiritual Israel is no less than the church of Jesus Christ, which is composed of believing Jews and believing Gentiles, i.e., of anyone who accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. It was God's purposive will to use ethnic Israel as an instrument for bringing forth the church. In this respect the objector is correct: no one could have resisted God's purpose to do this.

But the objector erred in thinking that this same principle ("Who resists his will?") was the explanation for Israel's state of accursedness (9:3). As Paul will explain in the next section (9:30- 10:21), the reason for their condemnation was their resistance to God's preceptive will, i.e., that believing submission to Jesus Christ is a requirement for salvation.

The tragic irony of this, of course, is that most Israelites were lost because they refused to become a part of the very group whose origin was a major reason for their own existence.

As the following discussion will show, the Calvinist attempt to use these verses in their effort to find unconditional election in Rom 9 is futile. These verses are not, contrary to Piper, "Paul's final insight into the whys and wherefores of unconditional election" ( Justification , 187).

This section is difficult to understand and translate because, even though the syntax is quite extended and complicated, it does not form a complete sentence. Verse 22 begins with the word "if," seemingly introducing a protasis, or first part of a conditional sentence. The problem is that the expected second part of such a sentence, the "then" part (apodosis), never appears. This sort of construction does occur occasionally in classical Greek and in a few other places in the NT, and it requires that the overall sense of the sentence be discerned from the context. (See Cranfield, 2:492-493.)

There is a fairly general agreement that the NIV captures the intended sense very well: "What if . . . ?" (See KJV; NASB; NRSV; Dunn, 2:558, 566; Moo, 604; Morris, 367.) The main clause following the "what if" is "God . . . endured" (v. 22; NIV, "bore"), which is then followed by a purpose clause, "in order that" ( v. 23; NIV, "to"). I.e., Paul asks, "What if God endured this, in order that he might accomplish that?" Specifically, "What if God endured the vessels of wrath, in order that he might bring forth vessels of mercy?"

In any case the "if" does not mean that Paul is expressing an uncertain hypothesis here; he is stating a fact (Cranfield, 2:493). How does this relate to the objection in v. 19? The thought seems to be this: "What if it is so, in accordance with his role as a potter, that God sovereignly forms the nation of Israel and bears with their unfaithfulness in order to accomplish his purpose for them? So what if it is true, as you say, that no one can resist his will in this matter? Does this explain and excuse your sin? Does this shift responsibility for your condemnation to God? No!"

9:22-23 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath - prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory . . . ?

Verse 22 begins with a particle, dev ( de ), which the NIV does not translate. Here it introduces not a contrast but rather a more specific explanation and application of the potter-clay illustration (Moo, 604). It can be rendered "Now," in the sense of "Now, what does this mean?"

These verses form a single unit of thought, a thought which can be discerned only by working through a series of very difficult exegetical questions: Who are the "objects of his wrath"? In what sense are they "prepared for destruction"? In what sense does God choose to show his wrath? The word for "choosing" is a participle; what is its sense? What are the nature and purpose of God's patience? Who are the "objects of his mercy"? How are they "prepared in advance for glory"?

The Calvinist View

As is the case with most of chapter 9, there is a way of interpreting these verses and answering these questions that can only be called the Calvinist view. Unfortunately this Calvinist approach, though widely represented in the commentaries, is at odds with Paul's meaning at every step of the way. I will show this by first setting forth the Calvinist view in some detail, and then by explaining what I believe is the correct understanding of these verses. The exegetical issues will be discussed in detail in the latter part of this process.

The Calvinist interpretation is as follows. As to the scope of Paul's remarks, it is assumed that he is dealing here with the human race in general. The "objects of wrath" are the reprobate, the total number of lost human beings (Calvin, 367; Hendriksen, 2:328), the "world of sinners" (MacArthur, 2:40). Pharaoh may be particularly in mind, "yet he serves as the type of all other vessels of wrath" (Piper, Justification , 187).

The reprobate are lost because they were from the beginning "prepared for destruction" by God himself; they were "made and formed for this end" (Calvin, 368). "Before they are born they are destined to their lot" (Calvin, 370), and so destined by "the divine agency" (Piper, Justification , 213). Moo agrees: "Paul considers the 'vessels on whom God's wrath rests' as prepared by God himself for eternal condemnation"; those who reject God's mercy "do so ultimately because God himself hardens them" (607-608).

God determines to create a certain amount of human beings as objects of wrath simply as a decision of his secret, purposive will (which is the implication of the word "choosing" in the NIV). Calvinists usually speak of two types or levels of God's will: his revealed, expressed will and his secret, ultimate will. Things do not always happen according to the former, but the latter is all-inclusive and all-determinative (see GRu, 301-310). That some are "prepared for destruction" is simply the result of "the secret and inexplorable counsel of God" (Calvin, 369).

This determinative counsel by which God fixes "the perdition of the reprobate" is "secret" and "incomprehensible," says Calvin (367). God is simply "silent as to the reason, why they are vessels appointed to destruction"; "the reason is hid" in his secret counsel (368-369). But it seems that it is not hidden very well, because Calvin and others believe that in v. 22 Paul is telling us the reason why God prepares some for destruction, i.e., "to show his wrath and make his power known." Because he wants to display his wrath and power in punishing the wicked, God assigns some to eternal condemnation in hell. These unfortunate ones are "vessels of wrath, that is, made and formed for this end, that they may be examples of God's vengeance and displeasure" (Calvin, 368; see Murray, 2:33; Cranfield, 2:494). This is why God "determined to allow sin," says MacArthur, "because it gave Him the opportunity to display His wrath" (2:39).

Even God's patience , i.e., his delay in exercising his wrath, is designed to make the ultimate expression of that wrath all the more powerful and glorious. Calvin says that "the Lord bears patiently for a time with these, not destroying them at the first moment, but deferring the judgment prepared for them, and this in order to set forth the decisions of his severity, that others may be terrified by so dreadful examples" (368). That is, the very reason for this "patience" is to magnify his wrath. Moo favors this interpretation: "In the case both of Pharaoh and of the vessels of wrath, God withholds his final judgment so that he can more spectacularly display his glory" (605). As Stott says, "His forebearance in delaying the hour of judgment" is designed to "make the ultimate outpouring of his wrath the more dreadful" (272). In Piper's words, "God sustains and tolerates vessels of wrath" so that his "sovereign power and terrible wrath can be demonstrated even more vividly" ( Justification , 187).

But this is not the whole story. Verse 23 adds another reason why God "bore with great patience the objects of his wrath." He did it in order "to make the riches of his glory known" to the elect, which are chosen unconditionally for salvation. As Calvin interprets it, this means that God delays punishing the reprobate, thus increasing their punishment, because the greater the punishment poured out upon the reprobate, the greater will appear the mercy bestowed upon the elect. God wants his wrath to appear dreadful so "that the amplitude of his mercy towards the elect may hence be more fully known and more brightly shine forth" (368). "The glory of God" is manifest "in the destruction of the reprobate, because the greatness of divine mercy towards the elect is hereby more clearly made known" (369). "The infinite mercy of God toward the elect must appear increasingly worthy of praise, when we see how miserable are all they who escape not his wrath" (369). See Hendriksen, 2:329; and Piper, Justification , 188-189, for variations of this view.

Seeing Paul Through Non-Calvinist Eyes

Since Calvinists tend to see this entire chapter in terms of the unconditional predestination of individuals to their eternal destinies, it is not unexpected that they interpret these two verses as outlined above. But as we have seen, unconditional individual election and reprobation are not the point of this chapter. It deals rather with God's faithfulness in all his dealings with the nation of Israel. That is the subject of these two verses as well.

One point that Paul has stressed throughout this chapter is that God has the sovereign right to choose and use both individuals and nations in whatever ways he pleases for the accomplishment of his covenant purposes. No one "resists his will" in such matters (v. 19). These verses are simply reaffirming God's right, like a potter, to manipulate his clay in any way he chooses.

The "objects of his wrath" in v. 22 are not the total mass of lost human beings, but rather the nation of Israel, specifically the ethnic Jews who rejected God's promises of grace and were thus accursed (9:3). (The word translated "objects" is actually the word "vessels," as in v. 21, where the NIV translates it "pottery".) I.e., these unbelieving Israelites, viewed collectively as a nation, in spite of their indispensable role in God's plan, are nevertheless indeed the objects of his wrath (see Godet, 360). While allowing that pagans such as Pharaoh may be included, Dunn declares "that the 'objects of wrath' are the covenant people themselves, or more precisely, the bulk of the covenant people who have rejected the continuity/fulfillment of the covenant in the gospel" (2:567).

What is the "destruction" for which Israel has been prepared? It is possible that Paul is thinking about some sort of temporal destruction, such as the termination of Israel's special role in the plan of God as signified by the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Godet, 360). This may be the case, but it is also likely that Paul is referring to the final, eternal destruction of sinners in hell, since its counterpart of "glory" in v. 23 also likely includes eternal life (see Dunn, 2:560; Moo, 607, n. 96; Godet, 362, 372; MP, 406). "Clearly it stands for the ultimate loss," says Morris (368).

Who, then, is the agent by which these vessels of wrath, these unbelieving Jews, are "prepared" for such destruction, whether temporal or eternal? The difference between the term used here in v. 22 and the comparable term in v. 23 ("he prepared in advance") makes it very likely (contrary to Calvinism) that they prepared themselves for such destruction (Godet, 361; MP, 406). The verb in v. 23 is active and has the prefix pro -, and clearly means that God himself prepared in advance the vessels of mercy for glory. But in v. 22 the verb seems to be deliberately different. It is either passive voice: "they were prepared," or (more likely) middle voice: "they prepared themselves" (AG, 419). I.e., they are responsible for their own destruction; by their sin and unbelief and refusal to repent, they sealed their own doom. Even if the agent of preparation were God himself, the lack of the prefix pro - ("in advance, beforehand"), unlike the verb in v. 23, would suggest that God prepared them for destruction only after they manifested their adamant unbelief. The more likely meaning, though, is that they prepared themselves.

The "objects [vessels] of his wrath," then, are ethnic Israel, viewed in terms of its unbelief. Like a potter God made the nation as such for his glorious purposes, which they did indeed fulfill. But in reference to their individual eternal destiny, the Jews' personal unbelief makes them the objects of divine wrath. Thus they ultimately become vessels of dishonor and shame (v. 21).

Exactly what is Paul saying about these vessels of wrath prepared for ultimate destruction? He says that God "bore" or "endured" them "with great patience." This refers to God's relationship with his chosen people throughout OT history, especially to the fact that he refrained from completely destroying them despite their blatant and repeated idolatry. As Dunn says (2:558), "God's patience with his chosen people was one of Israel's most common refrains." See Exod 34:6; Num 14:18-20; 2 Kgs 13:23; Neh 9:16-19,29-31; Ps 86:15; 102:8.

This next point is crucial to our understanding of this whole section. The question is, what is meant by the expression, "choosing to show his wrath and make his power known"? As we have seen, Calvinists usually take this as referring to God's infallible, purposive will: because God has determined (chosen) to display his wrath and power upon the objects of wrath whom he has prepared for destruction, he patiently withholds this wrath until the time comes when it can be exhibited in its most spectacular intensity. I.e., he exercises patience in the interests of greater wrath. In my judgment this interpetation is atrociously inaccurate and is an insult to the mercy and grace of God. What does the expression mean, then?

First of all, "choosing" is an unacceptable translation for the verb qevlw (thelô ), used here by Paul. Basically it means "to will, to be willing, to want, to desire, to wish." The object of the desire may become a reality (9:18), or it may not (7:15-21; Matt 23:37a). It certainly does not have the inherent connotation of the purposive will of God, contrary to many Calvinists. Also, Lard's "determining" is too strong a meaning (313). At this point Paul is simply saying that God was willing or wanted to show his wrath and power against Israel.

A second point is that the form of thelô is a present participle, indicating that this "wanting" is simultaneous with the action of the main verb, "bore." But the very nature of a participle requires that we determine from the context just how it relates to the main verb. Here it appears that the participle has either a causal or a concessive relationship with "bore." I.e., it means either, (1) " Because he was willing to show his wrath and make his power known, therefore he bore with great patience the objects of his wrath"; or, (2) " Although he wanted to show his wrath and make his power known, nevertheless he bore with great patience the objects of his wrath." For the latter, see the NASB.

In general, Calvinists accept the causal view; see Cranfield, 2:493-494; Murray, 2:34-35; Piper, Justification , 187; Moo, 605 (see also Dunn, 2:558). I.e., because God wants to display his wrath as impressively as possible, he patiently withholds it until he can do this. Likewise in general, non-Calvinists accept the concessive view; see Godet, 359-360; Lard, 312; Fitzmyer, 569 (see also SH, 261). I.e., even though God actually wanted to go ahead and abolish the nation of Israel and send unbelieving Israelites to hell, still he bore with them in order to achieve his ultimate saving purposes.

Is it possible to tell from Scripture itself which of these two views is correct? Yes. The key to the right understanding here is the reference to "patience" ("forebearance, longsuffering"; Greek, makroqumiva [ makrothymia ]). Paul says that God bore (endured, put up with) the vessels of wrath - not with just a little patience, but with great patience. Why? According to the causal interpretation of thelô , accepted by Calvinists, God exercises his patience toward the vessels of wrath for the express purpose of being able to heap even greater wrath upon them. On the contrary, however, I must insist that such a purpose is contrary to the very nature of patience. At the very heart of patience is the desire to decrease or even eliminate wrath, and to increase salvation. The Calvinist (causal) view thus violates the very essence of divine patience. The concessive view does not, as will be explained below.

This theological weakness of the Calvinist view was pointed out long ago by Godet. He says (359), "The connection expressed by because . . . would signify that God's long-suffering had no other end than to bring about an accumulation of wrath; but would such long-suffering deserve the name?" Sanday and Headlam (261) likewise point out that God's "great patience" is simply not consistent with the causal view. (See also Fitzmyer, 569.) Romans 2:4 expressly says that God's kindness and patience are designed to lead to repentance. Second Peter 3:9 says that God is patient because he does not want anyone to perish but for everyone to come to repentance. The Calvinist view of 9:22 makes a travesty of such texts.

Thus the cause of God's great patience cannot be found in v. 22. This verse simply asserts the reality of this patience: even though God many times wanted to pour out his wrath upon idolatrous and unbelieving Israel, and bring upon them the destruction they deserved, he bore with them with great patience. Why he did so is stated only in v. 23.

The terse syntax in vv. 22-23 causes most translators to add a few words at the beginning of v. 23 in order to clarify the connection between the two verses: "And He did so . . ." (NASB); "What if he did this . . ." (NIV); "And what if he has done so . . ." (NRSV). These words are added to show that, while v. 22 states God's action (he "bore with great patience"), v. 23 sets forth the purpose for this action, as indicated by the Greek word i{na ( hina ; "in order that," NASB; "to," NIV).

What is this purpose? "To make the riches of his glory known to the objects [vessels] of his mercy." In continuity with everything we have seen in ch. 9 thus far, we take these vessels of mercy to be the spiritual Israel alluded to in 9:6b; and in view of the reference to the Gentiles in v. 24, we take this specifically to refer to the NT church. For hundreds of years God endured with great patience the unbelieving multitudes of ethnic Israel because it was his purpose to produce through them, in the fullness of time, the true Israel.

It was certainly the case that any of these unbelieving Israelites along the way could have "circumcised their hearts" (Jer 4:4) and turned in pentitent faith toward the gracious God; and many did so. But strictly speaking God did not exercise his great patience toward OT Israel just for the purpose of allowing time for individual Jews to repent. The fact is, according to v. 22, he actually wanted to wipe them all out. What prevented him from doing so, and what caused him to be patient, was his determination to accomplish his final historical purpose for them as a nation: the establishment of the church of Jesus the Messiah.

The vessels of mercy are thus the individuals (Jews and Gentiles, v. 24) who respond in faith to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and receive within themselves the outpouring of God's saving mercy, the double cure of forgiveness through the blood of Christ and regeneration through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Collectively they form the church, which is the new and true Israel, or the Israel which is identified by spiritual rather than physical criteria.

How shall we understand "the riches of his glory" which he makes known to these vessels of mercy? Some take this to mean that God's purpose is to display his own glory by bestowing salvation upon the elect (Murray, 2:35). The NIV might be taken in this sense in that it refers to making the riches of God's glory " known to the objects of his mercy." I believe it is better, though, to interpret "the riches of his glory" to mean the riches of salvation as bestowed " upon vessels of mercy" (NASB, emphasis added). The preposition epi is better translated "upon" than "to." Thus it is God's purpose to manifest the glorious riches of his salvation by lavishly bestowing them upon the new Israel.

Does this "glory" refer to eschatological glorification, the final blessings of heaven itself? It certainly must include this, since "glory" most often has this specific reference (e.g., 2:7,10; 5:2; 8:18,21,30; Col 1:27). But it must not be limited to the glory of the end times; from the very beginning of the Christian life God pours "the riches of his glory" into the vessels of his mercy. This exact phrase is used in Eph 3:16 to refer to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within us. See also 2 Cor 3:18; Eph 3:13; Phil 4:19; Col 1:11; 1 Thess 2:12.

In what sense are the vessels of mercy "prepared in advance for glory"? Here the verb "prepared in advance" (proetoimavzw , proetoimazô ) is different from the verb translated "prepared" (katartivzw , katartizô ) in v. 22. Because the latter is middle or passive voice, we may conclude that the vessels of wrath prepared themselves for destruction. But in v. 23 the word is active voice and no doubt means that God is the one who has prepared the vessels of mercy for glory. Also, unlike v. 22, the verb in v. 23 has the prefix pro -, which means that God prepared them "in advance" or "beforehand."

If "prepared in advance for glory" refers to the final glory of heaven, then this statement is no different from 8:28-30. I.e., whom he foreknew would respond favorably to his gracious promises, he predestined to be in heaven (see JC, 1:502-514).

But it is possible that "prepared in advance" refers to the plan that God had begun to work out from the time he called Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the plan whereby he would use the ethnic people of Israel to lay the groundwork for the establishment of the church. That he prepared them "for glory" would then mean that he had already determined that he would pour out the riches of salvation upon all who accepted the Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile. See Eph 2:10; 1 Pet 1:2.

The reference to Gentiles in v. 24 makes it likely that the latter is the main point, since one fact that caused Paul to offer frequent praise to God was God's "mystery plan" to include the Gentiles as well as the Jews in his new covenant people, the church. See 16:25-26; Eph 2:11-3:11. "This mystery," he says in Ephesians, "is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body" (3:6). Even though this was God's "eternal purpose" (3:11), it "was not made known to men in other generations," but is now revealed through prophets and apostles, like Paul (3:5), who was given the privilege of preaching "to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (3:8). This mystery, long kept hidden, is now revealed "through the church" (3:9-10), which is spiritual Israel.

In other words, the church is the ultimate objective of God's advance preparation; its members are the vessels of mercy God "prepared in advance for glory." Every time a sinner is converted, God "make[s] the riches of his glory known" by pouring them out upon the convert.

We must not lose sight of Paul's main point, which is to declare God's faithfulness in his dealings with the Jews. As he has insisted all along, the members of ethnic Israel did not have to be personal believers as a prerequisite for being used to carry out the divine plan. Even as vessels of wrath, they were used collectively as an instrument for bringing the church into existence. This was God's purpose, and as the objector in v. 19 rightly observes, no one can resist his purposive will.

It is important to see that the ultimate purpose of God is not wrath, but mercy. He used vessels of wrath (unbelieving Israel) to accomplish this purpose, but the purpose itself is to make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy. And here is the most glorious truth of all: no unbelieving Jew - no individual vessel of wrath - needs to remain as such. Though the nation in general remains under God's curse because of unbelief, any individual Jew can respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ and become a vessel of mercy! After all, the gospel is "first for the Jew" (1:16).

9:24 . . . even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? The main point of this verse has already been set forth in the above discussion, namely, that the vessels of mercy for which God had long been preparing would include not only Jews but Gentiles as well. The two together constitute "an expanded chosen people" (Achtemeier, 160).

Once the advance preparation through ethnic Israel was completed, God "called" (kalevw , kaleô ) from the larger masses of Jews and Gentiles those who would receive his mercy. This is not the Calvinist "effectual call," which is identical with the doctrine of irresistible grace; it is rather the call that is extended to all sinners through the preaching of the gospel, though it is accepted by only a few (see 1:6-7; 8:28, 30; see JC, 1:83-84, 500-501, 512-513).

The word "from" is ejk ( ek ), which can be more forcefully translated "out of." Thus Paul is here identifying the vessels of mercy as "called-out ones," which is etymologically related to the NT word for "church," which is ejkklhsiva (ekklçsia ). This comes from the same two words used here in v. 24, ek and kaleô . This is completely consistent with what was said above, that Paul's whole point in this chapter is the way God used ethnic Israel to produce spiritual Israel, the church.

In view of this glorious and merciful purpose of God, how can anyone seriously complain against God and accuse him of unfaithfulness? As Lard says, he calls both Jews and Gentiles alike, and is willing to make them all into vessels of honor and mercy. Those who accept the call will be treated with equal mercy, but "on all the rest he will one day pour out his wrath" (312).

4. Prophetic Confirmation of God's Purpose (9:25-29)

This section does not add any new content to Paul's argument. It is a series of quotations from Hosea and Isaiah, cited to provide prophetic confirmation of God's purpose for Israel as it culminates in the birth of the NT church. The citations from Hosea (vv. 25-26) include the prophet's original application to exiled Israelites but are here also applied to the calling of the Gentiles into the people of God. The verses from Isaiah (vv. 27-29) show that God all along knew that only a small number, a remnant, of the Jews would accept the gospel and be saved.

This latter point speaks directly to the issue with which this chapter began, namely, the seeming paradox of Israel's position and privileges as the chosen people of God on the one hand, and her general condition of unbelief and accursedness on the other hand. To the Jewish mind, this appeared to be a contradiction. Especially, it seemed as if God's word and plan and promises had failed. Did not God's purpose for and use of the Israelite nation guarantee their personal salvation? Did God change his mind and go back on his word?

The answer, of course, is no; and this chapter shows why this is the case. God's use of Israel to work out his plan neither required nor guaranteed that every individual Jew would be saved. Any and all Jews could have been saved; if they were not, the cause was their own failure and refusal to believe and repent. In any case God's covenant purpose was not contingent upon it.

These OT quotations, especially those from Isaiah, show that the present state of Israel's unbelief and accursedness was no surprise to God, and that his original purpose had not failed. The quotations show, as Dunn says, "that God's purpose never had Israel as a people solely in view and never Israel as a whole or Israel the nation as such" (2:575). The nation itself was always intended to be a means to an end; the end itself is spiritual Israel, which consists of both the believing remnant from old Israel and all believers from among the Gentiles. This end, and therefore God's purpose for Israel, have been accomplished, in fulfillment of these prophecies.

9:25-26 As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one," and, "It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" A major question is whether or not Paul really intends to apply these quotes from Hosea to the calling of the Gentiles. This is problematic because Hosea's prophecy was originally addressed to Jews, specifically to the ten tribes of the northern kingdom. Because of their persistent unbelief God rejected them and caused them to be overrun and taken into permanent exile by the Assyrian forces. But Hosea's words gave them hope: though God rejected them as "not loved" and "not my people," a day would come when they would once again be God's loved ones and God's people (Hos 1:6-10; 2:21-23). The question now is this: how can Paul apply these prophecies to the Gentiles, when they obviously originally referred to the Jews?

One answer is that Paul does not apply them to the Gentiles, but is thinking only of the Jews in all the quotes from both Isaiah and Hosea. Lenski is an example of this view. He asks, "But why quote passages such as this [from Hosea] to establish the admission of the Gentiles when many passages speak of Gentiles directly? The passages quoted from Hosea show how God's word was fulfilled even in the case of the ten Israelite tribes" (627).

Most interpreters disagree with Lenski, however, and believe that Paul is indeed applying the Hosea texts to the evangelization of the Gentiles. One reason for saying this is that v. 24 ends with a reference to the Gentiles, and v. 25 begins with "as he says in Hosea." The word "as" seems to tie the quote to the Gentiles. Also, following the Hosea references Paul turns to Isaiah (v. 27), and he specifically mentions Israel: "Isaiah cries out concerning Israel." This suggests he was not referring to Israel in the previous quotes, says Moo (613).

But how could Paul justify applying the Hosea prophecies to the Gentiles? The consensus seems to be that the ten "lost" tribes' permanent exile has so intermingled them with the Gentiles that the evangelization of the one group will necessarily involve the evangelization of the other (Godet, 365). These Jews had become "not loved" and "not my people" through the judgment of the exile; the Gentiles were "not loved" and "not my people" by nature, so to speak. Thus in the NT age, when the church goes into all the world, the gospel appeal reaches Jew and Gentile alike, and the words of Hosea take on a new and expanded meaning. Hosea's prophecy specifically promises the restoration of the Jews, but because of their scattered status "Paul takes this promise as a proof of God's purpose to include the Gentiles in His salvation" (Cranfield, 2:500; see Morris, 370). Bruce's analysis is a fair one (196):

What Paul does here is to take this promise . . . and extract from it a principle of divine action which in his day was reproducing itself on a world-wide scale. In large measure through Paul's own apostolic ministry, great numbers of Gentiles, who had never been "the people of God" and had no claim on His covenant mercy, were coming to be enrolled among His people and to be the recipients of His mercy. The scale of the divine action was far wider than in Hosea's day, but the same pattern and principle were recognizable.

First Peter 2:10 seems to apply Hosea 2:23 in a similar way.

In view of these considerations, in my judgment it is proper to apply the Hosea prophecies to both Jews and Gentiles.

In v. 25 Paul introduces the quotation from Hosea 2:23 thus: "As he says in Hosea." The "he" is God; this is Paul's testimony to the divine origin of these "oracles" (see 3:2). The quotation itself is more of a paraphrase than an exact quote; the two main clauses are reversed.

For God to punish Israelites by stripping them of their status as "my people" was a severe blow; being the people of God was their greatest treasure. Thus the messianic promise that God would one day bestow this title upon them again would have special meaning for Jews. Gentiles who have never had this status to begin with may not at first realize what a great promise this is. To be "God's people" means to come into a special family relationship with him (see 8:14-17). God loves all human beings (John 3:16), but his most special love is reserved for those whose hearts and lives are surrendered to him (John 14:21). Through unbelief and idolatry Israel forfeited this special love and became like Gentiles to God, but the gospel of Jesus Christ makes this love-relationship available once more to fallen Jews and fallen Gentiles alike.

The word "call" in both v. 25 and v. 26 does not refer to the gospel call but to the giving of a new name or title. "I will call them" means "I will name them" or "I will give them this name" (Lard, 314; Murray, 2:39).

Verse 26 is a citation of Hosea 1:10; its main point is the same as v. 25 and Hos 2:23. In this verse the "not my people" are renamed "sons of the living God." To a once-fallen but now-converted Jew, this is the restoration of a name once proudly worn by all Israelites. That it is now a name applied not just to believing Jews but also to believing Gentiles shows that mere physical descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does not suffice for true sonship. Today we are all - men and women, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free men - sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 3:26-29).

Paul says, citing Hosea, that this calling (naming) will happen "in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people.'" This probably refers to the Gentile world. As applied to exiled and scattered Jews it means that they do not have to return to their "homeland" in order to become God's sons once again. Through the preaching of the gospel adoption into God's family takes place in whatever nation one is found, whether one be Jew or Gentile.

9:27-28 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality." Paul takes this quote from Isa 10:22-23 and specifically applies it to Israel. He says that Isaiah "cries out" this prophecy, indicating that the words were spoken with fervent emotion.

Though his message surely applies to the whole of Israel, Isaiah's ministry, unlike that of Hosea, was to the southern kingdom. The tenth chapter of Isaiah is mainly an oracle about Assyria, whom God used to punish unbelieving Israel and who then received God's punishment in return. The prophet is assuring Israel that even though they must suffer conquest and captivity, at least a remnant will survive and return to the Lord. But at the same time, the fact that only a remnant will be saved means that the rest will be destroyed.

Isaiah 10:21 says, "A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God." This does not mean that this remnant of the exiled northern tribes would return to their homeland, in the way that a remnant of the southern kingdom returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Isaiah speaks rather of a spiritual return - a returning to the Lord. This is the way Paul understands it; thus in v. 27b he words the promise, "The remnant will be saved ." He sees Isaiah's prophecy as being fulfilled through the preaching of the gospel and the entry of many Jews into spiritual Israel, the church, through their conversion to Christ. As Fitzmyer says, "Paul applies the words to Jews called to accept Christ, and the remnant becomes those who actually did accept him, viz., Paul and fellow Jewish Christians" (574).

That the prophet Isaiah himself declares that only a remnant would thus be saved is a primary vindication of Paul's main point, "that the covenant promise did not contemplate or guarantee the salvation of all ethnic Israel" (Murray, 2:39). Everything that God promised to Israel as a nation was fulfilled, including the assurance that the number of Israelites would "be like the sand of the sea" - a promise spoken to Abraham in Gen 22:17 (see Gen 32:12). But the remnant prophecy shows that this great nation was chosen only for service, not for salvation; and the fact that only a small proportion were saved was in no way contrary to God's promises and God's faithfulness. See Dunn, 2:575.

Paul's use of the remnant concept in this way sheds important light on two other texts. One is 9:6b, "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." Ethnic Israel is the numerous-as-sand nation physically descended from Jacob; but only the remnant, those who accept salvation through Jesus Christ, are the true Israel, the true "sons of the living God." The other text is 11:26, "And so all Israel will be saved." The remnant doctrine, along with 9:6b, shows that "all Israel" does not have to refer to the nation as a whole.

The remnant doctrine is both a promise and a judgment. As a promise, it is an assurance that at least a remnant of Israel will be saved. There will always be an Israel, at least a spiritual Israel. But as a judgment, it is a solemn recognition that only a remnant will be saved. The NIV emphasizes this latter sense by translating ean as "though" and by adding the word "only" (both here and in Isa 10:22). Cranfield (2:502) says that the word translated "remnant" in itself implies "only a remnant." This necessarily means that the great majority of Israel will not be saved.

This note of judgment is emphasized in v. 28. It has the particle gavr ( gar , "for, because"); thus it "explains how it will come about that only a remnant of Israel will be saved" (Cranfield, 2:502). The verse seems to be a summary of Isa 10:22b-23, "Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land." In 9:28 the word lovgo" ( logos ), translated "sentence" in the NIV, probably refers to the decree of destruction of which Isaiah speaks. This is the sentence of judgment or destruction upon the nation of Israel as a whole, which is implicit in the promise that only a remnant of them will be saved.

The Lord himself will carry out this decree of judgment upon the nation "with speed and finality." These last words are an attempt to translate two participles, forms of the Greek words suntelevw (synteleô , "to complete, to carry out, to accomplish, to fulfill completely") and suntevmnw (syntemnô , "to cut short, to cut off, to end, to shorten"). These words indicate that God carries out this sentence with thoroughness and completeness and finality. The former word (synteleô ) looks to the past and means that in carrying out this sentence God is accomplishing an existing purpose, bringing it to completion, and fulfilling it completely. The latter word (syntemnô ) looks to the future and means that in carrying out this sentence God is cutting something off and bringing it to an end; it will not continue to exist in the future. In my opinion this means that the establishment of the remnant (spiritual Israel) marks the end of God's dealing with Israel as a nation; his purpose for ethnic Israel is now completed, and they are cut off as his special people. From this point on his focus is upon spiritual Israel.

The words translated "on earth" probably should be translated "upon the land," i.e., upon the land of Israel. In Isa 10:23 "upon the whole land" no doubt has this connotation, as it refers to "the devastation wrought by the destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians under Shalmaneser" (Lenski, 631). A similar devastation of "the land" was the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; Lenski thinks this is the sense of it for Paul's time (631). This may be so, but in any case we should understand "upon the land" as referring to the land of Israel, with the word "land" standing for ethnic Israel or physical Israelites as such.

9:29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah." This last quotation, from Isaiah 1:9, reemphasizes both the seriousness of God's judgment upon unbelieving Israel and the divine provision for preserving at least a remnant of his people. In Scripture the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a type of final and decisive judgment. Thus without the remnant, Israel would have become like these two cities: extinct. By preserving only the remnant, God brought a judgment just short of this upon Israel.

But he did leave a remnant, as Isa 1:9 says and as Paul emphasizes. "The Lord Almighty" preserved this remnant. Both Isaiah and Paul actually say "the Lord of Hosts," but for some reason the NIV changes "hosts" to "Almighty." As "Lord of Hosts" God is the ruler of all the heavenly or angelic hosts; he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

The word "descendants" definitely connotes the remnant idea in this text. Isa 1:9 says the Lord left "some survivors" (NIV), or "a few survivors" (NASB, NRSV), or "a very small remnant" (KJV). The LXX uses spevrma ( sperma , "seed") instead of survivors. Since he quotes the LXX verbatim, Paul also uses sperma , which the NIV translates "descendants." This is not a good translation, since "seed" here connotes not a relationship to what is past (i.e., to one's ancestors), but a preparation for the future, or (as Morris says) "the potential for new growth" (373; see Cranfield, 2:503). The purpose for leaving behind a few survivors is to reseed and replant for the future. The "new growth" that springs forth from this seed is the new spiritual Israel, the church.

The Lord "left us" this remnant. The verb used here can mean "to leave behind" in the sense of "to forsake, to abandon"; but it can also mean, as here, "to allow to remain" (AG, 214-215). Though the Lord carried out his sentence of destruction upon the nation in general, he allowed this seed-remnant to remain. This is definitely a note of promise and hope, or as Dunn says, "a gasp of gratitude" (2:576).

In what sense did the Lord leave this remnant? He left it in the sense that he "bore with great patience the objects of his wrath" (v. 22) until the time that he was ready for the spiritual Israel to come into existence. As Lenski says (632),

If God had made his final reckoning with the Jews in Isaiah's time or even prior to this, no godly remnant could have been obtained from them at any future time, certainly not at Paul's time. Judaism would have become a second Sodom, would have been made like to Gomorrah, not a soul would have been left after the cataclysm of punishment. But God restrained his wrath so that seed was left.

This brings the first main section of Rom 9-11 to a conclusion. Paul has shown that God has not been unfaithful to Israel nor treated them unfairly. He has kept every promise he made to them, and fulfilled every purpose he had for them as a nation.

The one question raised in this section that has yet to be addressed is the lost state of the great majority of the Jews, or more specifically, who is responsible for their lostness? The objector raised the question in v. 19a, "Then why does God still blame us?" The implication is that somehow God is responsible for the Jews' rejection of their Messiah; therefore they should not be blamed and punished. This is the issue that Paul will address in the next section.

III. ISRAEL'S CHOICE OF LAW

RATHER THAN GRACE (9:30-10:21)

There is considerable agreement that 9:30-10:21 forms the next major section of 9-11, but how it relates to the previous section is a matter of dispute. A common view is that ch. 9 explains Israel's lostness in terms of God's sovereign decision, while ch. 10 explains it as the result of Israel's own unbelief. For Calvinists especially, ch. 9 presents the picture of a sovereign God who unilaterally and unconditionally chooses which individuals he will save and which he will send to hell, while ch. 10 presents him as giving human beings the choice of whether to believe or not to believe, with salvation being conditioned on this choice. This seeming contradiction between divine sovereignty and human responsibility is a paradox with no ready explanation.

For example, Moo says that according to Paul in ch. 9, Israel's plight "is due to the sovereign determination of God. But in 9:30-10:21, he argues that it is also the result of human response." Though Paul simply presents both sides without attempting to reconcile them, it is likely that Israel's unbelief "is simply the result of God's prior decision" (617).

In my judgment the point of these two sections is something quite different. Paul's main purpose in 9-11, as discussed earlier, is to vindicate God's faithfulness in view of (a) his promises to Israel and (b) Israel's lostness. Chs. 9 and 10 present two separate but related reasons why this situation does not violate God's faithfulness. First (ch. 9), his faithfulness is not violated because his promises to the nation as a whole involved only their role of service and not their salvation. God elected them to serve a special purpose in his redemptive plan, and he patiently accomplished this purpose through them. With reference to salvation, however, God has distinguished between two Israels: the physical nation and the spiritual remnant. This distinction explains the apparently contradictory way God has treated Israel according to the flesh. His sovereign election for covenant service, including his covenant promises, applies only to the former; salvation belongs only to those Jews who are also a part of the latter. Thus God's promises to ethnic Israel - all of which were kept - are consistent with their lostness.

The second reason (ch. 10) why God's faithfulness is not violated by this situation is because Israel's lostness (their exclusion from spiritual Israel) is the result of their own free choice of law rather than grace as the way of salvation. This is the main point of this present section, which stresses very clearly the fact that Israel is responsible for its own fate. As Fitzmyer rightly says, "The cause of Israel's failure is not to be found in God, but in Israel itself. . . . Its situation is derived from its own misstep" (576). Paul makes it clear that any and all Jews could have been saved if they had accepted God's gift of righteousness on his gracious terms instead of trying to attain salvation through their own works or personal righteousness. Such saving grace had always been available to individual Jews, based on God's loving offer of forgiveness of sins; but the offer was usually spurned, as the gospel of Christ itself came to be. In other words, it is the Jews themselves, not God, who have been unfaithful.

Herein lies the connection between 9-11 and 1-8, as well as between this section and the overall theme of the letter, which is the contrast between law and grace as ways of salvation (JC, 1:53). In 1-8 Paul has explained why it is impossible for anyone to be saved by the law system, and how God has therefore provided the alternative system of grace. Now he shows that the only reason most Jews were lost is that they persisted in trying to be accepted by God on the basis of their own righteousness, i.e., by the impotent system of law (see 1:18-3:20). Thus the responsibility for being accursed must be laid at their own feet, not God's.

Spiritual Israel, on the other hand, consists of those who have accepted the way of grace, in which God offers a divinely-established righteousness based on the death of Jesus Christ to all who put their trust in him (see 3:21-5:21). The reason some Gentiles are included in this new Israel is that they have trusted God's righteousness rather than their own, and the only reason the remnant of the Jews are included is that they do the same.

A. PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS VERSUS

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD (9:30-10:3)

This paragraph presents the essence of this section in terms of the concept of righteousness, i.e., the righteousness on the basis of which one is accepted by God. The Jews were lost, says Paul, because they sought acceptance by God through their own personal righteousness or law-keeping, which can never be good enough. They rejected the gift of God's righteousness, which is the only hope for salvation.

"God's righteousness" (10:3) in this context is the same as the "righteousness from God" that is revealed in the gospel (1:17). It is not the attribute of God by which he is personally righteous, but rather a gift of righteousness that God offers to sinners, thus allowing him to accept them as righteous even though in reality they are not. Specifically, it is Jesus Christ's payment of the penalty of the law in our place (JC, 1:116-120).

Though the Jews are the main focus of this section, the Gentiles are mentioned here by way of contrast. The very thing the Jews were seeking but failed to attain, the Gentiles attained even though they were not seeking it (9:30-31). DeWelt paraphrases Paul thus: "It is strange, isn't it, that the Gentiles who were not looking or searching for justification, found it, and you Jews who were diligently seeking for a means of justification failed in your search?" (159). This is certainly tragic but also extremely ironic; indeed, it is "the most poignant irony in the whole of history" (Godet, 367).

1. The Reason for the Gentiles' Acceptance (9:30)

9:30 What then shall we say? Sometimes when Paul asks this question, he does so to introduce a false inference or idea, which he then proceeds to refute (e.g., 6:1; 7:7; 9:14). But here it serves simply to introduce the new section. What follows is not an objector's question but Paul's own teaching (as in 8:31; 11:7).

"What then shall we say" - about what? What has triggered this question? No doubt it is the whole of the previous section that is in view. I.e., what shall we say about the lostness of most Jews (9:3,22, 28), especially in view of the fact that even some Gentiles (!) are being saved (9:25-26)?

This is Paul's answer, That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, . . . This refers not to all Gentiles, but only to those who accept the gospel. What is the righteousness they have obtained? Most agree that Paul is not speaking of moral righteousness or righteous character, but rather a "righteous status in God's sight" (Cranfield, 2:506), or a right standing with God (e.g., Hendriksen, 2:333; Morris, 374). It is not the same as justification (contra Lard, 317; DeWelt, 159), but is rather the result of it. On the basis of his gracious act of justifying (declaring or counting righteous), believing Gentiles obtain their right standing before God.

Whether righteousness be taken as right moral character or as a right standing before God, it was characteristic of the Gentiles that they sought for neither. Regarding the former, there were no doubt some exceptions, but in general the pagan world was noted for its wickedness (1:18-32; Acts 14:16; 17:30; Eph 4:17-19). But this very fact shows that the Gentiles were not striving for the latter, either. This is true because without special revelation the only known means of being right with God is earnest moral striving; but as just noted, this was not typical of the Gentile world.

But even though they were not pursuing a right standing before God, they obtained it anyway! The words "pursue" and "obtain" go together. Literally they can refer to pursuing a quarry and catching it, or running after a prize in a race and winning it. Figuratively they refer to seeking after or pursuing a goal, and attaining it. What is so unusual is that the Gentiles attained this goal or prize without even seeking it. This refers to the fact that under the New Covenant God is actively seeking Gentiles to be his people through the worldwide preaching of the gospel. By accepting the gospel when it is presented to them, Gentiles obtain this right standing before God.

Specifically, Paul says, the Gentiles obtained a righteousness that is by faith . . . . That is, they obtained a right standing with God based on the free gift of God's own righteousness, a gift which they received by putting their trust in Christ's saving work (1:17; 3:21-22; Phil 3:9). "Righteousness by faith" is a shorthand expression for the grace system as a whole and is similar to "justified by faith" in 3:28 (JC, 1:267-268).

2. The Reason for the Jews' Lostness (9:31-33)

9:31 [B]ut Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Here is the tragic irony. The Gentiles did not pursue righteousness but obtained it anyway; Israel pursued it but did not attain it. "Israel" refers to the physical nation in general. "Pursued" is a present participle (literally, "pursuing"), to which both the NASB and the NIV give a purely descriptive meaning. Grammatically it could be causative (" because they pursued"), but this does not fit the context, as the following discussion shows. Another possibility, which I favor, is that the participle is concessive: " although they pursued." Although Israel, unlike the Gentiles, vigorously pursued a law of righteousness, they did not attain it.

The difficult part of this verse is the expression, "a law of righteousness" (novmon dikaiosuvnh" , nomon dikaiosynçs ). Why didn't Paul just say "righteousness," making the language parallel with v. 30? Why did he say " law of righteousness"? Some say "law of righteousness" is equivalent to "righteousness of law," and just turn it around: Israel "pursued the righteousness which is based on law: (NRSV; see Lard, 318; Fitzmyer, 578). This would suggest that the object of their pursuit was in itself a false goal, since righteousness based on law-keeping is impossible for sinners to attain.

This view is unacceptable, however, because v. 32 suggests that the Jews' problem was not the goal they were seeking but the manner in which they sought it: they pursued it by works rather than by faith. Thus we should take Paul's expression at face value. The Jews were pursuing a law of righteousness, which in itself is a proper pursuit.

What, then, is this "law of righteousness"? Murray (2:43) says the word "law" ( nomos ) here is not used in the sense of a law code, i.e., the Law of Moses. Rather, it "means principle or rule or order," as in 3:27 (see JC, 1:267). I.e., Israel was pursuing the principle of righteousness. If so, then Paul is not really adding anything to the concept of righteousness as such. This, however, is just the problem with this view. To use the loaded term nomos in this context in such an inconsequential way would be very confusing, especially in light of the way it is used in 10:4. I deem this approach unacceptable.

The best understanding is that "law" here refers to the Law of Moses, which the Jews obviously pursued and after which they hastened with the greatest of zeal (2:17-20; 10:2). Moo agrees that the nomos here is the Mosaic Law, and that in principle it was not wrong for Israel to seek it; yet he says that in the final analysis it was the wrong goal, since they should have sought Christ instead (625-627). I disagree with this last point. It is true that once Christ has come, it is wrong to continue to pursue the Law of Moses in even the best sense, since the law itself points everyone to Jesus Christ (Gal 3:24) and is obsolete now that he has come (as Hebrews teaches). But Paul's lament in 9:31 applies not just to the Jews who were contemporary with Christ and the birth of Christianity (cf. 9:32b-33), but also to preceding generations of Israelites who would not have known Christ as such. Hence throughout the OT era it was proper for the Jews to pursue the Law of Moses as a "law of righteousness."

In what sense is the Law of Moses a law of righteousness ? We should remember that righteousness as such means "conformity to the proper and relevant standard or norm" (see JC, 1:116). Thus any form of God's law for mankind (heart-engraved [2:15], Mosaic, New Covenant) is a law of righteousness in the sense that it is the norm or standard to which all human beings in their respective contexts are obligated to conform. The Law of Moses was the norm by which the righteousness of the Jews was to be measured, or as Dunn says, "a standard which defines what God requires of his covenant people" (2:581). As such it was meant to be meticulously and sincerely obeyed, which was the professed goal of every Israelite (see Ps 119).

Paul's lament is that, although the Jews pursued their law of righteousness, they did not attain it. "Attain" here is not the same Greek word as "obtain" in v. 30, but the concept is similar. Contrary to the Gentiles, who did obtain righteousness, the Jew did not arrive at their goal. They did not "catch up with" it; it "always left them far behind" (Lenski, 636).

Exactly what did the Jews hope to gain by pursuing the law of righteousness, i.e., by conforming their lives and conduct to the Law of Moses? Not just righteousness in the sense of perfect moral character, but righteousness in the sense of right standing before God - the very thing the Gentiles attained without seeking it. But why did the Jews not attain it?

9:32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. Here is a point that must not be overlooked: it was possible for the Jews to obtain a right standing with God by pursuing the Law of Moses, their "law of righteousness," as long as they pursued it in the right manner. Of course, if anyone had obeyed it perfectly, he would have been justified before God for that very reason; but Paul has already shown that no Jew ever accomplished this (2:1-3:20), and he is not just repeating that point here. Rather, Paul says the reason the Jews did not succeed was that they did not pursue their law "by faith." This implies that they could have pursued it by faith; and if they had done so, they would have obtained the same righteous standing with God that the Gentiles did. In fact, we must assume that a large number of Jews throughout OT history did in fact follow after the law by faith and attain righteousness thereby (11:4), though most did not.

But how is it possible for the Jews to follow after the Law of Moses by faith ? The most obvious way is that the Jews living in the Christian era can put their trust in the very one to whom their law points, namely, Jesus. But what of those who lived in pre-Christian generations? How could they pursue the law of righteousness by faith ? Doesn't this sound like a contradiction?

It is not a contradiction. The Law of Moses as a law code was unique, in that it contained not just moral and legal precepts to be obeyed, but also religious provisions that embodied the very essence of grace (i.e., forgiveness of sins). Pre-Christian Jews did not know Jesus as such, but they knew that they were sinners and law-breakers as measured by all the moral and legal requirements of their law, and they knew from the laws of sacrifice the principle of atonement via substitution. Thus they knew that their sin and idolatry could be forgiven when God's promises of mercy displayed in the sacrifices were embraced by faith (see 3:21). Those Jews who trusted in the gospel aspects of the Law of Moses rather than its legal aspects are the ones who obtained a righteous status before God.

In this sense the Jews' law was not an enemy of faith, but was in fact designed to engender faith. As Achtemeier says, that law was intended to uphold a righteous relationship with God based on trust in him; its very purpose was to help the Jews achieve such trust (167). Cranfield (2:508) says it thus:

. . . The law is the law of righteousness because it was intended and designed to show the people of Israel how they could be righteous before God, to show them that the way to this righteousness is - faith. In the law which they were pursuing so zealously they had that which was all the time pointing out the way to the possession of a status of righteousness in God's sight.

How then was it possible to pursue the law by faith? Again Cranfield's answer (2:510) is on target:

. . . The answer must be, surely, that it is to respond to the claim to faith which God makes through the law, and must include accepting, without evasion or resentment, the law's criticism of one's life, recognizing that one can never so adequately fulfil its righteous requirements as to put God in one's debt, accepting God's proffered mercy and forgiveness and in return giving oneself to Him in love and gratitude and so beginning to be released from one's self-centredness and turned in the direction of a humble obedience that is free from self-righteousness; that it is to allow oneself to be turned again and again by the forgiving mercy of God in the direction of loving Him with all one's heart and soul and mind and strength and of loving one's neighbor as oneself.

A biblical example of one who pursued the law by faith is the publican or tax collector in Jesus' parable in Luke 18:9-14. In the temple as he prayed for acceptance by God, he was overwhelmed by his unworthiness and cried simply, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Jesus declared that this man went home "justified before God." Though this story may have been fictional, it shows how any Jew at any time in OT history was able to attain by faith a righteous standing with God, as guided by the law. As Hendriksen says, "The law, with its uncompromising demand of perfect love and obedience, should have driven each Israelite to God with the fervent prayer, 'Oh, God, be thou merciful to me, the sinner'" (2:334).

Many were thus driven, but most were not. Indeed, most were like the Pharisee in the same parable. Instead of pursuing the law of righteousness by faith, Israel as a whole pursued it "by works." Instead of simply trusting the law's manifested grace as the source of their righteous standing before God, they trusted that their own ability to obey its precepts would make them worthy of acceptance by God. "They thought that the law pointed to the contribution they had to make" toward that acceptance, "and hence lost the point of the law, which was to engender trust in the God who had chosen them" (Achtemeier, 167). Instead of depending on God's forgiving grace, they trusted that they had achieved a satisfactory degree of personal righteousness, "as if the accumulation of works-righteousness were God's way of salvation" (Stott, 276).

What Israel did, in effect, was to transform their law code into a law system . As a law code, the Law of Moses was a simple set of commands to which the Israelites were obligated to conform their lives and conduct. To use it as such was to use it properly (3:31). But the moment they began to regard such obedience as the means or basis for gaining acceptance by God, their law code became the centerpiece in the law system as a way of salvation (JC, 1:128). But this is exactly why Israel was lost: the law system cannot save sinners (1:18-3:20).

They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." This is a reference to Yahweh's warning to Israel in Isa 8:13-15. "The LORD Almighty," he said, "is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread." Though he will be a sanctuary or place of safety, at the same time "for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." Many of the Jews "will stumble; they will fall and be broken."

Though 9:33 as well as other NT references show that the "stumbling stone" ultimately applies to Jesus Christ, originally the stone was Yahweh as such. To Jews in Old Covenant times, God presented himself as a sanctuary, i.e., as the holy place where one could find refuge from all his enemies (see 1 Kgs 1:50-51; 2:28-29). As such he placed himself squarely in the path of his people (Isa 65:1-2). Thus if they refused to take shelter in his grace, they ran headlong into him and crashed against him and fell. As Lenski says, "This is not a stone over which one may merely stumble and recover oneself but one against which one runs with his entire body and smashes it entirely; it is like knocking one's brains out" (637). Thus it was with all Jews throughout OT history who pursued the law of righteousness by works instead of by faith.

Thus it is no surprise that when Yahweh came in the flesh, the Jews of that generation stumbled against him as well. As Dunn says, their confusion regarding the law and righteousness "came to eschatological expression and climax in their refusal to recognize Christ as Messiah" (2:577). They were conditioned to do so by the chronic misuse of the law by their ancestors, which, in Achtemeier's words, "had as its inevitable outcome the result that when Christ came as the one who personified the call contained in the law to trust in God, the chosen people rejected him" (167).

9:33 As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." This verse expands the "stumbling stone" concept and implicitly applies it to Christ. I say "implicitly" because Christ is not specifically mentioned in the verse, yet these same OT quotes are applied to him elsewhere in the NT. In fact, the second part of this verse, a quote from Isa 28:16b, is explicitly applied to Christ in 10:11.

"Stone" and "rock" are two different Greek words. The "stone" of stumbling (also in v. 32) is livqo" ( lithos ), which refers to a loose stone of any kind, large or small. The "rock" of falling is pevtra ( petra ), which generally refers to firm, immovable bedrock or rock-mass, whether underground or protruding from the ground (such as a cliff).

"As it is written" is a common NT way of introducing material from the OT, which in this case is a composite of two passages from Isaiah. "See, I lay in Zion a stone" is from Isa 28:16; "a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" is from Isa 8:14; and the rest of the verse is from Isa 28:16 again. The way Paul combines them is an ingenious blending of the two texts. Isa 8:14 presents Yahweh as both a refuge (sanctuary) and a stone of judgment, with the emphasis being on the latter. Isa 28:16 concentrates on the stone as a place of refuge and safety. Paul simply combines the two and presents the one stone as the source of both judgment and promise.

One reason for saying v. 33 refers to Jesus is that, while in Isa 8:14 Yahweh himself is the stone, in Isa 28:16 Yahweh is the one who lays the stone. That the latter is a messianic prophecy is indicated by the fact that Matt 16:16-18 is clearly based on Isa 28:14-19. Christ's person and work as summed up in Peter's confession are the foundation stone on which the church is built, and all the forces of Hades (=Sheol in Isa 28:15, 18) cannot overpower it. Thus most scholars agree that the stone of stumbling in 9:32-33 is Jesus, especially in his role as the crucified Messiah (see 1 Cor 1:23).

But how can Paul apply both Isaiah texts to Jesus? In Isaiah 28:16, to be sure, the stone does appear to be the Messiah, but in 8:14 the stone is Yahweh himself. So how can they both refer to Jesus? The answer is simple: "Christ is God!" (Hendriksen, 2:335). The Messiah-Stone "is therefore Jehovah in His final manifestation" (Godet, 369; see Rom 10:9,13). This does not mean that God the Father and Jesus Christ are one and the same person; it means only that Yahweh in the OT revelation is the entire Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus is "a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." This does not mean that God wants anyone to stumble over him or that he intended the Jews to fall because of him (Lard, 319). Based on Paul's use of the Isaiah verses where Yahweh says that he is laying "in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble," Dunn draws the conclusion that "Israel's fall was intended by God" (2:584). But the stumbling is a result , not a purpose. The stone is intended as a refuge; but because he has been rejected, "what was meant to be a basis of security has become a stumbling block" (Fitzmyer, 580). We can agree with Moo, however, that "Israel's stumbling over Christ was predicted in the OT" (630).

In what sense does anyone stumble or fall over Jesus? The verb for "stumble" (v. 32) is proskovptw (proskoptô ); it means literally "to strike or bump against, to stumble against or over"; figuratively it means "to give offense, to take offense at, to reject." The noun, provskomma ( proskomma ), is used in this verse. It can refer to the object over which someone stumbles, but here refers to the act of stumbling as such. The word for "fall" is the noun skavndalon ( skandalon ), which can be defined as "that which gives offense or causes revulsion, that which arouses opposition" (AG, 760). This definition does not capture the entire meaning, though. In the LXX the word often means "cause of ruin," and is often used in the sense of a snare or trap or temptation, i.e., a cause for sin and punishment. In Paul the gospel about Jesus is a skandalon in a similar sense; it is an "occasion of guilt" and a "cause of destruction" (Stählin, "skavndalon ," 342, 353). Thus a skandalon is something which one opposes or to which one takes offense only to his ruin and destruction. In this light it is easy to see how Jesus is a stumbling stone. Those who oppose him or who take offense at the gospel of the cross fall into eternal ruin and death. This is what happened to the Jews (1 Cor 1:23), and it can happen to anyone else.

But this is not the whole story. God lays in Zion a stone; some fall over him, but "the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." This part of v. 33 is based on Isa 28:16b, where the Hebrew verb in the latter clause seems to be "will not be in haste," or "will not be in a hurry" (NASB margin). Other interpretations of the word are "will not panic" (NRSV), "will not fuss and rush around but trust in God" (Bruce, 200), will not be "fleeing away in confusion" (MP, 416). The passive verb used by Paul means "to be disgraced, to be put to shame," and speaks more of the reason for such panic or hasty flight than the fleeing itself. The idea is that those who take refuge upon the Rock by trusting in him will never have to slink away in shame for having made a humiliating decision. As Bruce says, "Those who trust in God need never fear that their trust in Him will prove to be ill-founded. God vindicates His people's faith" (200). Those who do not believe will exist in "shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan 12:2).

In these three verses (31-33), then, Paul vindicates the faithfulness of God by declaring that Israel as a whole is responsible for its own lost condition. The essence of their failure was that they trusted in themselves rather than in God's promises and in their own Messiah; they pursued acceptance with God by works rather than by faith; they chose law rather than grace.

Such a path to perdition is not limited to the Jews, of course. Anyone living in the New Covenant era can respond to the New Covenant revelation in exactly the same way, i.e., by zealously pursuing its commands in an effort to win God's approval on the basis of such works. The fate of those who do so will be the same as Israel's.

McGarvey: Rom 9:17

For the scripture [Paul is still answering the question at verse 14 by Scripture citation] saith unto Pharaoh [We have had election choosing between Ishmael and Isaac, and Esau and Jacob: we now have it choosing between a third pair, Moses and Pharaoh. In the first case God blessed both Isaac, and Ishmael with promises (Gen 17:20 ; Gen 21:13 ; Gen 21:18 ; Gen 21:20); in the second case he blessed Jacob and withheld his promise from Esau; in the third case he granted favor to Moses, and meted out punishment to Pharaoh. Thus there is a marked progress in reprobation in the three non-elect characters, which is suggestive, since Israel was thrice given over to a reprobate mind, and each punishment was more intense. First, all were rejected in the wilderness, but all their children were permitted to enter the promised land-time, forty years; second, all were rejected at the carrying away into Babylon, and only a small body were permitted to return -- time, seventy years; third, the race as a race was rejected in Paul's day and only a remnant will, even at the end, be restored (Isa 10:22-23 ; Isa 1:9) -- time, about nineteen hundred years], For this very purpose did I raise thee up [caused thee to occupy a time and place which made thee conspicuous in sacred history], that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth . [For the publishing of God's name, see Exo 15:14-16 ; Jos 2:9-10 ; Jos 9:9 . The dispersion of the Jews and the spread of Christianity have kept God's name glorified in the history of Pharaoh to this day. Paul is still establishing by Scripture God's freedom of choice. He chose the unborn in preference to the born; he chose between unborn twins; he chose between the shepherd Moses and Pharaoh the king. In this last choice Moses was chosen as an object of mercy, and Pharaoh as a creature of wrath, but his latter choice in no way violates even man's sense of justice. Instead of raising up a weak and timid owner of the Hebrew slaves, God exalted Pharaoh, the stubborn, the fearless. And who would question God's right to do this? Having put Pharaoh in power, God so managed the contest with him that his stubbornness was fully developed and made manifest, and in overcoming his power and stubbornness through the weakness of Moses, God showed his power. The transaction is very complex. God starts by stating the determined nature of Pharaoh (Exo 3:19) and follows the statement with the thrice repeated promise, "I will harden his heart" (Exo 4:21 ; Exo 7:3 ; Exo 14:4 . Comp. Exo 14:17). Once Jehovah says, "I have hardened his heart" (Exo 10:1). Thrice it is said that his "heart was hardened as Jehovah had spoken" (Exo 7:13 ; Exo 8:19 ; Exo 9:35). Once it reads that his "heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken" (Exo 7:22). Five times we read that "Jehovah hardened" his heart (Exo 9:12; Exo 10:20 ; Exo 10:27 ; Exo 11:10 ; Exo 14:8). Thus thirteen times (with Exo 8:15 ; fourteen times) Pharaoh's hardness of heart is said to be the act of God. (Comp. Deu 2:30 ; Jos 11:20 ; Isa 63:17 ; Joh 12:40 ; Joh 9:39 ; Mar 4:12) Inexorably so? By no means: God would have gotten honor had he relented before matters reached extremes. Hence Pharaoh is called upon to repent (Exo 10:3), and several times he is near repenting, and might have done so had not God been too ready to show mercy (Exo 8:28 ; Exo 9:27 ; Exo 10:24). So there was sin in Pharaoh. We read that his "heart is stubborn" (Exo 7:14); "was stubborn" (Exo 9:7). "Pharaoh hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had spoken" (Exo 8:15). "Pharaoh hardened his heart" (Exo 8:32 ; 1Sa 6:6). "Pharaoh sinned yet more, and hardened his heart" (Exo 9:34). As the hardening was the joint work of Pharaoh and God, and as Pharaoh sinned in hardening his heart, God's part in the hardening was not an absolute, overmastering act. It was not even a persuasive act, as in cases of conversion. God hardened Pharaoh's heart by providing opportunity and occasion, as the narrative shows, and Pharaoh did the rest by improving the opportunity in the service of the devil. The same act of patience, forbearance and mercy which softens one heart, hardens another by delaying punishment, as we may see every day. The same sunshine that quickens the live seed, rots the dead one. The Jews approved God's course toward Pharaoh, but resented the same treatment when turned upon themselves, ignoring the natural law that like causes produce like effects. God found Pharaoh hard and used him for his glory negatively. He found Israel hard and made the same negative use of them, causing the gospel to succeed without them, thus provoking them to jealousy -- Rom 10:19]

McGarvey: Rom 9:18

So then [see Rom 9:16] he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. [This does not mean that God arbitrarily chooses the worst people upon whom to shower his mercies, and chooses those who are trying hard to serve him and hardens them that he may punish them. The point is that, in the absence of any promise or other self-imposed limitation. God is free to choose whom he will for what he will. As applicable to Paul's argument, it means that God's freedom of choice is not bound by man's judgment or estimation, for he may prefer the publican to the Pharisee (Luk 18:9-14) and may choose rather to be known as the friend of sinners than the companion of the rulers and chief priests, and he may elect the hedge-row Gentile to the exclusion of invited but indifferent Jews (Luk 14:23-24). God is bound by his nature to choose justly and righteously, but all history shows that man can not depend upon his sin-debased judgment when he attempts to specify what or whom God approves or rejects. Here we must be guided wholly by his word, and must also be prayerfully careful not to wrest it. In short, it is safer to say that God chooses absolutely, than to say that God chooses according to my judgment, for human judgment must rarely square with the divine mind. Had the Jew accepted Paul's proposition, he might centuries ago have seen the obvious fact that God has chosen the Gentiles and rejected him; but, persisting in his erroneous theory that God's judgment and choice must follow his own petty notions and whims, he is blind to that liberty of God's of which the apostle wrote, and naturally --

"For, Och! mankind are unco weak,

An' little to be trusted;

If self the wavering balance shake,

It's rarely right adjusted!"]

McGarvey: Rom 9:19

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? [That God actually and always does find fault with sinners is a fact never to be overlooked, and is also a fact which shows beyond all question or peradventure that God abhors evil and takes no positive steps toward its production. Even in the case cited by Paul, where God hardened Pharaoh's heart, the act of God was permissive, for else how could the Lord expostulate with Pharaoh for a rebellious spirit for which God himself was responsible? (Exo 9:17 ; Exo 10:3-4) Again, let us consider the case in point. If God hardened Israel by positive act, why did his representative and "express image" weep over Jerusalem? and why was the Book of Romans written?] For who withstandeth his will? [Since Paul is still justifying God in formulating a gospel which results in the condemnation of Jews and the saving of Gentiles, this objector is naturally either a Jew or some one speaking from the Jewish standpoint. This fact is made more apparent in the subsequent verses, for in them the apostle appropriately answers the Jew out of his Jewish Scriptures. The objection runs thus: But, Paul, if God shows mercy to whom he will, and if he hardens whom he will, then it is he who has hardened us Jews in unbelief against the gospel. Why, then, does he still find fault with us, since he himself, according to your argument, has excluded us from blessedness, and made us unfit for mercy? This reply implies three things: 1. God, not the Jew, was at fault. 2. The Jew was ill used of God, in being deprived of blessing through hardening. 3. The rewards of saints and sinners should be equal, since each did God's will absolutely in the several fields of good and evil where God had elected each to work. To each of these three implications the apostle replies with lightning-like brevity: 1. It is impious, O man, to so argue in self-justification as to compromise the good name of God. 2. It is folly for the thing formed to complain against him that formed it. 3. Rewards and destinies need not be equal, since, for instance, the potter out of the same lump forms vessels for different destinies, whether of honor or dishonor. But it must be borne in mind that in the last of these three brief answers the apostle aims rather, as Alford says, "at striking dumb the objector by a statement of God's indubitable right, against which it does not become us men to murmur, than at unfolding to us the actual state of the case." Let us now consider the three answers in detail.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:20

Nay but [One word in Greek,: viz., the particle menounge. "This particle is," says Hodge, "often used in replies, and is partly concessive and partly corrective, as in Luk 11:28 ; where it is rendered, yea, rather; in Rom 10:18 ; yes, verily. It may here, as elsewhere, have an ironical force. Sometimes it is strongly affirmative, as in Phi 3:8 , and at others introduces, as here, a strong negation or repudiation of what has been said." "I do not examine the intrinsic verity of what you allege, but, be that as it may, this much is certain, that you are not in a position to dispute with God" -- Godet], O man ["Man" stands at the beginner and "God" at the end of the clause to emphasize the contrast. Man, thou feeble morsel of sinful dust, wilt thou wrangle with God!], who art thou that repliest against God? ["That chattest and wordest it with him" (Trapp). "Repliest" signifies an answer to an answer. It suggests, to those familiar with legal parlance, the declaration and answer, the replication and rejoinder, the rebutter and surrebutter to the limits both of human impudence and divine patience. Before answering the objection, Paul, therefore, felt it necessary to rebuke the impious presumption of the objector. It is permissible to fathom and understand what God reveals about himself, but it is not allowable for us, out of our own sense of justice, arrogantly and confidently to fix and formulate what principles must guide God in his judging. To do this is to incur the censure meted out to Job (Job 38:41). "No man," says Haldane, "has a right to bring God to trial." Man's understanding is not adequate to such a task.] Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus? [In the Greek the form of the question indicates that a negative answer is expected. The question is not a quotation, but rather "an echo" of Isa 29:16 and Isa 45:9 . "Formed" implies, not creation, but subsequent ethical moulding. God does not create us evil, but we are born into a world which, if not resisted, will form us thus. This is the actual work of God in the case. If we find ourselves formed after the pattern of evil, can we, in the light of all that he has done in the gospel, censure God for our life-result? Being insensate, the wood can not quarrel with the carpenter, nor the iron with the smith. Being sensate, and knowing the grace of God, and his own free will, man also is silent, and can render no complaint. The free will of man is an offset to the insensibility of the wood and iron, and makes their cases equal, or, legally speaking, "on all fours." Inanimate material can not complain of malformation, for it lacks understanding of the facts; but man, having understanding, likewise can not complain, for the malformation was his own free choice. Speaking mathematically, the "free will" cancels the "lack of understanding," and leaves the animate and the inanimate equal, and therefore alike silent as to the results of the processes of moulding.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:21

Or [This word presents a dilemma, thus: Either the clay (thing formed) has no right to question, or the potter has no right to dictate. In the Greek the form of the question indicates the affirmative answer: "The potter has a right to dictate"] hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another [part of the lump a vessel] unto dishonor? [God is the potter, the human race is the clay, and the vessels are nations. Being under obligations to none, for all, having fallen into sin, had thereby forfeited his regard and care as Creator, God, for the good of all, made election that the Jewish nation should be a vessel of honor (Act 13:17) to hold the truth (2Co 4:7 ; Rom 3:1-2), the covenants and the progenital line through which came the Messiah. Later he chose the Egyptians as a vessel of dishonor, to be punished for their abuse of the covenant people, and the murder of their little ones. In Paul's day he was choosing Gentiles (Europeans) as vessels of honor to hold the knowledge of the gospel. This choosing and forming is to the prejudice of no man's salvation, for all are invited in matters pertaining to eternal life, and each temporal election is for the eternal benefit of all. Potter's clay and potter's vessels are used to indicate national weakness (Dan 2:41-44 ; Lam 4:2 ; Isa 41:25 ; Psa 2:9 ; Rev 2:26-27) and national dependence (Isa 64:8-12) and national punishment (Jer 19:1 ; Jer 10:13 ; Isa 30:14). It is a national figure (Ecc 3:10-12), yet it recognizes national free will (Jer 18:1-12). In the single instance where it is used individually, it is employed by Paul in a passage very similar to this, yet clearly recognizing the power of human vessels to change destinies by the exercise of free will (2Ti 2:20-21). But no individual vessel is one of honor till cleansed by blood (Heb 9:21-22 ; Act 9:15 ; Act 22:14-16), and who will say that a vessel cleansed in Christ's blood is one of dishonor? And we are cleansed or not according to our own free choice.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:22

What if [With these words Paul introduces his real answer to the question asked in verse 19. The full idea runs thus: "I have answered your impudent question by an assertion of the absolute right of God, which you can not deny (Pro 26:5 ; Psa 18:26). But what will you say if, etc." If the absolute abstract right of God puts man to silence, how much more must he be silent before the actual, applied mercy and grace of God which forbears to use the right because of his longsuffering pity toward the impenitent, and his forgiving leniency toward the repentant. Paul asserts the absolute right of God, but denies that he applies it. Herein he differs from Calvinism, which insists that he applies it] God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction [And now, O man, how silent must you be if it appears that God, although willing to show his displeasure against wickedness, and ready to show his power to crush its designs, nevertheless endured with much longsuffering evil men whose conduct had already fitted them for, or made them worthy of, destruction. Paul has already told us that the longsuffering of God is exercised to induce repentance, though its abuse may incidentally increase both wrath and punishment (Rom 2:4-11). It is not affirmed that God "fitted" these evil ones for destruction. "And," says Barnes, "there is an evident design in not affirming it, and a distinction made between them and the vessels of mercy which ought to be regarded. In relation to the latter it is expressly affirmed that God fitted or prepared them for glory. (See Rom 9:23) 'Which HE had afore prepared unto glory.' The same distinction is remarkably striking in the account of the last judgment in Mat 25:34-41 . To the righteous, Christ will say, 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for YOU,' etc. To the wicked, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS;' not said to have been originally prepared for them. It is clear, therefore, that God intends to keep the great truth in view, that he prepares his people by direct agency for heaven; but that he exerts no such agency in preparing the wicked for destruction." No potter, either divine or human, ever made vessels just to destroy them. But any potter, finding a vessel suited to a dishonorable use, may so use it, and may afterwards destroy it. How the Jews "fitted" themselves for destruction is told elsewhere by the apostle -- 1Th 2:15-16]:

McGarvey: Rom 9:23

and [A copula of thoughts, rather than of clauses: God spared the wicked because of longsuffering mercy to them, and because they could be used to aid him in making known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy. Without attempting to show that God's patience with the godless aids him to win the godly, we will let it suffice to say that God spares the wicked for the sake of the righteous, lest the hasty uprooting of the former might jeopardize the safety of the latter -- Mat 13:28-30] that [he showed longsuffering to the wicked, in order that] he might make known the riches of his glory [God's glory is his holiness, his perfection; "riches," as Bengel observes, "of goodness, grace, mercy, wisdom, omnipotence"] upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory [It is much disputed whether the "glory" here mentioned is the temporal honor of being a church militant, a covenant people, a temple of the Spirit (Eph 2:22), a new dispensation of grace supplanting that of the law (glories won by the Gentiles, and lost by the Jews), or whether it refers to the glory of the land celestial, and the bliss of heaven. The context favors the latter view, for "glory" is the antithesis of "destruction" in the parallel clause, and destruction can refer to nothing temporal. By comparing the two parallel clauses, Gifford deduces the following: "We see (1) that St. Paul is here speaking, not of election or predestination, but of an actual preparation and purgation undergone by vessels of mercy to fit them for glory, before God 'makes known the riches of his glory upon them.' Compare 2Ti 2:20-21 ; a passage which evidently looks back on this. (2) We observe that this preparation, unlike that by which 'vessels of wrath' are 'fitted for destruction,' is ascribed directly and exclusively to God as its author, being wholly brought about by his providence and prevenient grace. The idea of fitness, akin to that of desert, is ascribed only to the vessels of wrath. The vessels of mercy God has made ready for glory, but there is no idea of merit involved"],

McGarvey: Rom 9:24

even us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? [The apostle ends his question with a clear specification of who the vessels of mercy are. They are those called impartially from both Jews and Gentiles. "In calling to salvation," says Lard, "God is equally merciful to all. He sends to all the same Christ, the same gospel; on them he spends the same influences, and to them presents the same incentives to duty. But beyond this he strictly discriminates in bestowing mercy. He bestows it on those only that obey his Son. On the rest he will one day pour out his wrath." We may add, that toward those who accept his call he is equally impartial in preparing for glory, giving them the same remission of sins, the same gift of the Holy Spirit, the same promises, etc. But the impartiality which the apostle emphasizes is that which gave no preference to the Jew.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:25

As he saith also in Hosea [Paul does not seek to prove his question about God's grace to the wicked which he exercises instead of his right to immediate punishment -- that needs no proof. That God wishes to save all, and hath no pleasure in the damnation of any, has always been Scripturally plain. What he now seeks to prove is his last assertion about impartiality. He has shown out of the Scriptures that God has elected between the apparently elect; he now wishes to also show, out of the same Scriptures, that he has elected the apparently non-elect -- viz., the Gentiles -- and that the apparently elect, or Jews, are all to be rejected save a remnant. The first quotation is a compilation of Hos 2:23 and Rom 1:10 . The translation is from the Hebrew, modified by the LXX., and by Paul, but not so as to affect the meaning. It reads thus:], I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved .

McGarvey: Rom 9:26

And it shall be [shall come to pass], that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, There shall they be called sons of the living God . [These verses originally apply to the to-be-returned-and-reinstated ten tribes, after the devastation and deportation inflicted by the Assyrians. To illustrate the stages in the rejection of Israel, Hosea was to take a wife and name his daughter by her Lo-ruhamah, which means, "that hath not obtained mercy" (1Pe 2:10), which Paul translates "not beloved"; and the son by her he was to name Lo-ammi; i. e., "not my people." This symbolic action is followed by the prophecy (not yet fulfilled) that the day should come when "Lo-ruhamah" would be changed to "Ruhamah," "that which hath obtained mercy" or "beloved"; and "Lo-ammi" would be changed to "Ammi," "my people." Some expositors have been at a loss to see how Paul could find in this prophecy concerning Israel a prediction relating to the call of the Gentiles. But the prophecy and the facts should make the matter plain. By calling them "not my people," God, through Hosea, reduced the ten tribes to the status of Gentiles, who were likewise rejected and cast off. Paul therefore reasons that if the restoration of the ten tribes would be the same as calling the Gentiles, the prophecy indicates the call of Gentiles. All this is borne out by the facts in the case. The "lost tribes" are to-day so completely Gentile, that, without special revelation from God, their call must be the same as calling Gentiles. The word "place" (Rom 9:26) is significant. The land of the Gentiles, where the ten tribes are dispersed and rejected, and are become as Gentiles, is to be the place of their reinstatement and acceptance, and this acceptance shall resound among the Gentiles. This publishing on the part of the Gentiles is a strong indication of their interest, hence of their like conversion. Having shown by Hosea that the "no-people" or non-elect Gentiles are clearly marked in Scripture, as called and chosen, Paul now turns to Isaiah to show that of the elect, or Jewish people, only a remnant shall be saved. And this fact is the source of that grief which Paul mentions at the beginning of the chapter.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:27

And Isaiah crieth [in deep feeling, excessive passion -- Joh 1:15 ; Joh 7:28 ; Joh 7:37 ; Joh 12:44 ; Mat 27:46] concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea [thus Isaiah minishes the promise given to Abraham (Gen 22:17) and quoted by Hosea -- Hos 1:10], it is the remnant that shall be saved :

McGarvey: Rom 9:28

for the Lord will execute his word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short . [Isa 10:22-23 . This prophecy, like that of Hosea, refers to the return of the ten tribes in the latter days, and is therefore an unfulfilled prophecy, save as it had a preliminary and minor literal fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem, a few years after Paul wrote this Epistle, which was the climax of rejection for the generation to which Paul wrote, and the full establishment of that age-long rejection of the majority which pertains unto this day. Daniel, dealing with its spiritual fulfillment, foretold that the labors of the Christ "confirming the covenant" with Israel would only last a week -- a jubilee week having in it eight years, or from A. D. 26 to A. D. 34 (Dan 9:27). How small the remnant gathered then! In the centuries since how small the ingathering! And, alas! now that we have come to the "latter days" and the last gathering, and the final literal and spiritual fulfillment of the prophecy, it gives us assurance of no more than a mere remnant still! Rom 9:28 ; as given in full by Isaiah, is thus happily paraphrased by Riddle, "He (the Lord) is finishing and cutting short the word (making it a fact by rapid accomplishment) in righteousness, for a cut-short word (one rapidly accomplished) will the Lord make (execute, render actual) upon the earth." When we consider that the Lord reckons a thousand years as but a day, how short was the spiritual privilege of the eight years exclusive ministry of Jesus and his apostles! and how brief was the forty years' (A. D. 30-70) temporal privilege between the crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem! Isaiah's word shows us that the final fulfillment will be also a brief season, a cut-short word, doubtless a repetition of Daniel's week.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:29

And, as Isaiah hath said before [This may mean, Isaiah has said this before me, so that I need not prophesy myself, but may appropriate his word, or, as earlier expositors (Erasmus, Calvin, Grotius, etc.) render it, Isaiah spoke the words which I am about to quote earlier than those which I have already quoted, the latter being Isa 10:22-23 ; and the former being at Isa 1:9 . Since the apostle is proving his case by the Scripture and not resting it upon his own authority, the former reading seems out of place. It would be somewhat trite in Paul to state that Isaiah wrote before him! It is objected that the latter rendering states an unimportant fact. What difference can it make which saying came first or last? But it is not so much the order as the repetition of the saving that the apostle has in mind. Isaiah did not see some moment of national disaster in a single vision, and so cry out. He saw this destruction of all save a remnant in the very first vision of his book, and it is the oft-repeated burden and refrain of a large portion of his prophecies], Except the Lord of Sabaoth [Hebrew for "hosts"] had left us a seed [for replanting], We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah . [Like "cities of which now," as Chalmers observes, "no vestige is found, and of whose people the descendants are altogether lost in the history or our species." (Comp. Jer 50:40) In contrast with these, the Jews, though few in number, have ever been found in the kingdom of God. Since the section just finished is the stronghold of Calvinism, we should not leave it without noting that Simon Peter warns us not to put false construction upon it. He says: "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things" (a new heaven and a new earth), "give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his [God's] sight, and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from you" own stedfastness" (2Pe 3:14-17). Now, Paul uses the word "longsuffering" ten times. Seven times he speaks of the longsuffering of men. Once he speaks of the longsuffering of Christ extended to him personally and individually as chief of sinners. Twice (Rom 2:4-11 ; Rom 9:19-29) he fills the measure of Peter's statement, and writes that men should "account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation." As the first of these passages (Rom 2:4-11) has never been in dispute, it follows either that all have wrested it, or that none have wrested it, so that in either case its history does not comply with Peter's description. The passage before us, then, is the one which the ignorant and unsteadfast have wrested, and that so seriously that it has compassed their destruction. In further support of this identification, note (1) that this passage was, as we have seen, addressed to the Jews, and it therefore answers to the "wrote unto you" of Peter's letter, which was also addressed to Jews; (2) while "the longsuffering of God," etc., is not prominent in all Paul's Epistles, as we have just shown, the doctrine of election, which is the stumbling-block here, is a common topic with the apostle. Since, then, Peter warns us against wresting this section, let us see who wrests it. According to Peter, it is those who get a soul-destroying doctrine out of it, and such is Calvinism. It is those who derive from it a doctrine which palsies their effort, so that, believing themselves impelled by inexorable will and sovereign, immutable decree, they hold they can do nothing either to please or displease God, and therefore cease to "give diligence that they may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight," and cease to "account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation," and thus, "being carried away with the error of the wicked" that human effort is of no avail, they cease to make any, and so "fall from their own stedfastness." Surely with so plain a warning from so trustworthy a source we are foolish indeed if we wrest this Scripture so as to make it contradict the doctrines of human free will and responsibility so plainly taught in other Scriptures.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:30

What shall we say then? ["Shall we raise objection, as at verse 14, or shall we at last rest in a correct conclusion? Let us, from the Scriptures and facts adduced, reach a sound conclusion." Paul's conclusion, briefly stated, is this: God's sovereign will has elected that men shall be saved by belief in his Son. The Gentiles (apparently least apt and prepared) have, as a class, yielded to God's will, and are being saved. The Jews (apparently most apt and prepared) have, as a class, resisted God's will, and are being lost.] That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith [The righteousness which the apostle has in mind is that which leads to justification before God. Righteousness is the means, justification the end, so that the word as here used includes the idea of justification. Now, the Gentiles were not without desire for moral righteousness. The Greeks entertained lofty ideals of it, and the Romans, following the legalistic bent of their nature, plodded after it in their systems of law and government; but as Gentiles they had no knowledge of a God calling them to strict account in a final judgment, and demanding full justification. Hence they were not seeking it. But when the revelation of God and his demand for justification, and his graciously provided means for obtaining it, all burst upon their spiritual vision, they at once accepted the revelation in its entirety; being conscious that they had no righteousness of their own; being, indeed, filled with its opposite (Rom 1:18 ; Eph 2:2-3). "Faith," the leading and initiatory part of the conditions of justification, is, by a form of synecdoche, employed to designate the whole of the conditions, so Bloomfield justly observes: "Faith in Christ implies a full acceptance of his gospel, and an obedience to all its requisitions, whether of belief or practice"]:

McGarvey: Rom 9:31

but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law . [Israel was not seeking justification. Their search was rather for a law that would produce in them a righteousness meriting justification. This craving arose from a proud, self-sufficient spirit, and God answered it by giving the law of Moses, for the express purpose of revealing their universal sinful weakness and insufficiency (Act 15:10 ; Gal 2:16), and need of a Saviour (Rom 7:24-25); wherefore Paul describes the law as "our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal 3:24). Realizing the impossible task of attaining justifying righteousness by the law of Moses, the Jew began adulterating that law by traditions; but even the law thus modified gave small delusive hope, and the cry was still, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luk 10:25 ; Luk 18:18). But to this solemn and awful question there were but two answers: (1) Keep the law of Moses (Mat 19:17 ; Rom 10:5 ; Gal 3:12), and when the Jew answered, "I can not," then (2) the "Follow me" of Christ (Mat 19:21). Since no man could keep the law of Moses, all men were and are shut in by God to the one law of salvation through faith in Christ. No wonder, then, that the Jew, seeking relief by Moses, or by a third law, failed to find any law that satisfied his soul or operated with God. Godet calls this success of the uninterested Gentile, and failure of the Jew who made the search of righteousness his daily business, "the most poignant irony in the whole of history"; yet the cases of the two parties are not wholly antithetical, as Paul clearly shows, by the use of the word "righteousness" instead of "justification." If both parties had sought justification, the Jew would have no doubt been the first to find it. But the object of the Jewish search was a law which would give life, yet preserve his pride and self-conceit, and his search was therefore for an impossibility. The Master himself discloses the difference in heart between the Jew and the Gentile in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luk 18:9-14). The humble spirit of the Gentile accepted righteousness as the gift of the humble Christ, but the proud Jew could not so demean himself as to place himself under obligations so lofty to One so lowly. Let us note that the words "follow after" and "attain" are agonistic; that is to say, they are technical words describing the running after the prize, and the grasping of it, as used in the Olympic games. Their presence here at the end of the argument shows that the "willeth" and "runneth" of Rom 9:16 also have the agonistic force which we gave to them in interpreting that verse. Paul's conclusion explains the willing and running. It is folly to will and run contrary to the law and will of Him who, as supreme Sovereign, has laid down the immutable rules of the great race or game of life. The prize is the free gift of the King: there is no merit in running that can win it, when the running is random and contrary to rule, as the Jews suppose. There is no merit in running that can give a legal right to it, even when the running is according to rule, but there is in him who runs a moral fitness and aptness for the prize which makes it his, according to the will of him who called him to so run for it.]

McGarvey: Rom 9:32

Wherefore? [Why, then, did the Jews fail to find any law of life? Answer: Because there is but one such law, and they sought another.] Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works . [In interpreting, we have contrasted the law of works with what we have called "the law of faith," but the apostle does not use this latter term: with him life it attained by "faith," though he treats it as a working principle in that he contrasts it with the other active principle, or law of works. In this verse, however, he drops the abstract altogether, and places the concrete "faith" and "works" in vivid opposition. It is not so much a question of law against law, and principle against principle; it is one of faith which appropriates the perfect righteousness of Christ, and of Jewish works which, scorning the garment of the purity of God, revealed in his Son, still clings to the filthy rags of self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, Phariseeism, etc. -- Phi 3:4-14] They stumbled at the stone of stumbling [The language here still follows the metaphor of the race-course. The Jew, running with his eye on an imaginary, non-existing, phantom goal, and blind as to the real goal, stumbles over it and falls. The picture presented by the apostle suggests the sad truth that the Jew has run far enough and fast enough to win, but, as he has rejected the terms and rules of the race, his efforts are not counted by the Lord of the race. Christ was placed of God as a goal, and not as a stumbling-block; as a Saviour, not as a source of condemnation; but he is indeed either man's salvation or his ruin -- Mat 21:42-45];

McGarvey: Rom 9:33

even as it is written [The passage about to be quoted is a compound of the Hebrew at Isa 8:14 and the LXX. at Isa 28:16 . The first reads thus, "But he shall be . . . for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel," and the second, "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation . . . he that believeth shall not be in haste." The reader can see how the apostle, for brevity, has blended them; quoting only such part of each as suited his purpose], Behold, I lay in Zion [Jerusalem, the capital city of my people] a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame . [Why the LXX. substituted "not be put to shame," for "not be in haste," is not clear, though the meaning of the latter phrase is near kin to the former, conveying the idea of fleeing away in confusion. Shame, however, is a very appropriate word here, for it was the chief cause of Christ's rejection by the Jews: they were ashamed of him (Mar 8:38 ; Luk 9:26 ; Rom 1:16 ; 2Ti 1:8). The apostle is justified by New Testament authority in regarding both these Scriptures as Messianic prophecies (1Pe 2:6-8 ; Mat 21:42 ; Act 4:11 . Comp. Psa 118:22 ; 1Co 3:11 ; Eph 2:20); but it adds greatly to the weight of his argument to know that the Jews also conceded them to be such. "Neither of these passages," says Olshausen, "relates to the Messiah in its immediate connection, but they had been typically applied to him as early as the Chaldean and Rabbinical paraphrases, and Paul with propriety so applies them. The Old Testament is one great prophecy of Christ." And Tholuck says: "Jarchi and Kimchi also testify that it (Isa 28:16) was explained of the Messias." And our Lord was a stone of stumbling! As Moule exclaims: "Was ever prophecy more profoundly verified in event?" If he spake plainly, they were offended; and if he spake in parables, they were equally angered. If he healed, they took offense; and if he forbore healing, and refused to give a sign, they were likewise dissatisfied. If he came to the feast, they sought his life; and if he stayed away, they were busy searching for him. Nothing that he did pleased them, nothing that he forbore to do won him any favor. His whole ministry developed an ever-increasing distaste for his person, and animosity toward his claims. As a final word on this great chapter, let us note that God's foreordination rejected the Jew by presenting a gospel which appealed to sinners, and was offensive to that worst class of sinners, the self-righteous. God sent his Son as Physician to the sick, and those who supposed themselves well, died of their maladies according to a reasonable, rational and equitable plan -- but also a foreordained plan. This conclusion of the ninth chapter will be fully discussed in the tenth.]

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Rom 9:17

ROMANS 9:17 —How can Pharaoh be free if God hardened his heart?

PROBLEM: God said to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth” ( Rom. 9:17 , NASB ). In fulfillment of this, it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart ( Ex. 4:21 ; cf. Ex. 7:3 ). But if God raised up Pharaoh and even hardened his heart to accomplish His divine purposes, then isn’t Pharaoh exempt from responsibility for his actions?

SOLUTION: First, God in His omniscience foreknew exactly how Pharaoh would respond, and He used it to accomplish His purposes. God ordained the means of Pharaoh’s free but stubborn action as well as the end of Israel’s deliverance. In Exodus 3:19 , God told Moses, “But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.” Pharaoh rejected the request of Moses and only after ten plagues did Pharaoh finally let the people go.

Second, it is important to note that Pharaoh first hardened his own heart. When Moses initially approached Pharaoh concerning the release of the Israelites ( Ex. 5:1 ), Pharaoh responded, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go” ( Ex. 5:2 ). The passage Paul quotes (in Rom. 9:17 ) is Exodus 9:16 which, in context, is the plague of the boils, the sixth plague. But Pharaoh hardened his own heart before God made this statement. Just because God raised up Pharaoh does not mean that Pharaoh is not responsible for his actions.

Third, God uses the unrighteousness of humans to show His glory. God still holds Pharaoh accountable, but in the process of his hardened heart God used Pharaoh to display His greatness and glory. God sometimes uses evil acts to bring about good results. The story of Joseph is a good example of this point. Joseph is sold by his brothers and later becomes a ruler in Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph saves many lives during a famine. When he later reveals himself to his brothers and forgives them, he says, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” ( Gen. 50:20 ). God can use bad actions to bring about His glory (see also discussion on Ex. 4:21 ).   

Evidence: Rom 9:32

For those who are trusting in good works, see Eph 2:8-9 and Tit 3:5 .

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Romans (Book Introduction)

The Epistle to the Romans

Spring of a.d. 57

By Way of Introduction

Integrity of the Epistle

The genuineness of the Epistle is so generally admitted by scholars that it is unnecessary to prove it here, for Loman, Steck, and the Dutch scholars (Van Manen, etc.) who deny it as Pauline are no longer taken seriously. He wrote it from Corinth because he sent it to Rome by Phoebe of Cenchreae (Rom_16:2) if chapter 16 is acknowledged to be a part of the Epistle. Chapter 16 is held by some to be really a short epistle to Ephesus because of the long list of names in it, because of Paul’s long stay in Ephesus, because he had not yet been to Rome, and because, in particular, Aquila and Priscilla are named (Rom_16:3-5) who had been with Paul in Ephesus. But they had come from Rome before going to Corinth and there is no reason for thinking that they did not return to Rome. It was quite possible for Paul to have many friends in Rome whom he had met elsewhere. People naturally drifted to Rome from all over the empire. The old MSS. (Aleph A B C D) give chapter 16 as an integral part of the Epistle. Marcion rejected it and chapter 15 also for reasons of his own. Renan’s theory that Romans was a circular letter like Ephesians sent in different forms to different churches (Rome, Ephesus, Thessalonica, etc.) has appealed to some scholars as explaining the several doxologies in the Epistle, but they cause no real difficulty since Paul interjected them in his other epistles according to his moods (2Co_1:20, for instance). That theory raises more problems than it solves as, for example, Paul’s remarks about going to Rome (Rom_1:9-16) which apply to Rome. Lightfoot suggests the possibility that Paul added Rom_16:25-27 some years after the original date so as to turn it into a circular letter. But the MSS. do not support that theory and that leaves Rom_15:22-33 in the Epistle quite unsuitable to a circular letter. Modern knowledge leaves the Epistle intact with occasional variations in the MSS. on particular points as is true of all the N.T.

The Time and Place

The place is settled if we accept Rom_16:1. The time of the year is in the spring if we combine statements in the Acts and the Epistle. He says: " I am now going to Jerusalem ministering to the saints" (Rom_15:25). In Act_20:3 we read that Paul spent three months in Corinth. In II Corinthians we have a full account of the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. The account of the journey from Corinth to Jerusalem is given in Acts 20:3-21:17. It was in the spring between passover at Philippi (Act_20:6) and pentecost in Jerusalem (Act_20:16; Act_21:17). The precise year is not quite so certain, but we may suggest a.d. 57 or 58 with reasonable confidence.

The Purpose

Paul tells this himself. He had long cherished a desire to come to Rome (Act_19:21) and had often made his plans to do so (Rom_1:13) which were interrupted (Rom_15:22), but now he definitely plans to go from Jerusalem, after taking the contribution there (Rom_15:26), to Rome and then on to Spain (Rom_15:24, Rom_15:28). Meanwhile he sends this Epistle that the Romans may know what Paul’s gospel really is (Rom_1:15; Rom_2:16). He is full of the issues raised by the Judaizing controversy as set forth in the Epistles to Corinth and to Galatia. So in a calmer mood and more at length he presents his conception of the Righteousness demanded by God (Rom_1:17) of both Gentile (Rom_1:18-32) and Jew (Romans 2:1-3:20) and only to be obtained by faith in Christ who by his atoning death (justification) has made it possible (Romans 3:21-5:21). This new life of faith in Christ should lead to holiness of life (sanctification, chapters Romans 6-8). This is Paul’s gospel and the remaining chapters deal with corollaries growing out of the doctrine of grace as applied to practical matters. It is a cause for gratitude that Paul did write out so full a statement of his message. He had a message for the whole world and was anxious to win the Roman Empire to Christ. It was important that he go to Rome for it was the centre of the world’s life. Nowhere does Paul’s Christian statesmanship show to better advantage than in this greatest of his Epistles. It is not a book of formal theology though Paul is the greatest of theologians. Here Paul is seen in the plenitude of his powers with all the wealth of his knowledge of Christ and his rich experience in mission work. The church in Rome is plainly composed of both Jews and Greeks, though who started the work there we have no way of knowing. Paul’s ambition was to preach where no one else had been (Rom_15:20), but he has no hesitation in going on to Rome.

JFB: Romans (Book Introduction)

THE GENUINENESS of the Epistle to the Romans has never been questioned. It has the unbroken testimony of all antiquity, up to CLEMENT OF ROME, the apostle's "fellow laborer in the Gospel, whose name was in the Book of Life" (Phi 4:3), and who quotes from it in his undoubted Epistle to the Corinthians, written before the close of the first century. The most searching investigations of modern criticism have left it untouched.

WHEN and WHERE this Epistle was written we have the means of determining with great precision, from the Epistle itself compared with the Acts of the Apostles. Up to the date of it the apostle had never been at Rome (Rom 1:11, Rom 1:13, Rom 1:15). He was then on the eve of visiting Jerusalem with a pecuniary contribution for its Christian poor from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, after which his purpose was to pay a visit to Rome on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-28). Now this contribution we know that he carried with him from Corinth, at the close of his third visit to that city, which lasted three months (Act 20:2-3; Act 24:17). On this occasion there accompanied him from Corinth certain persons whose names are given by the historian of the Acts (Act 20:4), and four of these are expressly mentioned in our Epistle as being with the apostle when he wrote it--Timotheus, Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus (Rom 16:21, Rom 16:23). Of these four, the third, Gaius, was an inhabitant of Corinth (1Co 1:14), and the fourth, Erastus, was "chamberlain of the city" (Rom 16:23), which can hardly be supposed to be other than Corinth. Finally, Phœbebe, the bearer, as appears, of this Epistle, was a deaconess of the Church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth (Rom 16:1). Putting these facts together, it is impossible to resist the conviction, in which all critics agree, that Corinth was the place from which the Epistle was written, and that it was despatched about the close of the visit above mentioned, probably in the early spring of the year 58.FOUNDER of this celebrated church is unknown. That it owed its origin to the apostle Peter, and that he was its first bishop, though an ancient tradition and taught in the Church of Rome as a fact not to be doubted, is refuted by the clearest evidence, and is given up even by candid Romanists. On that supposition, how are we to account for so important a circumstance being passed by in silence by the historian of the Acts, not only in the narrative of Peter's labors, but in that of Paul's approach to the metropolis, of the deputations of Roman "brethren" that came as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns to meet him, and of his two years' labors there (Act 28:15, Act 28:30)? And how, consistently with his declared principle--not to build on another man's foundation (Rom 15:20) --could he express his anxious desire to come to them that he might have some fruit among them also, even as among other Gentiles (Rom 1:13), if all the while he knew that they had the apostle of the circumcision for their spiritual father? And how, if so, is there no salutation to Peter among the many in this Epistle? or, if it may be thought that he was known to be elsewhere at that particular time, how does there occur in all the Epistles which our apostle afterwards wrote from Rome not one allusion to such an origin of the church at Rome? The same considerations would seem to prove that this church owed its origin to no prominent Christian laborer; and this brings us to the much-litigated question.

For WHAT CLASS of Christians was this Epistle principally designed--Jewish or Gentile? That a large number of Jews and Jewish proselytes resided at this time at Rome is known to all who are familiar with the classical and Jewish writers of that and the immediately subsequent periods; and that those of them who were at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Act 2:10), and formed probably part of the three thousand converts of that day, would on their return to Rome carry the glad tidings with them, there can be no doubt. Nor are indications wanting that some of those embraced in the salutations of this Epistle were Christians already of long standing, if not among the earliest converts to the Christian faith. Others of them who had made the apostle's acquaintance elsewhere, and who, if not indebted to him for their first knowledge of Christ, probably owed much to his ministrations, seemed to have charged themselves with the duty of cherishing and consolidating the work of the Lord in the capital. And thus it is not improbable that up to the time of the apostle's arrival the Christian community at Rome had been dependent upon subordinate agency for the increase of its numbers, aided by occasional visits of stated preachers from the provinces; and perhaps it may be gathered from the salutations of the last chapter that it was up to that time in a less organized, though far from less flourishing state, than some other churches to whom the apostle had already addressed Epistles. Certain it is, that the apostle writes to them expressly as a Gentile Church (Rom 1:13, Rom 1:15; Rom 15:15-16); and though it is plain that there were Jewish Christians among them, and the whole argument presupposes an intimate acquaintance on the part of his readers with the leading principles of the Old Testament, this will be sufficiently explained by supposing that the bulk of them, having before they knew the Lord been Gentile proselytes to the Jewish faith, had entered the pale of the Christian Church through the gate of the ancient economy.

It remains only to speak briefly of the PLAN and CHARACTER Of this Epistle. Of all the undoubted Epistles of our apostle, this is the most elaborate, and at the same time the most glowing. It has just as much in common with a theological treatise as is consistent with the freedom and warmth of a real letter. Referring to the headings which we have prefixed to its successive sections, as best exhibiting the progress of the argument and the connection of its points, we here merely note that its first great topic is what may be termed the legal relation of man to God as a violator of His holy law, whether as merely written on the heart, as in the case of the heathen, or, as in the case of the Chosen People, as further known by external revelation; that it next treats of that legal relation as wholly reversed through believing connection with the Lord Jesus Christ; and that its third and last great topic is the new life which accompanies this change of relation, embracing at once a blessedness and a consecration to God which, rudimentally complete already, will open, in the future world, into the bliss of immediate and stainless fellowship with God. The bearing of these wonderful truths upon the condition and destiny of the Chosen People, to which the apostle next comes, though it seem but the practical application of them to his kinsmen according to the flesh, is in some respects the deepest and most difficult part of the whole Epistle, carrying us directly to the eternal springs of Grace to the guilty in the sovereign love and inscrutable purposes of God; after which, however, we are brought back to the historical platform of the visible Church, in the calling of the Gentiles, the preservation of a faithful Israelitish remnant amidst the general unbelief and fall of the nation, and the ultimate recovery of all Israel to constitute, with the Gentiles in the latter day, one catholic Church of God upon earth. The remainder of the Epistle is devoted to sundry practical topics, winding up with salutations and outpourings of heart delightfully suggestive.

JFB: Romans (Outline)

• INTRODUCTION. (Rom. 1:1-17)
• THE JEW UNDER LIKE CONDEMNATION WITH THE GENTILE. (Rom. 2:1-29)
• JEWISH OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. (Rom 3:1-8)
• THAT THE JEW IS SHUT UP UNDER LIKE CONDEMNATION WITH THE GENTILE IS PROVED BY HIS OWN SCRIPTURE. (Rom 3:9-20)
• GOD'S JUSTIFYING RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, ALIKE ADAPTED TO OUR NECESSITIES AND WORTHY OF HIMSELF. (Rom 3:21-26)
• INFERENCES FROM THE FOREGOING DOCTRINES AND AN OBJECTION ANSWERED. (Rom 3:27-31)
• THE FOREGOING DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ILLUSTRATED FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. (Rom. 4:1-25)
• THE BLESSED EFFECTS OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. (Rom 5:1-11)
• COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN ADAM AND CHRIST IN THEIR RELATION TO THE HUMAN FAMILY. (Rom 5:12-21)
• THE BEARING OF JUSTIFICATION BY GRACE UPON A HOLY LIFE. (Rom 6:1-11)
• WHAT PRACTICAL USE BELIEVERS SHOULD MAKE OF THEIR DEATH TO SIN AND LIFE TO GOD THROUGH UNION TO THE CRUCIFIED SAVIOUR. (Rom 6:12-23)
• SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. (Rom. 7:1-25)
• CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE ARGUMENT--THE GLORIOUS COMPLETENESS OF THEM THAT ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. (Rom. 8:1-39)
• THE BEARING OF THE FOREGOING TRUTHS UPON THE CONDITION AND DESTINY OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE--ELECTION--THE CALLING OF THE GENTILES. (Rom. 9:1-33)
• SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--HOW ISRAEL CAME TO MISS SALVATION, AND THE GENTILES TO FIND IT. (Rom. 10:1-21)
• SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED--THE ULTIMATE INBRINGING OF ALL ISRAEL, TO BE, WITH THE GENTILES, ONE KINGDOM OF GOD ON THE EARTH. (Rom. 11:1-36)
• DUTIES OF BELIEVERS, GENERAL AND PARTICULAR. (Rom. 12:1-21)
• SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--POLITICAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS--MOTIVES. (Rom 13:1-14)
• SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED--CHRISTIAN FORBEARANCE. (Rom. 14:1-23)
• SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED. (Rom 15:1-13)
• CONCLUSION: IN WHICH THE APOSTLE APOLOGIZES FOR THUS WRITING TO THE ROMAN CHRISTIANS, EXPLAINS WHY HE HAD NOT YET VISITED THEM, ANNOUNCES HIS FUTURE PLANS, AND ASKS THEIR PRAYERS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THEM. (Rom. 15:14-33)
• CONCLUSION, EMBRACING SUNDRY SALUTATIONS AND DIRECTIONS, AND A CLOSING PRAYER. (Rom. 16:1-27)
• WHY THIS DIVINELY PROVIDED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NEEDED BY ALL MEN. (Rom 1:18)
• THIS WRATH OF GOD, REVEALED AGAINST ALL INIQUITY, OVERHANGS THE WHOLE HEATHEN WORLD. (Rom 1:18-32)

TSK: Romans (Book Introduction)

The Epistle to the Romans is " a writing," says Dr. Macknight, " which, for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and strength of expression, for regularity in its structure, but above all, for the unspeakable importance of the discoveries which it contains, stands unrivalled by any mere human composition, and as far exceeds the most celebrated productions of the learned Greeks and Romans, as the shining of the sun exceeds the twinkling of the stars." " The plan of it is very extensive; and it is surprising to see what a spacious field of knowledge is comprised, and how many various designs, arguments, explications, instructions, and exhortations, are executed in so small a compass....The whole Epistle is to be taken in connection, or considered as one continued discourse; and the sense of every part must be taken from the drift of the whole. Every sentence, or verse, is not to be regarded as a distinct mathematical proposition, or theorem, or as a sentence in the book of Proverbs, whose sense is absolute, and independent of what goes before, or comes after, but we must remember, that every sentence, especially in the argumentative part, bears relation to, and is dependent upon, the whole discourse, and cannot be rightly understood unless we understand the scope and drift of the whole; and therefore, the whole Epistle, or at least the eleven first chapters of it, ought to be read over at once, without stopping. As to the use and excellency of this Epistle, I shall leave it to speak for itself, when the reader has studied and well digested its contents....This Epistle will not be difficult to understand, if our minds are unprejudiced, and at liberty to attend to the subject, and to the current scriptural sense of the words used. Great care is taken to guard and explain every part of the subject; no part of it is left unexplained or unguarded. Sometimes notes are written upon a sentence, liable to exception and wanting explanation, as Rom 2:12-16. Here Rom 2:13 and Rom 2:15 are a comment upon the former part of it. Sometimes are found comments upon a single word; as Rom 10:11-13. Rom 10:12 and Rom 10:13 are a comment upon πας [Strong’s 3956]

TSK: Romans 9 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Rom 9:1, Paul is sorry for the Jews; Rom 9:7, All of Abraham not of the promise; Rom 9:18, God’s sovereignty; Rom 9:25, The calling of the Gentiles and rejecting of the Jews, foretold; Rom 9:32, The cause of the Jews’ stumbling.

Poole: Romans 9 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 9

MHCC: Romans (Book Introduction)

The scope or design of the apostle in writing to the Romans appears to have been, to answer the unbelieving, and to teach the believing Jew; to confirm the Christian and to convert the idolatrous Gentile; and to show the Gentile convert as equal with the Jewish, in respect of his religious condition, and his rank in the Divine favour. These several designs are brought into on view, by opposing or arguing with the infidel or unbelieving Jew, in favour of the Christian or believing Gentile. The way of a sinner's acceptance with God, or justification in his sight, merely by grace, through faith in the righteousness of Christ, without distinction of nations, is plainly stated. This doctrine is cleared from the objections raised by Judaizing Christians, who were for making terms of acceptance with God by a mixture of the law and the gospel, and for shutting out the Gentiles from any share in the blessings of salvation brought in by the Messiah. In the conclusion, holiness is further enforced by practical exhortations.

MHCC: Romans 9 (Chapter Introduction)

(Rom 9:1-5) The apostle's concern that his countrymen were strangers to the gospel.

(Rom 9:6-13) The promises are made good to the spiritual seed of Abraham.

(Rom 9:14-24) Answers to objections against God's sovereign conduct, in exercising mercy and justice.

(Rom 9:25-29) This sovereignty is in God's dealing both with Jews and Gentiles.

(Rom 9:30-33) The falling short of the Jews is owing to their seeking justification, not by faith, but by the works of the law.

Matthew Henry: Romans (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans

If we may compare scripture with scripture, and take the opinion of some devout and pious persons, in the Old Testament David's Psalms, and in the New Testament Paul's Epistles, are stars of the first magnitude, that differ from the other stars in glory. The whole scripture is indeed an epistle from heaven to earth: but in it we have upon record several particular epistles, more of Paul's than of any other, for he was the chief of the apostles, and laboured more abundantly than they all. His natural parts, I doubt not, were very pregnant; his apprehension was quick and piercing; his expressions were fluent and copious; his affections, wherever he took, very warm and zealous, and his resolutions no less bold and daring: this made him, before his conversion, a very keen and bitter persecutor; but when the strong man armed was dispossessed, and the stronger than he came to divide the spoil and to sanctify these qualifications, he became the most skilful zealous preacher; never any better fitted to win souls, nor more successful. Fourteen of his epistles we have in the canon of scripture; many more, it is probable, he wrote in the course of his ministry, which might be profitable enough for doctrine, for reproof, etc., but, not being given by inspiration of God, they were not received as canonical scripture, nor handed down to us. Six epistles, said to be Paul's, written to Seneca, and eight of Seneca's to him, are spoken of by some of the ancients [ Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct. lib. 2] and are extant; but, upon the first view, they appear spurious and counterfeit.

This epistle to the Romans is placed first, not because of the priority of its date, but because of the superlative excellency of the epistle, it being one of the longest and fullest of all, and perhaps because of the dignity of the place to which it is written. Chrysostom would have this epistle read over to him twice a week. It is gathered from some passages in the epistle that it was written Anno Christi 56, from Corinth, while Paul made a short stay there in his way to Troas, Act 20:5, Act 20:6. He commendeth to the Romans Phebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea (ch. 16), which was a place belonging to Corinth. He calls Gaius his host, or the man with whom he lodged (Rom 16:23), and he was a Corinthian, not the same with Gaius of Derbe, mentioned Acts 20. Paul was now going up to Jerusalem, with the money that was given to the poor saints there; and of that he speaks, Rom 15:26. The great mysteries treated of in this epistle must needs produce in this, as in other writings of Paul, many things dark and hard to be understood, 2Pe 3:16. The method of this (as of several other of the epistles) is observable; the former part of it doctrinal, in the first eleven chapters; the latter part practical, in the last five: to inform the judgment and to reform the life. And the best way to understand the truths explained in the former part is to abide and abound in the practice of the duties prescribed in the latter part; for, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, Joh 7:17.

I. The doctrinal part of the epistles instructs us,

1. Concerning the way of salvation (1.) The foundation of it laid in justification, and that not by the Gentiles' works of nature (ch. 1), nor by the Jews' works of the law (ch. 2, 3), for both Jews and Gentiles were liable to the curse; but only by faith in Jesus Christ, Rom 3:21, etc.; ch. 4. (2.) The steps of this salvation are, [1.] Peace with God, ch. 5. [2.] Sanctification, ch. 6, 7. [3.] Glorification, ch. 8.

2. Concerning the persons saved, such as belong to the election of grace (ch. 9), Gentiles and Jews, ch. 10, 11. By this is appears that the subject he discourses of were such as were then the present truths, as the apostle speaks, 2Pe 1:12. Two things the Jews then stumbled at - justification by faith without the works of the law, and the admission of the Gentiles into the church; and therefore both these he studied to clear and vindicate.

II. The practical part follows, wherein we find, 1. Several general exhortations proper for all Christians, ch. 12. 2. Directions for our behaviour, as members of civil society, Rom 13:1-14. 3. Rules for the conduct of Christians to one another, as members of the Christian church, ch. 14 and Rom 15:1-14.

III. As he draws towards a conclusion, he makes an apology for writing to them (Rom 15:14-16), gives them an account of himself and his own affairs (Rom 15:17-21), promises them a visit (Rom 15:22-29), begs their prayers (Rom 15:30-32), sends particular salutations to many friends there (ch. 16:1-16), warns them against those who caused divisions (Rom 16:17-20), adds the salutations of his friends with him (Rom 16:21-23), and ends with a benediction to them and a doxology to God (Rom 16:24-27).

Matthew Henry: Romans 9 (Chapter Introduction)

The apostle, having plainly asserted and largely proved that justification and salvation are to had by faith only, and not by the works of the law, by Christ and not by Moses, comes in this and the following chapters to anticipate an objection which might be made against this. If this be so, then what becomes of the Jews, of them all as a complex body, especially those of them that do not embrace Christ, nor believe the gospel? By this rule they must needs come short of happiness; and then what becomes of the promise made to the fathers, which entailed salvation upon the Jews? Is not that promise nullified and made of none effect? Which is not a thing to be imagined concerning any word of God. That doctrine therefore, might they say, is not to be embraced, from which flows such a consequence as this. That the consequence of the rejection of the unbelieving Jews follows from Paul's doctrine he grants, but endeavours to soften and mollify (Rom 9:1-5). But that from this it follows that the word of God takes no effect he denies (Rom 9:6), and proves the denial in the rest of the chapter, which serves likewise to illustrate the great doctrine of predestination, which he had spoken of (Rom 8:28) as the first wheel which in the business of salvation sets all the other wheels a-going.

Barclay: Romans (Book Introduction)

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL

The Letters Of Paul

There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227.) It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and, in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.

The Difficulty Of Letters

At the same time there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.

The Ancient Letters

It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last for ever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.

"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are

going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my

brother. I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe

when I was in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got

my journey money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things

are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a

line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my

brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand, because you

brought me up well, and because of that I hope, God willing, soon

to be promoted. Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my

brothers and Serenilla and my friends. I sent you a little picture

of myself painted by Euctemon. My military name is Antonius

Maximus. I pray for your good health. Serenus sends good

wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo, Galloniuson."

(G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri, 36.)

Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who will Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.

(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col_1:1-2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .

(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .

(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .

(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.

(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .

When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.

The Immediate Situation

With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation. He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.

The Spoken Word

One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added his own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end.) In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me" (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 ).

This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

The Epistle That Is Different

There is an obvious difference between PaulLetter to the Romans and any other of his letters. Anyone coming from, say, a reading of the Letters to the Corinthians, will immediately feel that difference, both of atmosphere and of method. A very great part of it is due to one basic fact--when Paul wrote to the Church at Rome he was writing to a Church with whose founding he had had nothing whatever to do and with which he had had no personal contact at all. That explains why in Romans there are so few of the details of practical problems which fill the other letters. That is why Romans, at first sight, seems so much more impersonal. As Dibelius put it, "It is of all Paulletters the least conditioned by the momentary situation."

We may put that in another way. Romans, of all Paulletters, comes nearest to being a theological treatise. In almost all his other letters he is dealing with some immediate trouble, some pressing situation, some current error, some threatening danger, which was menacing the Church to which he was writing. Romans is the nearest approach to a systematic exposition of Paulown theological position, independent of any immediate set of circumstances.

Testamentary And Prophylactic

Because of that, two great scholars have applied two very illuminating adjectives to Romans. Sanday called Romans "testamentary." It is as if Paul was writing his theological last will and testament, as if into Romans he was distilling the very essence of his faith and belief. Rome was the greatest city in the world, the capital of the greatest Empire the world had ever seen. Paul had never been there, and he did not know if he ever would be there. But, in writing to such a Church in such a city, it was fitting that he should set down the very centre and core of his belief. Burton called Romans "prophylactic." A prophylactic is something which guards against infection. Paul had seen too often what harm and trouble could be caused by wrong ideas, twisted notions, misguided conceptions of Christian faith and belief. He therefore wished to send to the Church in the city which was the centre of the world a letter which would so build up the structure of their faith that, if infections should ever come to them, they might have in the true word of Christian doctrine a powerful and effective defence. He felt that the best protection against the infection of false teaching was the antiseptic of the truth.

The Occasion Of PaulWriting To Rome

All his life Paul had been haunted by the thought of Rome. It had always been one of his dreams to preach there. When he is in Ephesus, he is planning to go through Achaea and Macedonia again, and then comes a sentence obviously dropped straight from the heart, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome" (Act_19:21 ). When he was up against things in Jerusalem, and the situation looked threatening and the end seemed near, he had one of those visions which always lifted up his heart. In that vision the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, Paul. For as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome" (Act_23:11 ). In the very first chapter of this letter Pauldesire to see Rome breathes out. "I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you" (Rom_1:11 ). "So, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome" (Rom_1:15 ). It might well be said that the name Rome was written on Paulheart.

When he actually wrote the Letter to the Romans, the date was sometime in the year A.D. 58, and he was in Corinth. He was just about to bring to its completion a scheme that was very dear to his heart. The Church at Jerusalem was the mother Church of them all, but it was poor, and Paul had organized a collection throughout the younger churches for it (1Co_16:1 ; 2Co_9:1 ). That collection was two things. It was an opportunity for his younger converts to put Christian charity into Christian action, and it was a most practical way of impressing on all Christians the unity of the Christian Church, of teaching them that they were not members of isolated and independent congregations, but of one great Church, each part of which had a responsibility to all the rest. When Paul wrote Romans he was just about to set out with that gift for the Jerusalem Church. "At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints" (Rom_15:25 ).

The Object Of PaulWriting

Why, then, at such a moment should he write?

(a) Paul knew that the journey to Jerusalem was not without its peril. He knew that he had enemies there, and that to go to Jerusalem was to take his life and liberty in his hands. He desired the prayers of the Roman Church before he set out on this expedition. "Now I appeal to you brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judaea" (Rom_15:30-31 ). He was mobilizing the prayers of the Church before he embarked on this perilous undertaking.

(b) Paul had great schemes simmering in his mind. It has been said of him that he was "always haunted by the regions beyond." He never saw a ship at anchor but he wished to board her and to carry the good news to men across the sea. He never saw a range of mountains, blue in the distance, but he wished to cross them, and to bring the story of the Cross to men who had never heard it. At this time Paul was haunted by the thought of Spain. "I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain" (Rom_15:24 ). "When I have completed this [that is, when he had delivered the collection to the Church in Jerusalem] I shall go on by way of you to Spain" (Rom_15:28 ).

Why this great desire to go to Spain? Rome had opened up that land. Some of the great Roman roads and buildings still stand there to this day. And it so happened that, just at this time, there was a blaze of greatness in Spain. Many of the great figures who were writing their names on Roman history and literature were Spaniards. There was Martial, the master of the epigram. There was Lucan, the epic poet. There were Columella and Pomponius Mela, great figures in Roman literature. There was Quintilian, the master of Roman oratory. And, above all, there was Seneca, the greatest of the Roman Stoic philosophers, the tutor of the Emperor Nero, and the Prime Minister of the Roman Empire. It was most natural that Paulthoughts should go out to this land which was producing such a scintillating galaxy of greatness. What might happen if men like that could be touched for Christ? As far as we know Paul never got to Spain. On that visit to Jerusalem he was arrested and he was never freed again. But, when he was writing Romans, that was his dream.

Paul was a master strategist. He had an eye for the layout of territory like a great commander. He felt that by this time he could move on from Asia Minor and for the time being leave Greece behind. He saw the whole west lying in front of him, virgin territory to be won for Christ. But, if he was to launch a campaign in the west, he needed a base of operations. There was only one such base possible--and that was Rome.

That was why Paul wrote this letter to Rome. He had this great dream in his heart and this great plan in his mind. He needed Rome for a base for this new campaign. He was aware that the Church in Rome must know his name. But he was also aware, for he was a realist, that the reports which reached Rome would be mixed. His opponents were not above spreading slanders and false accusation against him. So he wrote this letter to set out for the Church at Rome an account of the very essence of his belief, in order that, when the time came for action, he might find in Rome a sympathetic Church from which the lines of communication might go out to Spain and the west. It was with such a plan and such an intention, that in A.D. 58 Paul sat down in Corinth to write his letter to the Church at Rome.

The Layout Of The Letter

Romans is at once a very complicated and a very carefully constructed letter. It will therefore help us to find our way through it, if we have in our minds an idea of its framework. It falls into four definite divisions.

(i) Rom 1-8, which deal with the problem of righteousness.

(ii) Rom 9-11, which deal with problem of the Jews, the chosen

people.

(iii) Rom 12-15, which deal with practical questions of life and

living.

(iv) Rom 16 , which is a letter of introduction for Phoebe,

and a list of final personal greetings.

(i) When Paul uses the word "righteousness," he means a right relationship with God The man who is righteous is the man who is in a right relationship with God, and whose life shows it.

Paul begins with a survey of the Gentile world. We have only to look at its decadence and corruption to know that it had not solved the problem of righteousness. He looks at the Jewish world. The Jews had sought to solve the problem of righteousness by meticulous obedience to the law. Paul had tried that way himself, and it had issued in frustration and defeat, because no man on earth can ever fully obey the law, and, therefore, every man must have the continual consciousness of being in debt to God and under his condemnation.

So Paul finds the way to righteousness in the way of utter trust and utter yieldedness. The only way to a right relationship with God is to take him at his word, and to cast oneself, just as one is, on his mercy and love. It is the way of faith. It is to know that the important thing is, not what we can do for God, but what he has done for us. For Paul the centre of the Christian faith was that we can never earn or deserve the favour of God, nor do we need to. The whole matter is one of grace, and all that we can do is to accept in wondering love and gratitude and trust what God has done for us.

That does not free us, however, from obligations or entitle us to do as we like; it means that for ever and for ever we must try to be worthy of the love which does so much for us. But we are no longer trying to fulfil the demands of stern and austere and condemnatory law; we are no longer like criminals before a judge; we are lovers who have given all life in love to the one who first loved us.

(ii) The problem of the Jews was a torturing one. In a real sense they were Godchosen people, and yet, when his Son had come into the world, they had rejected him. What possible explanation could there be for this heart-breaking fact?

The only one Paul could find was that, in the end, it was all Goddoing. Somehow the hearts of the Jews had been hardened; but it was not all failure, for there had always been a faithful remnant. Nor was it for nothing, for the very fact that the Jews had rejected Christ opened the door so the Gentiles would bring in the Jews and all men would be saved.

Paul goes further. The Jew had always claimed that he was a member of the chosen people in virtue of the fact that he was a Jew. It was solely a matter of pure racial descent from Abraham. But Paul insists that the real Jew is not the man whose flesh and blood descent can be traced to Abraham. He is the man who has made the same decision of utter yieldedness to God in loving faith which Abraham made. Therefore, Paul argues, there are many pure-blooded Jews who are not Jews in the real sense of the term at all; and there are many people of other nations who are really Jews in the true meaning of that word. The new Israel was not a racial thing at all; it was composed of those who had the same faith as Abraham had had.

(iii) Rom 12 is so great an ethical statement that it must always be set alongside the Sermon on the Mount. In it Paul lays down the ethical character of the Christian faith. The fourteenth and fifteenth chapters deal with an ever-recurring problem. In the Church there was a narrower party who believed that they must abstain from certain foods and drinks, and who counted special days and ceremonies as of great importance. Paul thinks of them as the weaker brethren because their faith was dependent on these external things. There was a more liberal party, who had liberated themselves from these external rules and observances. He thinks of them as the brethren who are stronger in the faith. He makes it quite clear that his sympathies are with the more liberal party; but he lays down the great principle that no man must ever do anything to hurt the conscience of a weaker brother or to put a stumbling block in his way. His whole point of view is that we must never do anything which makes it harder for someone else to be a Christian; and that that may well mean the giving up of something, which is right and safe for us, for the sake of the weaker brother. Christian liberty must never be used in such a way that it injures anotherlife or conscience.

(iv) The fourth section is a recommendation on behalf of Phoebe, a member of the Church at Cenchreae, who is coming to Rome. The letter ends with a list of greetings and a final benediction.

Two Problems

Rom 16 has always presented scholars with a problem. Many have felt that it does not really form part of the Letter to the Romans at all; and that it is really a letter to some other Church which became attached to Romans when Paulletters were collected. What are their grounds? First and foremost, in this chapter Paul sends greetings to twenty-six different people, twenty-four of whom he mentions by name and all of whom he seems to know very intimately. He can, for instance, say that the mother of Rufus has also been a mother to him. Is it likely that Paul knew intimately twenty-six people in a Church which he had never visited? He, in fact, greets far more people in this chapter than he does in any other letter, and yet he had never set foot in Rome. Here is something that needs explanation.

If Rom 16 was not written to Rome, what was its original destination? It is here that Prisca and Aquila come into the argument. We know that they left Rome in A.D. 52 when Claudius issued his edict banishing the Jews (Act_18:2 ). We know that they went with Paul to Ephesus (Act_18:18 ). We know that they were in Ephesus when Paul wrote his letter to Corinth, less than two years before he wrote Romans (1Co_16:19 ). And we know that they were still in Ephesus when the Pastoral Epistles were written (2Ti_4:19 ). It is certain that if we had come across a letter sending greeting to Prisca and Aquila we should have assumed that it was sent to Ephesus, if no other address was given.

Is there any other evidence to make us think that chapter sixteen may have been sent to Ephesus in the first place? There is the perfectly general reason that Paul spent longer in Ephesus than anywhere else, and it would be very natural for him to send greetings to many people there. Paul speaks of Epaenetus, the first-fruits of Asia. Ephesus is in Asia, and such a reference, too, would be very natural in a letter to Ephesus, but not so natural in a letter to Rome. Rom_16:17 speaks about difficulties, in opposition to the doctrine which you have been taught, which sounds as if Paul was speaking about possible disobedience to his own teaching, and he had never taught in Rome.

It can be argued that the sixteenth chapter was originally addressed to Ephesus, but the argument is not so strong as it looks. For one thing, there is no evidence that the chapter was ever attached anywhere except to the Letter to the Romans. For another thing, the odd fact is that Paul does not send personal greetings to churches which he knew well. There are no personal greetings in Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Philippians, all of them letters to churches he knew well; whereas there are personal greetings in Colossians, although Paul had never set foot in Colosse.

The reason is really quite simple. If Paul had sent personal greetings to churches he knew well, jealousies might well have arisen; on the other hand, when he was writing to churches he had never visited, he liked to establish as many personal links as possible. The very fact that Paul had never been in Rome makes it likely that he would try to establish as many personal connections as possible. Again, it is to be remembered that Prisca and Aquila were banished by edict from Rome. What is more likely than that, after the trouble was over, six or seven years later, they would return to Rome and pick up the threads of their business after their stay in other towns? And is it not most likely that many of the other names are names of people who shared in this banishment, who took up temporary residence in other cities, who met Paul there, and who, when the coast was clear, returned to Rome and their old homes? Paul would be delighted to have so many personal contacts in Rome and to seize hold of them.

Further, as we shall see, when we come to study chapter 16 in detail, many of the names--the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus, Amplias, Nereus and others--well suit Rome. In spite of the arguments for Ephesus, we may take it that there is no necessity to detach chapter sixteen from the Letter to the Romans.

But there is a more interesting, and a much more important, problem. The early manuscripts show some very curious things with regard to Rom 14-16. The only natural place for a doxology is at the very end. Rom_16:25-27 is a doxology, and in most good manuscripts it comes at the end. But in a number of manuscripts it comes at the end of Rom 14 ; two good manuscripts have it in both places; one ancient manuscript has it at the end of Rom 15 ; two manuscripts have it in neither place, but leave an empty space for it. One ancient Latin manuscript has a series of section summaries. The last two are as follows:

50: On the peril of him who grieves his brother by meat.

That is obviously Rom_14:15-23 .

51: On the mystery of the Lord, kept secret before his passion

but after his passion revealed.

That is equally clearly Rom_16:25-27 , the doxology. Clearly, these summaries were made from a manuscript which did not contain chapters fifteen and sixteen. Now there is one thing which sheds a flood of light on this. In one manuscript the mention of Rome in Rom_1:7 and Rom_1:15 is entirely omitted. There is no mention of any destination.

All this goes to show that Romans circulated in two forms--one form as we have it with sixteen chapters, and one with fourteen chapters; and perhaps also one with fifteen chapters. The explanation must be this. As Paul wrote it to Rome, it had sixteen chapters; but Rom 15-16 are private and personal to Rome. Now no other letter gives such a compendium of Pauldoctrine. What must have happened was that Romans began to circulate among all the churches, with the last two local chapters omitted, except for the doxology. It must have been felt that Romans was too fundamental to stop at Rome and so the purely local references were removed and it was sent out to the Church at large. From very early times the Church felt that Romans was so great an expression of the mind of Paul that it must become the possession not of one congregation, but of the whole Church. We must remember, as we study it, that men have always looked on Romans as the quintessence of Paulgospel.

FURTHER READING

Romans

C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (MC; E)

A. M. Hunter, The Epistle to the Romans: The Law of Love (Tch; E)

W. Sanday and A.C. Headlam, Romans (Sixth edition, in two volumes, revised by C. E. B. Cranfield) (ICC; G)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC : Moffatt Commentary

Tch: Torch Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: Romans 9 (Chapter Introduction)

The Problem Of The Jews (Rom_9:1-6)

In Rom 9-11 Paul tries to deal with one of the most bewildering problems that the Church has to solve--the problem of the Jews. They were God's chosen people; they had had a unique place in God's purposes; and yet when God's Son had come into the world they had rejected him and crucified him. How is this tragic paradox to be explained? That is the problem with which Paul seeks to deal in these chapters. They are complicated and difficult, and, before we begin to study them in detail, it will be well to set out the broad lines of the solution which Paul presented. One thing we must note before we begin to disentangle Paul's thought--the chapters were written not in anger but in heartbreak. He could never forget that he was a Jew and he would gladly have laid down his own life if, by so doing, he could have brought his brethren to Jesus Christ. Paul never denies that the Jews were the chosen people. God adopted them as his own; he gave them the covenants and the service of the Temple and the law; he gave them the presence of his own glory; he gave them the patriarchs. Above all Jesus was a Jew. The special place of the Jews in God's economy of salvation Paul accepts as an axiom and as the starting-point of the whole problem. The first point which he makes is this--it is true that the Jews as a nation rejected and crucified Jesus, but it is also true, that not all the Jews rejected him; some received him and believed in him, for all the early followers of Jesus were Jews. Paul then looks back on history and insists that racial descent from Abraham does not make a Jew. Over and over again in Jewish history there was in God's ways a process of selection--Paul calls it election--whereby some of those who were racial descendants of Abraham were chosen and some rejected. In the case of Abraham, Isaac, the son born according to the promise of God, was chosen, but Ishmael, the son born of purely natural desire, was not. In the case of Isaac, his son Jacob was chosen, but Esau, Jacob's twin, was not. This selection had nothing to do with merit; it was the work entirely of God's electing wisdom and power. Further, the real chosen people never lay in the whole nation; it always lay in the righteous remnant, the few who were true to God when all others denied him. It was so in the days of Elijah, when seven thousand remained faithful to God after the rest of the nation had gone after Baal. It was an essential part of the teaching of Isaiah, who said: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant Of them will be saved" (Isa_10:22; Rom_9:27). Paul's first point is that at no time were the whole people the chosen people. There was always selection, election, on the part of God. Is it fair of God to elect some and to reject others? And, if some men are elected and others are rejected through no virtue or fault of their own, how can you blame them if they reject Christ, and how can you praise them if they accept him? Here Paul uses an argument at which the mind staggers, and from which we quite properly recoil. Bluntly, it is that God can do what he likes and that man has no right whatever to question his decisions, however inscrutable they may be. The clay cannot talk back to the potter. A craftsman may make two vessels, one for an honourable purpose and another for a menial purpose; the vessels have nothing whatever to do with it. That, said Paul, is what God has a right to do with men. He quotes the instance of Pharaoh (Rom_9:17) and says that he was brought on to the stage of history simply to be the instrument through which God's avenging power was demonstrated. In any event, the people of Israel had been forewarned of the election of the Gentiles and of their own rejection, for, did not the prophet Hosea write: "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people', and her who was not beloved I will call 'my beloved'" (Hos_1:10; Rom_9:25). However, this rejection of Israel was not callous and haphazard. The door was shut to the Jews that it might be opened to the Gentiles. God hardened the hearts of the Jews and blinded their eyes with the ultimate purpose of opening a way for the Gentiles into the faith. Here is a strange and terrible argument. Stripped of all its non-essentials, it is that God can do what he likes with any man or nation. and that he deliberately darkened the minds and shut the eyes of the Jews in order that the Gentiles might come in. What was the fundamental mistake of the Jews? This may seem a curious question to ask in view of what we have just said. But, paradoxically, Paul holds that though the rejection of the Jews was the work of God, it need never have happened. He cannot get rid of the eternal paradox--nor does he desire to--that at one and the same time all is of God and man has free-will. The fundamental mistake of the Jews was that they tried to get into a right relationship with God through their own efforts. They tried to earn salvation; whereas the Gentiles simply accepted the offer of God in perfect trust. The Jews should have known that the only way to God was the way of faith and that human achievement led nowhere. Did not Isaiah say: "No one who believes in him will be put to shame"? (Isa_28:16; Rom_10:11 .) Did not Joel say: "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved"? (Joe_2:32; Rom_10:13 .) True, no man can have faith until he hears the offer of God; but to the Jews that offer was made. They clung to the way of human achievement through obedience to the law; they staked everything on works, but they should have known that the way to God was the way of faith, for the prophets had told them so. Once again it is to be stressed that all this was God's arrangement; and that it was so arranged to allow the Gentiles to come in. Paul therefore turns to the Gentiles. He orders them to have no pride. They are in the position of wild olive shoots which have been grafted into a garden olive tree. They did not achieve their own salvation any more than the Jews did; in point of fact they are dependent on the Jews; they are only engrafted branches; the root and the stem are still the chosen people. The fact of their own election and the fact of the rejection of the Jews are not to produce pride in Gentile hearts. If that happens, rejection can and will happen to them. Is this the end? Far from it. It is God's purpose that the Jews will be moved to envy at the relationship of the Gentiles to him and that they will ask to be admitted to it themselves. Did not Moses say: "I make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry"? (Deu_32:21; Rom_10:19 .) In the end the Gentiles will be the very instrument by which the Jews will be saved. "And so all Israel will be saved" (Rom_11:26). So Paul comes to the end of the argument. We may summarily set out its steps. (i) Israel is the chosen people. (ii) To be a member of Israel means more than racial descent. There has always been election within the nation; and the best of the nation has always been the remnant who were faithful. (iii) This selection by God is not unfair, for he has the right to do what he likes. (iv) God did harden the hearts of the Jews, but only to open the door to the Gentiles. (v) Israel's mistake was dependence on human achievement founded on the law; the necessary approach to God is that of the totally trusting heart. (vi) The Gentiles must have no pride for they are only wild olives grafted into the true olive stock. They must remember that. (vii) This is not the end; the Jews will be so moved to wondering envy at the privilege that the Gentiles have received that in the end they will be brought in by them. (viii) So in the very end all, Jew and Gentile, will be saved. The glory is in the end of Paul's argument. He began by saying that some were elected to reception and some to rejection. In the end he comes to say that it is God's will that all men should be saved.

The Tragic Failure (Rom_9:1-6)

The Choice Of God (Rom_9:7-13)

The Sovereign Will Of God (Rom_9:14-18)

The Potter And The Clay (Rom_9:19-29)

The Jewish Mistake (Rom_9:30-33)

Constable: Romans (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical Background

Throughout the history of the church, from postapostolic times to the present, Christians have regarded Romans as having been one of the Apostle Paul's epistles.¹ Not only does the letter claim that he wrote it (1:1), but it develops many of the same ideas and uses the same terminology that appear in Paul's earlier writings (e.g., Gal. 2; 1 Cor. 12; 2 Cor. 8-9).

Following his conversion on the Damascus Road (34 A.D.), Paul preached in Damascus, spent some time in Arabia, and then returned to Damascus. Next he travelled to Jerusalem where he met briefly with Peter and James. He then moved on to Tarsus, which was evidently his base of operations and from which he ministered for about six years (37-43 A.D.). In response to an invitation from Barnabas he moved to Antioch of Syria where he served for about five years (43-48 A.D.). He and Barnabas then set out on their so-called first missionary journey into Asia Minor (48-49 A.D.). Returning to Antioch Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians to strengthen the churches that he and Barnabas had just planted in Asia Minor (49 A.D.). After the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), Paul took Silas and began his second missionary journey (50-52 A.D.) through Asia Minor and on westward into the Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. From Corinth, Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians (51 A.D.). He proceeded to Ephesus by ship and then on to Syrian Antioch. From there he set out on his third missionary journey (53-57 A.D.). Passing through Asia Minor he arrived in Ephesus where he labored for three years (53-56 A.D.). During this time he wrote 1 Corinthians (56 A.D.). Finally Paul left Ephesus and travelled by land to Macedonia where he wrote 2 Corinthians (56 A.D.). He continued south and spent the winter of 56-57 A.D. in Corinth. There he wrote the Epistle to the Romans and sent it by Phoebe (16:1-2) to the Roman church.

The apostle then proceeded from Corinth by land clockwise around the Aegean Sea back to Troas in Asia where he boarded a ship and eventually reached Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, the Jews arrested Paul and imprisoned him (57 A.D.). He arrived in Rome as a prisoner and ministered there for two years (60-62 A.D.). During this time he wrote the Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). The Romans freed Paul, and he returned to the Aegean area. There he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, experienced arrest again, suffered imprisonment in Rome a second time, wrote 2 Timothy, and died as a martyr under Nero in A.D. 68.²

We know very little about the founding of the church in Rome. According to Ambrosiaster, a church father who lived in the fourth century, an apostle did not found it (thus discrediting the Roman Catholic claim that Peter founded the church). A group of Jewish Christians did.³ It is possible that these Jews became believers in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) or at some other time quite early in the church's history. By the time Paul wrote Romans the church in Rome was famous throughout the Roman Empire for its faith (1:18).

Purpose

Paul wrote this epistle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for several reasons.⁴ He wanted to prepare the way for his intended visit to the church (15:22-24). He evidently hoped that Rome would become a base of operations and support for his pioneer missionary work in Spain and the western portions of the empire that he had not yet evangelized. His full exposition of the gospel in this letter would have provided a solid foundation for their participation in this mission.

As Paul looked forward to returning to Jerusalem between his departure from Corinth and his arrival in Rome, he was aware of the danger he faced (15:31). He may have written the exhaustive exposition of the gospel that we have in Romans to set forth his teaching in case he did not reach Rome. From Rome his doctrine could then go out to the rest of the empire as others preached it. Paul may have viewed Romans as his legacy to the church, his last will and testament.

Another reason for writing Romans was undoubtedly Paul's desire to minister to the spiritual needs of the Christians in Rome even though they were in good spiritual condition (15:14-16). The common problems of all the early churches were dangers to the Roman church as well. These difficulties included internal conflicts, mainly between Jewish and Gentile believers, and external threats from false teachers. Paul gave both of these potential problems attention in this epistle (15:1-8; 16:17-20).

Paul also wrote Romans as he did because he was at a transition point in his ministry, as he mentioned at the end of chapter 15. His ministry in the Aegean region was solid enough that he planned to leave it and move farther west into new virgin missionary territory. Before he did that, he planned to visit Jerusalem where he realized he would be in danger. Probably therefore Paul wrote Romans as he did to leave a full exposition of the gospel in good hands if his ministry ended prematurely in Jerusalem.

"The peculiar position of the apostle at the time of writing, as he reviews the past and anticipates the future, enables us to understand the absence of controversy in this epistle, the conciliatory attitude, and the didactic and apologetic elements which are all found combined herein."⁵

The great contribution of this letter to the body of New Testament inspired revelation is its reasoned explanation of how God's righteousness can become man's possession.

The Book of Romans is distinctive among Paul's inspired writings in several respects. It was one of the few letters he wrote to churches with which he had had no personal dealings. The only other epistle of this kind was Colossians. It is also a formal treatise within a personal letter.⁶ Paul expounded on the gospel in this treatise. He probably did so in this epistle rather than in another because the church in Rome was at the heart of the Roman Empire. As such it was able to exert great influence in the dissemination of the gospel. For these two reasons Romans is more formal and less personal than most of Paul's other epistles.

The Epistle to the Romans is, by popular consent, the greatest of Paul's writings. William Tyndale, the great English reformer and translator, referred to Romans as "the principle and most excellent part of the New Testament." He went on to say the following in his prologue to Romans that he wrote in the 1534 edition of his English New Testament.

"No man verily can read it too oft or study it too well; for the more it is studied the easier it is, the more it is chewed the pleasanter it is, and the more groundly [sic] it is searched the preciouser [sic] things are found in it, so great treasures of spiritual things lieth hid therein."⁷

Martin Luther wrote the following commendation of this epistle.

"[Romans] is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes."⁸

Message⁹

Throughout the history of the church Christians have recognized this epistle as the most important book in the New Testament. The reason for this conviction is that it is an exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Luther called Romans "the chief part of the New Testament and the perfect gospel." Coleridge, the English poet, declared it to be "the most profound work in existence." Frederick Godet, the French commentator, described it as "the cathedral of the Christian faith."¹⁰

To appreciate the message of this book it will be helpful first to consider Paul's presuppositions. He based these, of course, on Old Testament revelation concerning cosmology and history.

First, Paul assumed the God of the Old Testament. He assumed God's existence and full deity. He believed that God is holy and just. He also held that God is the creator, sustainer, and sovereign ruler of the universe.

Second, Paul's view of man is that he is subject to God's government of the universe. Man has received a measure of freedom from God, so he can choose to pursue sin. However, if he does so, he is still in the sovereign hand of God. God can allow the consequences of his sins to have their effects on him both now and forever. Man is also in authority over the rest of the material creation (Gen. 1:28). What man has experienced, the material creation also has experienced and reflects as a result of man's action.

Third, Paul's view of history was that of Old Testament revelation. The important historical events for Paul were those in his Scriptures.

Adam was the first man. He rebelled against God's authority. The result was threefold: the practical dethronement of God in the minds of Adam's descendents, the degradation of humanity, and the defilement of creation. This is a very different view of history from what evolutionists and humanists take. Man has lost his scepter because he rebelled against God's scepter.

Two other individuals were specially significant in history for Paul as we see in Romans: Abraham and Jesus Christ. God called Abraham to be a channel of blessing to the world. Christ is the greatest blessing. Through Him people and creation can experience restoration to God's original intention for them.

These are Paul's basic presuppositions on which all his reasoning in Romans rests. Romans is not the best book to put in the hands of an unsaved person to lead him or her to salvation. John is better for that purpose. However, Romans is the best book to put in the hands of a saved person to lead him or her to understand and appreciate our salvation.

We turn now to the major revelations in this book. These are its central teachings, the emphases that distinguish Romans from other books of the Bible.

First, Romans reveals the tragic helplessness of the human race. No other book of the Bible looks so fearlessly into the abysmal degradation that has resulted from human sin. If you read only 1:18-3:20, you will become depressed by its pessimism. If you keep reading, you will conclude from 3:21 on that we have the best, most optimistic news you have ever heard. This book is all about ruin and redemption. Its first great revelation is the absolute ruin and helplessness of the human race.

Paul divides the ruined race into two parts. The first of these is the Gentiles who have the light of nature. God has given everyone, Gentiles and Jews, the opportunity of observing and concluding two things about Himself: His wisdom and power. The average person as well as the scientist concludes that Someone wise must have put the natural world together, and He must be very powerful. Nevertheless having come to that conclusion he turns from God to vain reasonings, vile passions, unrighteous behavior, envy, murder, strife, deceit, insolence, pride, and perverted conduct. Just read today's newspaper and you will find confirmation of Paul's analysis of the human race.

The other part of the ruined race is the Jews who, in addition to the light of nature, also had the light of Scripture. Paul observed that in spite of his greater revelation and privilege the Jew behaves the same way as the Gentile. Yet he is a worse sinner. Having professed devotion to God and having claimed to be a teacher of the Gentiles because of his greater light he disobeys God and causes the Gentiles to blaspheme His name. Paul concluded, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (3:10). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23).

The second major revelation of Romans is the magnificence of the divine plan of salvation. This plan centers on Jesus Christ whom Paul introduced on the very first page of his letter (1:3-4). God declared to everyone that the Jesus of the Gospels is His Son by resurrecting Him.

Two words describe Christ's relation to the divine plan of salvation: manifestation and propitiation. The righteousness manifested in Him is available to people through His propitiation. God's righteousness is available to everyone because Jesus died as the perfect offering for sin. The righteousness we see in Jesus in the Gospel records is available to those who believe that His sacrifice satisfied God (3:21, 25).

We can also describe God's relation to the plan of salvation with two words: holiness and love. The plan of salvation that Romans expounds resulted from a holy God reaching out to sinful humanity lovingly (3:22, 24). This plan vindicates the holiness of God as it unveils God's gracious love (chs. 9-11).

Man's relation to the plan of salvation is threefold. It involves justification, the imputation of God's righteousness to the believing sinner. It also involves sanctification, the impartation of God's righteousness to the redeemed sinner. Third, it involves glorification, the perfection of God's righteousness in the sanctified sinner. In justification God lifts the sinner into a relationship with Himself that is more intimate than we would have enjoyed if we had never sinned. In sanctification God progressively transforms the sinner into the Savior's image by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In glorification God finally restores the sinner to the place God intended for us to occupy in creation.

The creation's relation to the plan of salvation is twofold. God restores creation's king, man, to his intended position. Second, creation realizes all of its intended possibilities that sin has denied it.

Let us note next some of the lessons of this book. What did God want us to learn from it?

First, Romans calls us to measure ourselves by divine rather than human standards. We sometimes evaluate ourselves and one another by using the criteria that our age sets or that we set. However to know our true condition we must use the criteria that God sets. This standard reveals that we are all guilty before God. This is one of the great lessons that Romans teaches us.

Second, Romans calls us to live by faith rather than by sight. God did not come any closer to mankind in the incarnation of Christ than He ever had been. Yet in the incarnation the nearness of God became more obvious to people. In the resurrection the Son of God became observable as the Son of God to human beings. All the glories of salvation come to us as we believe God. Romans contrasts the folly of trying to obtain salvation by working for it with trusting God, simply believing what He has revealed as true.

Third, Romans calls us to dedicate ourselves to God rather than living self-centered lives (12:1). This is the reasonable response to having received salvation. We should give ourselves to God. God's grace puts us in His debt. Paul did not say that if we fail to dedicate ourselves to God we are unsaved. Rather he appeals to us as saved people to do for God what He has done for us, namely giving ourselves out of love. When we do this, we show that we truly appreciate what God has done for us.

On the basis of these observations I would summarize the message of Romans in these words. Since God has lovingly provided salvation for helpless sinners through His Son, we should accept that sacrifice by faith and express our gratitude to God by dedicating our lives to Him.

In conclusion let me suggest an application of the message of Romans.

In view of the greatness of the salvation that God has provided as Romans reveals, we, as Paul, have a duty to communicate this good news to the world (1:14-17; Matt. 28:19). We do this both by lip and life, by explanation and by example (8:29). Our living example will reflect death to self as well as life to God (6:13).

Constable: Romans (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-17

A. Salutation 1:1-7

1. The writer 1:1

2. The subject of the epistle 1:2-5

3. The original recipients 1:6-7

B. Purpose 1:8-15

C. Theme 1:16-17

II. The need for God's righteousness 1:18-3:20

A. The need of all people 1:18-32

1. The reason for human guilt 1:18

2. The ungodliness of mankind 1:19-27

3. The wickedness of mankind 1:28-32

B. The need of good people 2:1-3:8

1. God's principles of judgment 2:1-16

2. The guilt of the Jews 2:17-29

3. Answers to objections 3:1-8

C. The guilt of all humanity 3:9-20

III. The imputation of God's righteousness 3:21-5:21

A. The description of justification 3:21-26

B. The defense of justification by faith alone 3:27-31

C. The proof of justification by faith from the law ch. 4

1. Abraham's justification by faith 4:1-5

2. David's testimony to justification by faith 4:6-8

3. The priority of faith to circumcision 4:9-12

4. The priority of faith to the promise concerning headship of many nations 4:13-17

5. The exemplary value of Abraham's faith 4:18-22

6. Conclusions from Abraham's example 4:23-25

D. The benefits of justification 5:1-11

E. The universal applicability of justification 5:12-21

IV. The impartation of God's righteousness chs. 6-8

A. The believer's relationship to sin ch. 6

1. Freedom from sin 6:1-14

2. Slavery to righteousness 6:15-23

B. The believer's relationship to the law ch. 7

1. The law's authority 7:1-6

2. The law's activity 7:7-12

3. The law's inability 7:13-25

C. The believer's relationship to God ch. 8

1. Our deliverance from the flesh by the power of the Spirit 8:1-11

2. Our new relationship to God 8:12-17

3. Our present sufferings and future glory 8:18-25

4. Our place in God's sovereign plan 8:26-30

5. Our eternal security 8:31-39

V. The vindication of God's righteousness chs. 9-11

A. Israel's past election ch. 9

1. God's blessings on Israel 9:1-5

2. God's election of Israel 9:6-13

3. God's freedom to elect 9:14-18

4. God's mercy toward Israel 9:19-29

5. God's mercy toward the Gentiles 9:30-33

B. Israel's present rejection ch. 10

1. The reason God has set Israel aside 10:1-7

2. The remedy for rejection 10:8-15

3. The continuing unbelief of Israel 10:16-21

C. Israel's future salvation ch. 11

1. Israel's rejection not total 11:1-10

2. Israel's rejection not final 11:11-24

3. Israel's restoration assured 11:25-32

4. Praise for God's wise plans 11:33-36

VI. The practice of God's righteousness 12:1-15:13

A. Dedication to God 12:1-2

B. Conduct within the church 12:3-21

1. The diversity of gifts 12:3-8

2. The necessity of love 12:9-21

C. Conduct within the state ch. 13

1. Conduct towards the government 13:1-7

2. Conduct toward unbelievers 13:8-10

3. Conduct in view of our hope 13:11-14

D. Conduct within Christian liberty 14:1-15:13

1. The folly of judging one another 14:1-12

2. The evil of offending one another 14:13-23

3. The importance of pleasing one another 15:1-6

4. the importance of accepting one another 15:7-13

VII. Conclusion 15:14-16:27

A. Paul's ministry 15:14-33

1. Past labors 15:14-21

2. Present program 15:22-29

3. Future plans 15:30-33

B. Personal matters ch. 16

1. A commendation 16:1-2

2. Various greetings to Christians in Rome 16:3-16

3. A warning 16:17-20

4. Greetings from Paul's companions 16:21-24

5. A doxology 16:25-27

Constable: Romans

Romans

Bibliography

Alford, Henry. The Greek Testament. 4 vols. New ed. Cambridge: Rivingtons, 1881.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Romans (Book Introduction)

THE

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE ROMANS.

INTRODUCTION.

After the Gospels, which contain the history of Christ, and the Acts of the Apostles, which contain the history of the infant Church, we have the Epistles of the Apostles. Of these fourteen have been penned on particular occasions, and addressed to particular persons, by St. Paul; the others of St. James, St. Peter, St. John, and St. Jude, are called Catholic Epistles, because they are addressed to all Christians in general, if we except the two latter short epistles of St. John. --- The epistles of St. Paul contain admirable advice, and explain fully several tenets of Christianity: but an humble and teachable mind and heart are essentially requisite to draw good from this inexhaustible source. If we prepare our minds by prayer, and go to these sacred oracles with proper dispositions, as to Jesus Christ himself, not preferring our own weak judgment to that of the Catholic Church divinely inspired, and which he has commanded us to hear, and which he has promised to lead in all truth unto the end of the world, we shall improve both our mind and heart by a frequent and pious perusal. We shall learn there that faith is essentially necessary to please God; that this faith is but one, as God is but one; and that faith which shews itself not by good works, is dead. Hence, when St. Paul speaks of works that are incapable of justifying us, he speaks not of the works of moral righteousness, but of the ceremonial works of the Mosaic law, on which the Jews laid such great stress as necessary to salvation. --- St. Peter (in his 2nd Epistle, chap. iii.) assures us that there were some in his time, as there are found some now in our days, who misconstrue St. Paul's epistles, as if he required no good works any more after baptism than before baptism, and maintaining that faith alone would justify and save a man. Hence the other apostles wrote their epistles, as St. Augustine remarks in these words; "therefore because this opinion, that faith only was necessary to salvation, was started, the other apostolical epistles do most pointedly refute it, forcibly contending that faith without works profiteth nothing." Indeed St. Paul himself, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, (Chap. xiii. 2.) positively asserts: if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. --- This epistle, like most of the following, is divided into two parts: the first treats of points of doctrine, and extends to the eleventh chapter inclusively; the second treats of morality, and is contained in the last five chapters: but to be able to understand the former, and to practise the latter, humble prayer and a firm adherence to the Catholic Church, which St. Paul (1 Timothy chap. iii.) styles, the pillar and ground of truth, are undoubtedly necessary. Nor should we ever forget what St. Peter affirms, that in St. Paul's epistles there are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and the unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter chap. iii. ver. 16.) (Haydock) --- St. Paul had not been at Rome when he wrote this epistle, which was in the year fifty-seven or fifty-eight, when he was preparing to go to Jerusalem with the charitable contributions and alms, collected in Achaia and Macedonia, for the benefit and relief of the poor Christians in Judea, and at Jerusalem; and after he had preached in almost all places from Jerusalem even to Illyris, Illyrium, or Illyricum. See this Epistle, chap. xv. It was written in Greek. It is not the first in order of time, though placed first, either because of the dignity of the chief Christian Church, or of its sublime contents. --- The apostle's chief design was not only to unite all the new Christian converts, whether they had been Gentiles or Jews, in the same faith, but also to bring them to a union in charity, love, and peace; to put an end to those disputes and contentions among them, which were particularly occasioned by those zealous Jewish converts, who were for obliging all Christians to the observance of the Mosaic precepts and ceremonies. They who had been Jews, boasted that they were the elect people of God, preferred before all other nations, to whom he had given this written law, precepts, and ceremonies by Moses, to whom he had sent his prophets, and had performed so many miracles in their favour, while the Gentiles were left in their ignorance and idolatry. The Gentiles, now converted, were apt to brag of the learning of their great philosophers, and that sciences had flourished among them: they reproached the Jews with the disobedience of their forefathers to God, and the laws he had given them; that they had frequently returned to idolatry; that they had persecuted and put to death the prophets, and even their Messias, the true Son of God. St. Paul shews that neither the Jew nor the Gentile had reason to boast, but to humble themselves under the hand of God, the author of their salvation. He puts the Jews in mind, that they could not expect to be justified and saved merely by the ceremonies and works of their law, thought good in themselves; that the Gentiles, as well as they, were now called by the pure mercy of God: that they were all to be saved by believing in Christ, and complying with his doctrine; that sanctification and salvation can only be had by the Christian faith. He does not mean by faith only, as it is one particular virtue, different from charity, hope, and other Christian virtues; but he means by faith, the Christian religion, and worship, taken in opposition to the law of Moses and to the moral virtues of heathens. The design of the Epistle to the Galatians is much the same. From the 12th chapter he exhorts them to the practice of Christian virtues. (Witham)

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Gill: Romans (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS

Though this epistle is in order placed the first of the epistles, yet it was not first written: there were several epistles written before it, as the two epistles to the Thessalonians, the two to the Corinthians, the first epistle to Timothy, and that to Titus: the reason why this epistle stands first, is either the excellency of it, of which Chrysostom had so great an esteem that he caused it to be read over to him twice a week; or else the dignity of the place, where the persons lived to whom it is written, being Rome, the imperial city: so the books of the prophets are not placed in the same order in which they were written: Hosea prophesied as early as Isaiah, if not earlier; and before Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and yet stands after them. This epistle was written from Corinth, as the subscription of it testifies; and which may be confirmed from the apostle's commendation of Phoebe, by whom he sent it, who was of Cenchrea, a place near Corinth; by his calling Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, who abode at Corinth, 2Ti 4:20, and Gaius his host, who was a Corinthian, Rom 16:23, 1Co 1:14, though at what time it was written from hence, is not so evident: some think it was written in the time of his three months' travel through Greece, Act 20:2, a little before the death of the Emperor Claudius, in the year of Christ 55; others, that it was written by him in the short stay he made at Corinth, when he came thither, as is supposed, from Philippi, in his way to Troas, where some of his company went before, and had been there five days before him: and this is placed in the second year of Nero, and in the year of Christ 56; however, it was not written by him during his long stay at Corinth, when he was first there, but afterwards, even after he had preached from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum: and when he was about to go to Jerusalem, with the contributions of the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, to the poor saints there, Rom 15:19. The persons to whom this epistle was sent were Roman saints, both Jews and Gentiles, inhabiting the city of Rome; of which city and church; See Gill on Act 28:14; Act 28:15; by whom the Gospel was first preached at Rome, and who were the means of forming the church there, is not very evident Irenaeus, an ancient writer, says ^a, that Peter and Paul preached the Gospel at Rome, and founded the church; and Gaius, an ecclesiastical man, who lived in the time of Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome, asserts the same; and Dionysius; bishop of the Corinthians, calls the Romans the plantation of Peter and Paul ^b: whether Peter was ever at Rome is not a clear point with many; and certain it is, that the Apostle Paul had not been at Rome when he wrote this epistle, at least it seems very probable he had not, by several expressions in Rom 1:10; and yet here was a church to which he writes, and had been a considerable time; for their faith was spoken of throughout the world, Rom 1:8; and when the apostle was on the road to this city, the brethren in it met him, Act 28:15. The chief design of this epistle is to set in a clear light the doctrine of justification: showing against the Gentiles, that it is not by the light of nature, and works done in obedience to that, and against the Jews, that it was not by the law of Moses, and the deeds of that; which he clearly evinces, by observing the sinful and wretched estate both of Jews and Gentiles: but that it is by the righteousness of Christ imputed through the grace of God, and received by faith; the effects of which are peace and joy in the soul, and holiness in the life and conversation: he gives an account of the justified ones, as that they are not without sin, which he illustrates by his own experience and case; and yet are possessed of various privileges, as freedom from condemnation, the blessing of adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance; he treats in it concerning predestination, the calling of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews; and exhorts to the various duties incumbent on the saints, with respect to one another, and to the world, to duties of a moral and civil nature, and the use of things indifferent; and closes it with the salutations of divers persons.

Gill: Romans 9 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 9

The apostle having discoursed of justification and sanctification, and of the privileges of justified and sanctified ones, proceeds to treat of predestination, the source and spring of all the blessings of grace; and to observe how this distinguishing act of God's sovereign will has taken place, both among Jews and Gentiles; in treating of which, he knew he should go contrary to the sense of his countrymen the Jews, who have a notion that all Israel shall have a part in, or inherit the world to come ^q: and that the Gentiles will be for ever miserable; and nothing was more disagreeable to them, than to talk of their rejection of God, and the calling of the Gentiles; wherefore that it might be manifest, that it was not out of pique and ill will to them, that the apostle said the things hereafter related; he expresses the most cordial affection to them imaginable, and which he introduces in Rom 9:1, by way of appeal to Christ, who knew the truth of what he was about to say, and who could, together with the Spirit of God and his own conscience, testify for him that it was no lie: the thing he appeals for the truth of, is in Rom 9:2, that the salvation of the Jews lay near his heart; that it was no pleasure to him to think or speak of their rejection, but was what gave him continual pain and uneasiness: and his great desire for their good is expressed in a very strong and uncommon manner, Rom 9:3, the reasons of it are partly the relation they stood in to him, being his brethren and kinsmen; and partly the many privileges they had been favoured with of God; an enumeration of which is given, Rom 9:4, and foreseeing an objection, he prevents it, which might be made, that if the Jews were cast off, the promise of God to that people that he would be their God, would become void, and the preaching the Gospel of Christ to them of no effect; to which he answers by distinguishing between Israel and Israel, or the elect of God among them, and those that were not; wherefore though the latter were rejected according to the purpose of God, the promise and preaching of the word had their effect in the former, Rom 9:6, and that there was such a distinction, he proves from the two sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, who were both Abraham's seed; yet one was a child of promise, and the other a child of the flesh, and were emblematical of the children of the promise, and the children of the flesh among that people; Rom 9:7, and further confirms this by the instance of Jacob and Esau, who were born of the same parents, and were twins; and yet one was in the favour of God, and the other not; and that this was owing not to works, but to the sovereign will of God in election, he proves by observing that this was before good or evil were done by either of them, Rom 9:11, and that this was notified to Rebekah before, Rom 9:12, as appears from a passage in Gen 25:23, and by another passage in Mal 1:2, which is cited, Rom 9:13, then an objection is started, Rom 9:14, that if God loves one, and hates another, both being in equal circumstances, as Jacob and Esau were, he must be guilty of unrighteousness; which he answers and removes, first by a detestation of such a charge against God, and then by producing testimonies out of the books of Moses, proving both election and reprobation, as being not of the works of men, but of the will of God; the former of these he proves, Rom 9:15, from Exo 33:19, by which it appears, that the choice of men to salvation is not according to the will of man, but according to the grace and love of God, Rom 9:16, the latter he proves by the case of Pharaoh, Rom 9:17, and the Scripture relating to that, Exo 9:16, and from both testimonies concludes, Rom 9:18, that God's having mercy on one, and hardening another, are according to his sovereign will and pleasure; then another objection rises, up, if so, God has no reason to find fault with men that are hardened in sin, since they are according to his will, and in sinning do but fulfil it, and which no man resists; and this objection is formed in a very pert and sneering manner, and insinuates that God is cruel and acts unreasonably, Rom 9:19, to which he answers, by putting the objector in mind that he was a man, a mere creature that started it, and that it was God against whom it was made; and by observing the folly and madness of replying against God, and the absurdity of such a procedure, taken from the consideration of the one being a creature, and the other the Creator, Rom 9:20, and by instancing in the case of the potter, who has power over his clay, to form it in what shape, and for what use he pleases, Rom 9:21, and accommodates this, both to the affair of election and reprobation, and to the business of the latter first, Rom 9:22, where he observes the end of God in it to show forth his power and wrath, and describes the subjects of it, which clears him from injustice, and points at the patience of God towards them, which frees him from the charge of cruelty, Rom 9:22, and then proceeds to apply the metaphor before used, to the objects of election styled vessels of mercy, and the end of the Lord to manifest the riches of his glory in them, and the method he takes to bring them to eternal happiness, by preparing them for it by grace, Rom 9:23, which is done in the effectual calling, the objects of which are both Jews and Gentiles, Rom 9:24, That it is the will of God that the Gentiles should be called, he proves, Rom 9:25, from some passages in Hosea, Hos 2:23, and that God had chosen, and so would call some among the Jews, he clearly makes appear, Rom 9:27, from some prophecies of Isaiah, Isa 10:22, and then he concludes the chapter by observing the free and distinguishing grace of God, in the calling of the Gentiles, and the justification of them by the righteousness of Christ; that such who were far off from it, and sought not after it, should enjoy it, Rom 9:30, when the Israelites, who were diligent and zealous in seeking after a righteousness to justify them before God, yet did not arrive to one, Rom 9:31, the reasons of which are given, Rom 9:32, because it was not the righteousness of faith, or the righteousness of Christ received by faith they sought; but a legal one, and by works which can never be attained by sinful men: they sought after a wrong righteousness, and in a wrong way, because they stumbled at Christ, and rejected him and his righteousness; and this removes an objection which is suggested in the two preceding verses, that God is unrighteous in calling the Gentiles, who never sought after righteousness, and in rejecting the Jews that followed after one: and that they did stumble at Christ and his righteousness, is no other than what was foretold in Isa 8:14, and that whoever believes in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, shall be saved, he suggests is a doctrine agreeably to Isa 28:16, which passages are referred to, Rom 9:33

College: Romans (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

I. ROMANS: ITS INFLUENCE AND IMPORTANCE

God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Ps 119:105), and no part of it shines more brilliantly than the book of Romans. The truth of God's Word sets us free (John 8:32), and Romans teaches us the most liberating of all truths. God's Word is sharp and piercing like a sword (Heb 4:12), and no blade penetrates more deeply into our hearts than Romans. Overall the book of Romans may be the most read and most influential book of the Bible, but sometimes it is the most neglected and most misunderstood book. The Restoration Movement has tended to concentrate especially on the book of Acts, which is truly foundational and indispensable. But Romans is to Acts what meat is to milk. We need to mature; we need to graduate from Acts to Romans.

In 1 Cor 15:3-4 Paul sums up the gospel as these three truths: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised up again on the third day. The reality of the historical facts of the Savior's death and resurrection is stressed over and over in the book of Acts. Romans, however, is an exposition of the meaning of these facts. In the language of 1 Cor 15:3, Romans focuses not on "Christ died," but on the next three words: " for our sins ." Acts explains what salvation consists of and how we may receive it. Romans does the same, but carries the explanation to heights and depths that thrill and satisfy the soul, providing it with an experience that is at the same time intellectual, spiritual, and esthetic.

The unparalleled ability of Romans to convict sinners and to motivate Christians is well attested. The comment of Sanday and Headlam (v) has often been noted: "If it is a historical fact that the spiritual revivals of Christendom have been usually associated with closer study of the Bible, this would be true in an eminent degree of the Epistle to the Romans." Leon Morris (1) concurs: "It is commonly agreed that the Epistle to the Romans is one of the greatest Christian writings. Its power has been demonstrated again and again at critical points in the history of the Christian church."

The role of Romans in Augustine's conversion is well known. In his Confessions he tells how a discussion of Christian commitment with two of his friends brought him under strong conviction, filling him with remorse for his sins of sexual immorality and a sense of helplessness to overcome them. Later he and his friend Alypius went into the garden, taking along a copy of Paul's writings. Augustine went off by himself to weep over his sins. While doing so, he reports, "I heard the voice as of a boy or girl, I know not which, coming from a neighbouring house, chanting, and oft repeating, 'Take up and read; take up and read.'" He took this as a sign from God to open the book of Paul's writings and read the first passage that met his eyes. He quickly returned to where Alypius was sitting and the book was lying. When he opened it, the first words he saw were these from Rom 13:13-14: "Not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." This experience and these words gave him what he needed to turn completely to Christ. He says, "No further would I read, nor did I need; for instantly, as the sentence ended, - by a light, as it were, of security infused into my heart, - all the gloom of doubt vanished away."

Godet (1) declares that "the Reformation was undoubtedly the work of the Epistle to the Romans." Morris (1) agrees: "The Reformation may be regarded as the unleashing of new spiritual life as a result of a renewed understanding of the teaching of Romans."

Insofar as the Reformation depends on the work of Martin Luther, this is surely the case. Luther confesses how in 1519 he had an ardent desire to understand the epistle to the Romans. His problem was the way he had been taught to understand the expression "the righteousness of God" in Rom 1:17. To him it meant the divine justice and wrath by which God punishes sin, which did not sound very much like gospel . "Nevertheless," he says, "I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted." Finally, by the mercy of God, he began to understand this expression in a totally different way, i.e., as the righteousness of Christ that God bestows upon the sinner and on the basis of which the sinner is justified. The effect on Luther was electrifying: "I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates." This new understanding of this one verse - Rom 1:17 - changed everything; it became in a real sense the doorway to the Reformation. "Thus that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise," says Luther ("Latin Writings," 336-337).

Luther's regard for Romans is clearly seen in this well-known paragraph from his famous preface to this epistle:

This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes ("Preface," 365).

These words, first published in 1522, were echoed almost verbatim by the English reformer William Tyndale, in his prologue to his 1534 English translation of the New Testament. He says, "This epistle is the principal and most excellent part of the New Testament, and most pure . . . gospel, and also a light and a way in unto the whole Scripture." He also recommends learning it by heart and studying it daily, because "so great treasure of spiritual things lieth hid therein."

The Swiss reformer John Calvin echoes some of Tyndale's thoughts in his own commentary on Romans (xxix): "When any one gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture."

Working indirectly through Luther's preface, the book of Romans had an effect on John Wesley similar to the way it influenced Augustine and Luther. In his journal Wesley recounts his own search for personal victory over sin and assurance of salvation based on trust in the blood of Christ alone. He tells what happened to him on May 24, 1738:

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurace was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine , and saved me from the law of sin and death ( Works , I:103).

Modern scholars and expositors seem unable to praise the letter to the Romans highly enough. Philip Schaff has said, "The Epistle to the Romans is the Epistle of the Epistles, as the Gospel of John is the Gospel of the Gospels" ("Preface," v). "This is in every sense the greatest of the Epistles of Paul, if not the greatest book in the New Testament," declares Thiessen ( Introduction , 219). Newell (375) says Romans is "probably the greatest book in the Bible." "If the apostle Paul had written nothing else, he would still be recognized as one of the outstanding Christian thinkers of all time on the basis of this letter alone," say Newman and Nida (1). This familiar praise comes from Godet (x):

The pious Sailer used to say, "O Christianity, had thy one work been to produce a St. Paul, that alone would have rendered thee dear to the coldest reason." May we not be permitted to add: And thou, O St. Paul, had thy one work been to compose an Epistle to the Romans, that alone would have rendered thee dear to every sound reason.

Godet adds, "The Epistle to the Romans is the cathedral of the Christian faith" (1).

Others add even higher praise. Batey (7) says, "Paul's epistle to the Romans stands among the most important pieces of literature in the intellectual history of Western man." "It is safe to say that Romans is probably the most powerful human document ever written," declares Stedman. Some might think this honor should go to the U.S. Constitution or to the Declaration of Independence. "But even they cannot hold a candle to the impact the Epistle to the Romans has had upon human history" (I:1-2). Boice avows: "Christianity has been the most powerful, transforming force in human history - and the book of Romans is the most basic, most comprehensive statement of true Christianity" (I:13).

Commentators often quote this statement from Coleridge: "I think St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans the most profound work in existence" ( Table Talk , 245). Many will certainly agree, but to Coleridge such profundity was not altogether a virtue. For him it meant that Romans "undoubtedly . . . is, and must be, very obscure to ordinary readers" (ibid., 245-246). Indeed, some think that the Apostle Peter may have been referring to Romans in 2 Pet 3:16. But at the same time, perhaps paradoxically, Newell is correct when he says (vii), "There is no more simple book in the Bible than Romans, when one comes to know the book, its contents, its message, its power."

Scholars praise Romans as the clearest statement of the gospel of salvation. As noted above, Luther called it "the purest gospel." Nygren agrees (3): "What the gospel is, what the content of the Christian faith is, one learns to know in the Epistle to the Romans as in no other place in the New Testament." Cranfield says Romans is "the most systematic and complete exposition of the gospel that the NT contains" (I:31). The Restoration scholar Moses Lard (xx) concurs: "It is the whole gospel compressed into the short space of a single letter - a generalization of Christianity up to the hight [sic] of the marvelous, and a detail down to exhaustion." In Stott's words (19), Romans is "the fullest, plainest and grandest statement of the gospel in the New Testament."

Scholars also praise Romans for its unparalleled presentation of the essence of Christian doctrine . In his preface to Romans (380) Luther says that in Romans we "find most abundantly the things that a Christian ought to know, namely, what is law, gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, righteousness, Christ, God, good works, love, hope, and the cross; and also how we are to conduct ourselves toward everyone." Thus it seems that Paul "wanted in this one epistle to sum up briefly the whole Christian and evangelical doctrine." Schaff declares it to be "the heart of the doctrinal portion of the New Testament. It presents in systematic order the fundamental truths of Christianity in their primitive purity, inexhaustible depth, all-conquering force, and never-failing comfort. It is the bulwark of the evangelical doctrines of sin and grace" ("Preface," v).

Modern writers agree. "The truth laid down in Romans forms the Gibraltar basis of doctrine, teaching, and confession in the true evangelical church," says Lenski (8). Moo says the Puritan writer Thomas Draxe described Romans as "the quintessence and perfection of saving doctrine." Moo agrees: "When we think of Romans, we think of doctrine" (I:1). Lard (xx) calls Romans Paul's "great doctrinal chart for the future." Newman and Nida (1) declare that "above all else, the appeal of Romans is its theology ."

Concerning its doctrinal content, MacArthur lists 49 significant questions about God and man that are answered by Romans, e.g., How can a person who has never heard the gospel be held spiritually responsible? How can a sinner be forgiven and justified by God? How are God's grace and God's law related? Why is there suffering? MacArthur points out that these key words are used repeatedly in the epistle: God (154 times), law (77), Christ (66), sin (45), Lord (44), and faith (40).

Which of these assessments is correct? Is Romans the crowning presentation of the Christian gospel ? Or is it the grandest statement of Christian doctrine ? Actually, it is both. Romans is the theology of the New Testament; it is also the definitive statement of the gospel. In this epistle doctrine and gospel merge, and the result is a spiritual feast for Christians.

Boice (I:10) advises that "it is time to rediscover Romans." Actually, it is always time to "rediscover" Romans, and down through the history of Christianity individuals have been doing just this. The results have been earth-shaking. It can and does happen over and over, in the lives of individuals, in congregations, in the Church at large. F.F. Bruce (60) has well said, "There is no telling what may happen when people begin to study the Epistle to the Romans."

II. THE AUTHOR OF ROMANS

The epistle to the Romans was written by the Apostle Paul (1:1). In the past a few critics challenged this, but without any real basis in fact. Today, as Cranfield says, "no responsible criticism disputes its Pauline origin" (I:2). Romans was quoted by the earliest Christian writers (Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin), and was attributed to Paul by name by Marcion in the mid-second century. Since the time of Irenaeus (late second century) writers have explicitly and regularly viewed it as Pauline.

Though composed and dictated by Paul, the letter was actually written down by a Christian scribe named Tertius, who inserted his own greeting in 16:22.

A. PAUL'S JEWISH BACKGROUND

It is not necessary to go into the details of Paul's life, except for a few facts that are important in view of the content of the epistle, which relates especially to the distinction between law and grace. One relevant fact is Paul's Jewish background, which he proudly avowed: "I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin," a "Hebrew of Hebrews" (11:1; Phil 3:5; 2 Cor 11:22). Though born in Tarsus, he was reared in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3), the capital of Judaism.

Paul's education included strict and thorough religious training in the contents of the Old Testament - especially the Law (Torah) - at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was one of the most famous and most revered of all rabbis. His knowledge of the Law was so great that he was practically identified with it, being given the title "the Beauty of the Law." A saying recorded in the Talmud declares, "Since Rabban Gamaliel died the glory of the Law has ceased." "Under Gamaliel," says Paul, "I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers" (Acts 22:3). "Thoroughly" translates kataÉ ajkrivbeian ( kata akribeian ), "according to exactness, strictness, precision."

Paul's zeal for God and commitment to his Law was total (Acts 22:3; Gal 1:14). He was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6; Phil 3:5), which he properly identified as "the strictest sect of our religion" (Acts 26:5). The glory of the Pharisees was the Law; they were devoted to akribeia in its interpretation and observance (Dunn, I:xl). Thus Paul not only knew the Law but also devoted himself to scrupulous obedience to its commandments (Acts 26:4-5; Phil 3:6).

This probably means that he was a legalist in the proper sense of that word, i.e., one who sought acceptance by God on the basis of his obedience to the Law. This is implied in the way he contrasted his pre-Christian life (Phil 3:6) and his Christian life (Phil 3:9). This is also the way Pharisees are generally pictured in the Gospels.

Paul's zeal for the Law was expressed perhaps most vehemently in his fanatical persecution of the earliest Christians, all converted Jews whom he no doubt regarded as traitors to God and his Law (Phil 3:6). See Acts 7:58; 8:3; 9:1-2; 22:4-5; 26:9-11; Gal 1:13; 1 Tim 1:13.

B. PAUL'S CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY

The second relevant fact about the Apostle Paul is his conversion. The details need not be recounted here. What is important is that the one who converted him to Christianity was no human preacher, but was Jesus himself (Gal 1:15-16). Also, the gospel he preached was not taught to him by a human teacher; he received it by direct revelation from Jesus (Gal 1:11-12). The result was that Paul's conversion, his change, his turnaround, was complete. Whereas before he was totally committed to the Mosaic Law as a way of life and salvation, once converted he was just as totally committed to the gospel of grace.

As a Christian Paul set himself in complete opposition to everything he had stood for as a Pharisee. He now understood the way of law to be futile (10:3). He saw that his former legalistic approach to salvation was, as Murray says, "the antithesis of grace and of justification by faith" (I:xiii). Thus when Paul presents the classic contrast between law and grace in Romans, he speaks as one who knew both sides of the issue from personal experience and from the best teachers available. As Murray says, he is describing "the contrast between the two periods in his own life history, periods divided by the experience of the Damascus road" (I:xiv).

It is no surprise that Paul's preaching of the gospel and his condemnation of law-righteousness turned the Jews completely against him, even to the point that they tried to kill him (Acts 9:29; 13:45; 14:2, 19; 17:5-8; 18:12; 2 Cor 11:24-26). His opponents included "false brothers" (2 Cor 11:26), the Judaizers, or Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah but still clung to the Law of Moses.

In spite of all of this upheaval, Paul did not turn against the Jews as such. He still regarded them as his beloved brothers according to the flesh (9:1-3; 10:1), and as blessed by God in an incomparable way (3:1-2; 9:4-5). In fact, a major aspect of the teaching in Romans is an explanation and a defense of God's purpose for his Old Covenant people, the Jews (see especially chs. 9-11).

C. PAUL'S COMMISSION AS

THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES

The last detail about Paul's life that is relevant here is his call and commission to be the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17). His appointment as an apostle (1:1) invested him with the full authority of Jesus Christ and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that his teachings are truly the Word of God (1 Cor 2:6-13; 1 Thess 2:13). When we read the book of Romans, we must understand it to be nothing less than this.

Also, Paul's appointment as the apostle to the Gentiles (1:5) completely governed his thoughts and deeds from that point on. As a Jew and a Pharisee, he had no doubt shared the typical Hebrew aversion to anything Gentile; and he had no doubt gloried in the Jews' exclusive position as God's chosen people. Thus when God revealed to him the mystery of the Gentiles - that it had been his plan all along to include Gentiles in the people of the Messiah (Eph 3:1-10), Paul was overwhelmed with awe and joy. He unhesitatingly opened his heart to the very people he had once despised. This was another complete turnaround in his life, and he devoted himself totally to his new mission.

Paul's role as apostle to the Gentiles had a direct bearing on his relationship with the Roman church and his letter to them. Paul tells us that he had often desired to visit Rome, in order to preach the gospel and have some converts there, "just as I have had among the other Gentiles" (1:13). But since there was already a church in Rome, God's Spirit directed him into other Gentile areas in Asia Minor and the Greek peninsula first (15:17-22). But now he has covered this territory with three lengthy tours of missionary service (15:19). Thus he is ready to launch out into a totally new area, namely, Spain; and his journey there will take him through Rome, as he announces in this epistle (15:23-24).

Throughout the epistle to the Romans, Paul writes with the full conciousness of his mission to the Gentiles and of the Gentiles in his audience. One point that he clarifies in the letter is the relation of the Gentiles to the Jews with respect to salvation.

III. TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING

Immediately after his baptism Paul began to preach Christ in Damascus (Acts 9:19-20), but soon went away into Arabia (Gal 1:17), which may have been the time he received his revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal 1:12). He went from there back to Damascus, then to Jerusalem (Gal 1:17-18) and elsewhere, and ultimately to Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).

From Antioch Paul launched his first missionary trip among the Gentiles (Acts 13:1-3), which was followed by two more. While in Ephesus on his third journey, "Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. 'After I have been there,' he said, 'I must visit Rome also'" (Acts 19:21). He shortly departed for Achaia (Greece) and arrived in Corinth, where he stayed for three months (Acts 20:1-3). This was approximately twenty years after his conversion, and ten years after the beginning of his first journey.

Corinth was the farthest point of his third trip, whence he retraced his steps back toward Ephesus. He stopped at Miletus instead, and traveled from there on to Jerusalem, with the goal of arriving by Pentecost (Acts 20:16-17). One main reason for the trip to Jerusalem was to deliver the money he had collected from the (mostly Gentile) churches in Galatia, Macedonia, and Greece, to help the poor (mostly Jewish) saints in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:1-4; Rom 15:25-26). Though "compelled by the Spirit" to go to Jerusalem, he was apprehensive about what might happen to him there (Acts 20:22-23).

It was in the midst of this final journey, during the three months Paul spent at Corinth, that he most likely wrote the letter to the Romans. He was apparently staying at the house of Gaius (16:23), one of his converts at Corinth (1 Cor 1:14). The letter was carried to Rome by Phoebe, a Christian from the church in nearby Cenchrea (16:1).

The exact date of the writing of Romans is calculated in relation to the overall chronology of Paul's life and work. There is no unanimity on this chronology, though the differences of opinion are minor. Everyone agrees that the Apostle's stay in Corinth must have been in late winter and/or early spring, since he planned to set out from there and arrive in Jerusalem by Pentecost. Most agree also that this would have been in the middle or late 50s. Thus Romans was probably written early in A.D. 56, 57, or 58.

IV. RECIPIENTS OF ROMANS:

THE CHURCH IN ROME

Rome was the largest and most important city in the Roman Empire in Paul's day. Its population was probably over one million. Of this number, it is estimated that forty to fifty thousand were Jews, with as many as fifteen identifiable synagogues (Dunn, I:xlvi; Edwards, 9).

How the church in Rome originated is not known. There is no real evidence that Peter founded it, contrary to a common tradition. Some say that Rom 15:20 shows this could not have been the case. Here Paul says that he does not intend to "be building on someone else's foundation." The fact that he did plan to visit Rome and work there implies that no apostle had been there yet (MacArthur, I:xviii; Moo, I:4).

One very common speculation is that the Roman church was probably started by Jews and proselytes from Rome who were in the audience that heard Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), and who were among the converts baptized that day. Upon returning to Rome, they would have established the church there. If so, and this seems very likely, then the first Christians in Rome were converts from Judaism.

Another likely speculation is that Christians from other churches, perhaps some of Paul's own converts from his earlier work in Tarsus and Antioch and Asia Minor, were among those who started the Roman church and helped it to grow. Perhaps some of Paul's acquaintances named in Romans 16 were among this group. Such a scenario is highly probable, given the importance of Rome and the constant travel to and from that city.

Thus the church in Rome would have begun not as the result of some formal missionary effort, but by residents converted while traveling (e.g., Acts 2:10) and by Christians moving there from other places. Their own evangelistic efforts would certainly have focused on the synagogues of Rome, following the pattern of evangelism reflected in the book of Acts. This would have resulted in converts not only from Judaism but also from among Gentile "God-fearers" who were commonly attached to the synagogues (Dunn, I:xlvii-xlviii).

The epistle to the Romans is addressed "to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints" (1:7). The main question about these saints is the relative number of Jews and Gentiles among them. In answering this question, scholars usually begin with one solid historical fact, and then draw conclusions based on inferences and a bit of speculation. This has led to the following scenario, for which there is considerable consensus among commentators today.

The one fact is that the Roman emperor Claudius issued a decree that expelled all Jews from Rome. This is recorded in Acts 18:2, and is also mentioned by the Roman historian Suetonius. The exact date of the decree is somewhat unclear, but the best calculation is A.D. 49. The reason for the decree is stated thus by Suetonius: "Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, (Emperor Claudius) expelled them from the city" (cited in Fiensy, Introduction , 224). Though we cannot be certain about this, most scholars agree that "Chrestus" is just a mistaken spelling of "Christus," and that the decree had to do with Jesus Christ.

In what way would Christ be instigating disturbances among the Jews in Rome? It is inferred that this refers to conflicts among the Jews stemming from Christian evangelism in the various synagogues. Because there was a wide diversity among the Jews and synagogues in Rome, it is concluded that some were more receptive to Christianity than others, and that this must have led to disputes among them. The resulting unrest was apparently unpleasant enough for Claudius to order all Jews to leave the city. It is also assumed that his decree did not make a distinction between unbelieving and believing Jews; thus even the Jewish Christians had to leave, e.g., Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2). After the decree the Roman church thus would be composed almost entirely of Gentiles. (See Donfried, "Presuppositions," 104-105.)

When Claudius died around A.D. 54, the decree was no longer enforced, and Jews and Jewish Christians were free to return to Rome. Some think, however, that they were still forbidden to assemble publicly (Wiefel, "Community," 92-94). The results for the church would have been twofold. First, the problem with public assembly may have forced the Christians to set up a number of "house churches," a possibility that seems to be confirmed in Rom 16:5, 14, 15. Second, the returning Jewish Christians would find the Roman church dominated by the Gentile Christians, if not in number then certainly in power and influence (Wiefel, "Community," 94-96).

Thus the saints in Rome, to whom the letter is addressed, were almost certainly a mixture of Jewish and Gentile Christians, though there is no way to tell which group had the larger number. If the circumstances outlined in the above scenario are correct, however, it is safe to assume that there was tension if not conflict among the two groups. Wiefel refers to "quarrels about status" ("Community," 96). Bruce says, "It is implied in Romans 11:13-24 that the Gentile Christians tended to look down on their Jewish brethren as poor relations" ("Debate," 180). Dunn speaks of "at least some friction between Gentile and Jew" within the house churches, with the Jews being in a minority and feeling themselves vulnerable (I:liii).

What is obvious is that in the epistle Paul addresses both groups, with some passages being specifically directed toward the Jewish Christians and some toward the Gentile Christians (see Moo, I:10-11; Murray, I:xviii-xix). Some say the letter as a whole is directed mainly to the Jewish saints; others say it was mainly intended for the Gentiles.

Hendriksen is surely right, though, when he says that regarding the main point of Romans this whole question is really irrelevant, since it applies equally to both groups (I:23). All are sinners (3:9, 23), no one will be saved by law (3:19-20), and all are equal recipients of the grace that is in Christ Jesus (3:24; 4:11-12). Hendriksen stresses Rom 10:12-13, "For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

V. THE OCCASION OF THE WRITING

What were the circumstances that prompted Paul to write his epistle to the Romans? We have already noted that he wrote the letter during his three-month stay in Corinth on his final mission trip. What sorts of things were going through his mind that led him to write it at that particular time?

We are fortunate that Paul reveals his mind to us in certain statements of his desires and plans in chapters 1 and 15. These statements show us what occasioned the writing of Romans.

One main consideration was Paul's immediate travel plans, as they related to his all-determining calling as apostle to the Gentiles (15:15-24). He refers to his "priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God" (15:16). For twenty years he had been preaching in the eastern and northeastern sections of the Mediterranean area, and had covered it well. "So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum," he says, "I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ"; so now "there is no more place for me to work in these regions" (15:19, 23). Thus he decided to change his focus to the northwestern section, Spain in particular (15:24, 28). In his mind he was already planning his trip to Spain.

But first he had to go to Jerusalem (15:25-31). His purpose for doing this was to deliver the funds he had been collecting from the Gentile churches "for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem" (15:26). He wanted to do this personally, to make sure that the funds were properly received (15:28). To this end he asked the Roman Christians to offer two specific prayers for him (15:30-31).

First, he knew that he still had many enemies in Jerusalem among the Jews especially. He knew that some of these enemies had already tried to kill him. Thus he really was not sure what dangers he might be facing in Jerusalem. Nevertheless he was determined to go (Acts 20:22-23), so he requested that the Roman Christians "pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea" (15:31). He was not afraid of losing his life; he just did not want his newly-formed missionary plans to be aborted (Acts 20:24; Rom 15:32).

Second, Paul was not really sure how the offering from the Gentile churches would be received by the Jewish saints in Jerusalem. There were still a lot of suspicions and misunderstandings between the two groups, mostly about the relation between the Old and New Covenants and the role of the Mosaic Law in the life of the Christian. Thus the money he was bringing to the poor in Jerusalem was not just an act of charity, but was also a symbol of unity between the two main factions in the church. Thus Paul was anxious that it might be received in the proper spirit, so he asked the Romans to pray "that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there" (15:31).

Thus Paul was ultimately bound for Spain, after an initial trip to Jerusalem. But there was a third item in his itinerary: an intermediate stop in Rome itself (Acts 19:21; 23:11), a place he had never been. So he announced to the Christians in Rome that on his way to Spain he would stop and visit them (15:23, 24, 28). This was something he had longed to do for many years and had even made plans to do (1:11, 13; 15:23), but had "often been hindered from coming to you" (15:22; cf. 1:13).

Paul had many reasons for wanting to visit the church in Rome. For one thing, he wanted to enlist their help for his mission to Spain. "I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there," he says (15:24). But he had other reasons that predated his plans for Spain. For example, he seems simply to have desired to visit with the Christians there: to have fellowship with them, to enjoy their company, to be spiritually refreshed by them (15:24, 32), and to be encouraged by them (1:12). After all, he knew quite a few of them personally (16:3-15).

Paul's principal longstanding reason for wanting to visit Rome, though, was his desire to preach the gospel there. "I am obligated," he says, "both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome" (1:14-15). By this means or by some accompanying means he would be able to "impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong" (1:11). This would also enable him to "have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles" (1:13).

No wonder that Paul says he was praying "that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you" (1:10).

These are the immediate circumstances that prompted Paul to write the epistle to the Romans. But a simple presentation of these facts does not in itself answer the question of exactly why he wrote the letter. What was his purpose for writing? What did he hope to accomplish by writing this particular letter? This is the subject of the next section.

VI. THE PURPOSE OF ROMANS

The question of Paul's purpose for writing the epistle to the Romans is very controversial; there is much disagreement about it. Everyone agrees on the facts described above relating to the occasion for the writing. The problem is that these facts have to be assessed in view of the contents of the main body of the letter, 1:18-15:13. The question is not just why he wrote a letter to the Roman church, but why he wrote this specific letter with this particular content. Why does he write "such a lengthy and involved discussion to a largely unknown congregation"? (Dunn, I:lv).

There are two basic approaches to this question. The older and more traditional approach is that the historical circumstances as described in the previous section were not particularly relevant with regard to Paul's decision to write the letter. Neither Paul's own plans nor the state of the Roman church presented him with a pressing need or occasion that required him to write. Thus unlike his other letters, Romans is more or less non-occasional. It is regarded rather as a kind of timeless theological essay on the essence of Christianity. As Sanday and Headlam describe this view, "the main object of the Epistle is doctrinal; it is rather a theological treatise than a letter; its purpose is to instruct the Roman Church in central principles of the faith, and has but little reference to the circumstances of the moment" (xl).

The more recent approaches to the purpose of Romans take the opposite view, that it is "a situational letter rather than a doctrinal treatise" (Jewett, "Argument," 265). Paul was not simply writing an essay detached from his circumstances, but was specifically addressing a particular situation that needed his attention at that time. Thus Romans is just as much an occasional letter as 1 Corinthians or Galatians.

Those who take the latter approach usually go in one of two directions. Some emphasize that Paul wrote the letter to fulfill certain needs of his own, relating to his trip either to Jerusalem or to Spain. Others say that Paul wrote mainly to meet the needs of the Roman church at that particular time.

It is possible, of course, that Paul had more than one purpose for writing Romans, as Cranfield says: "It is surely quite clear that Paul did not have just one single purpose in mind but rather a complex of purposes and hopes" (II:815). Dunn (I:lx) and Moo (I:20) agree.

A. ROMANS IS A DOCTRINAL ESSAY

Now we shall go into a bit more detail concerning the possibilities outlined above. The first view is that Paul was not addressing a specific situation but was writing a timeless doctrinal essay. In its most extreme form this view says that Romans is a complete systematic theology, a compendium of Christian doctrine. Shedd (viii) calls it " an inspired system of theology , . . . a complete statement of religious truth." Romans is so "encyclopædic in its structure" that one "need not go outside of this Epistle, in order to know all religious truth."

More recently Bornkamm has taken a similar view, describing Romans as Paul's "last will and testament" - "a summary of his theology in light of the impending danger in Jerusalem" (Donfried, "Presuppositions," 103). Bornkamm says ("Letter," 27-28), "This great document . . . summarizes and develops the most important themes and thoughts of the Pauline message and theology and . . . elevates his theology above the moment of definite situations and conflicts into the sphere of the eternally and universally valid."

Many writers agree that Romans was not occasioned by some immediate need or crisis but was a kind of doctrinal essay. Nygren says (4), "The characteristic and peculiar thing about Romans, differentiating it from the rest of Paul's epistles, is just the fact that it was not, or was only in slight degree aimed at circumstances within a certain congregation." Lenski (10-12) agrees.

Most who take this non-occasional view, however, say that it is an exaggeration to call Romans a full-blown systematic theology. "If Romans is a compendium of theology," says Morris (8), "there are some curious gaps." (See also Moo, I:1; Hendriksen, I:25; W. Williams, 19-20.) It is a doctrinal essay, to be sure, but one that is more focused and limited in its scope.

Just what is the focus of this doctrinal essay? The most common view is that it has to do with the doctrines of salvation, i.e., that Romans is a summary or synopsis of Paul's gospel . Morris says that Paul probably thought his three-month, pressure-free sojourn in Corinth was a good time to bring together the timeless teachings that had crystallized in his thinking during his twenty years as a preacher. Thus he sets forth "a summary of the gospel and its consequences as he understood them" (pp. 18-19). Cranfield likewise says it is likely that Paul "was conscious of having reached a certain maturity of experience, reflection and understanding, which made the time ripe for him to attempt, with God's help, such an orderly presentation of the gospel" (II:817).

Vincent summarizes this whole approach quite well when he says that Romans "is distinguished among the epistles by its systematic character. Its object is to present a comprehensive statement of the doctrine of salvation through Christ, not a complete system of christian doctrine" ( Word Studies , III:x). As Hendriksen says (I:25), "Romans is not really 'a complete compendium of Christian Doctrine.' If it had been Paul's intention to draw up such a document, he would surely have included far more material." The specific doctrine he deals with is one needed not just in Rome but by all people in all times: " the manner in which sinners are saved ." (See Edwards, 3.)

The idea that Romans is a kind of doctrinal essay focusing on the general doctrine of salvation is correct, in my opinion. However, I do not think it is wise to separate it too sharply from the occasion or circumstances discussed in the last section. I question W. Williams' approach, for example, when he says (19), "The Epistle to the Romans is a discussion of the relation of the Gentile world to God's plan of salvation," and in the next sentence says, "This discussion was incidental to the apostle's circumstances." In my opinion this is a false choice. It is an essay on salvation, but its purpose was definitely related to the circumstances at that time, as we shall see below.

B. ROMANS WAS OCCASIONED

BY PAUL'S IMMEDIATE NEEDS

The second major approach to the purpose of Romans is that it was occasioned by the various circumstances relating to Paul's immediate plans in relation to his mission. In other words, it was designed to meet needs that Paul felt in his own life at the time. As Jervell says, "Its raison d'être does not stem from the situation of the Roman congregation, but is to be found in Paul himself at the time of writing" ("Letter," 54).

The main idea here resembles the modern practice of churches requesting that prospective ministers send a tape recording of one of their sermons. In this case Paul takes the initiative and sets forth in writing a "sermon" or a lengthy presentation of his gospel. He does this because he needs to introduce himself to people who are not familiar with him or with what he preaches. Or, he does this because his enemies are spreading false rumors about what he preaches, and are misrepresenting his gospel especially as to what he says about Jew-Gentile relations. Thus Romans is not just a presentation but also a defense of Paul's gospel.

This is how Moo explains the purpose of Romans. The various circumstances that he faced "forced Paul to write a letter in which he carefully rehearsed his understanding of the gospel, especially as it related to the salvation-historical questions of Jew and Gentile and the continuity of the plan of salvation" (I:20). Bruce agrees that it was "expedient that Paul should communicate to the Roman Christians an outline of the message which he proclaimed. Misrepresentations of his preaching and his apostolic procedure were current and must have found their way to Rome" ("Debate," 182). (See Stuhlmacher, "Purpose," 236.)

Why was it crucial for Paul at this particular time to write such a presentation and defense of his gospel? The answer is that it was necessary in order to facilitate his immediate plans. For one thing, he was on his way to Jerusalem with the offering for the poor saints, and was apprehensive about how this would turn out. Thus some contend that in this letter Paul was rehearsing what he was going to say in Jerusalem in defense of himself and in an effort to seal Jew-Gentile unity. He sent the product to the Roman church in a letter, asking them to pray for him and the upcoming Jerusalem episode (15:30-32). Thus, says Jervell, Romans is Paul's "'collection speech,' or more precisely, the defense which Paul plans to give before the church in Jerusalem." He sends it to Rome "to ask the Roman congregation for solidarity, support, and intercession on his behalf" ("Letter," 56). Dunn calls this Paul's "apologetic purpose" (I:lvi; see I:xlii-xliii).

Though this is a fairly common view today, some object to it or at least doubt that it could be the only purpose for Romans (Moo, I:18). Thus other aspects of Paul's immediate plans must have elicited the letter. One of the most obvious is Paul's plan to visit Rome itself. Though he knew some of the Roman Christians, he had never been in Rome and would not know most of the people there. It must have seemed expedient, then, for him to write a kind of "letter of introduction" to himself, especially in view of the false rumors that were probably afoot.

This is how Morris understands it (16-17). Paul used his three-month interlude in Corinth "to write to the Roman Christians to let them know of his plan to visit them and to set down in order something of what the gospel meant." He wanted to give them "a clear but profound statement of the essential message of Christianity as he proclaimed it. This will show the Romans where he stands." MacArthur's view is similar: "Paul's letter to the church at Rome was, among other things, an introduction to himself as an apostle. He clearly set forth the gospel he preached and taught, so that believers in Rome would have complete confidence in his authority" (I:xix). (See also Stott, 34.)

Those who hold this view usually take it a step further, and say that Paul laid out and defended his gospel to the Romans as a means of enlisting their support for his Spanish mission. In a real sense Rome was just a means to an end, both in Paul's itinerary and in his missionary strategy. He needed them as a kind of "base of operations" for what he hoped to accomplish in Spain (Stott, 33). Thus "if Rome was to be his base, the Romans would need to be assured of his message and theological position" (Morris, 17). This is what Dunn calls Paul's "missionary purpose" for Romans (I:lv). This is a fairly common view. (See Cranfield, II:817-818; Jewett, "Argument," 266, 277.)

C. ROMANS WAS OCCASIONED BY NEEDS AT ROME ITSELF

As we have just seen, those who believe the writing of Romans was motivated by the immediate circumstances sometimes locate those circumstances in Paul's own personal needs. Others who take the occasional approach, however, believe that the situation in Rome itself is what Paul is specifically addressing in this epistle. Though he had not been there, he still would have been acquainted with the state of the Roman church. It was, after all, a famous church (1:8). Besides, Paul's Roman friends, such as Aquila and Priscilla (16:3), would probably have kept him informed especially of any problems that existed there (Sanday and Headlam, xl-xli).

Whatever the nature of those problems or needs, Paul wrote to resolve them. Since all of Paul's other letters were "addressed to the specific situations of the churches or persons involved," says Donfried, we must begin with the assumption that Romans "was written by Paul to deal with a concrete situation in Rome" ("Presuppositions," 103). This is what Dunn calls Paul's "pastoral purpose" (I:lvi-lviii).

1. The Need for Jew-Gentile Unity

What sorts of needs existed at Rome that would call forth from Paul's pen the most magnificent gospel tract ever written? Several possibilities are suggested, but the one most commonly held begins with the assumption that there was considerable tension in the Roman church between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. Thus the purpose of Paul's letter was to resolve this tension.

This view usually grows out of the speculations (discussed above) concerning the development of the Roman church following Claudius' decree expelling the Jews from Rome. With Jewish Christians being forced to leave Rome, the Gentile Christians became the dominant force; and this situation prevailed even after the former returned to Rome. This led to conflict between the two factions. This scenario is supported by the various references to Jews and Gentiles (Greeks) in Romans, by the discussion of the weak (Jews?) and the strong (Gentiles?) in 14:1-15:13, and by several references to unity and division within the church (12:16; 15:5; 16:17-18). Such texts seem to be evidence of a "basic division existing between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians at Rome" (P. Williams, "Purpose," 64).

This view has been argued by Marxsen and more recently by Wiefel, who concludes that Romans "was written to assist the Gentile Christian majority, who are the primary addressees of the letter, to live together with the Jewish Christians in one congregation, thereby putting an end to their quarrels about status" ("Community," 96). Here is Edwards' summary (15-16):

Romans is addressed to the problems which inevitably resulted when Jewish Christians began returning to Rome following the edict of Claudius. We can imagine their trials of readjusting to churches which had become increasingly Gentile in their absence. Would Gentile believers who had established their supremacy during the Jewish absence, and for whom the law was now largely irrelevant, continue to find a place within their fellowship for a Jewish Christian minority which still embraced the law? Paul cannot have been unaware of such concerns.

In Dunn's words, "Paul wrote to counter (potential) divisions within Rome among the Christian house churches, particularly the danger of gentile believers despising less liberated Jewish believers" (I:lvii). (See also Stott, 34-36.)

2. The Need for an Apostolic Foundation

Another possible need being addressed by Paul is related to the circumstances of the origin of the church in Rome. It is inferred from 15:20 that no apostle was involved in its founding, nor as yet had even visited Rome. Thus Paul was concerned that the church did not have a solid apostolic foundation (see Eph 2:20), and he writes this epistle in order to provide that foundation. This is the view of Günter Klein ("Purpose," 39, 42), but Morris (11-12) gives reasons for doubting it.

3. The Need for Paul's Gospel

Another possibility (to which I subscribe) is that Paul did indeed recognize the need of the Roman church to hear his apostolic preaching and teaching, but not necessarily in a foundational sense. This view begins with Paul's sense of duty, based upon his special calling, to preach the gospel to everyone in the Gentile world (1:14), including those in Rome: "That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome" (1:15).

But these people are already Christians. Why would Paul want to "preach the gospel" to believers ? Here is a point that is often missed: the gospel is more than just the initial evangelistic witness given to unbelievers with a view to their conversion. It also includes the deeper meaning and implications of the basic facts of salvation, which are things about which even mature believers can never hear enough. That Paul wanted to preach the gospel to the Christians in Rome means that he wanted to go deeper into the meaning of Christ's saving work "for our sins," unfolding for them the full power of the gospel in the Christian life and at the same time clearing up common misunderstandings that may arise through incomplete knowledge.

Paul's desire, of course, was to do this in person, and he had often planned to travel to Rome for this very reason. Up to this point, however, God's providence had prevented it (1:13; 15:22). Now he is once again planning to go to Rome, after his trip to Jerusalem with the offering. But based on his past experience and the uncertainty about what would happen to him in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22-24), at this point he could not be certain that he would ever reach Rome in person.

This led Paul to the conclusion that if he was ever going to preach the gospel in Rome, perhaps the only way he would be able to do so was in writing . Thus he takes the time, while staying in Corinth just before traveling to Jerusalem, to prepare a well-thought-out essay on the gospel as every Christian needs to hear it; and he sends it on to Rome in advance of his intended trip there. Thus it seems likely, says Campbell, that "the letter is the written equivalent of the oral presentation which Paul would have delivered to the congregation had he himself been present" ("Key," 258).

According to this view, then, Romans is not just a basic presentation of the gospel, written in order to provide the Roman Christians with a missing apostolic foundation. And as Nygren (7) rightly notes, "it is a misunderstanding of Romans to see in it a typical example of Paul's missionary preaching." This is contrary to those who think Paul was just introducing himself to the Roman church, hoping to win their support for his mission to Spain by rehearsing the gospel as he usually preached it. Stuhlmacher rightly notes that how Paul "preached and taught as a missionary cannot be simply inferred from the outline of Romans" ("Purpose," 242).

According to this view, then, the primary purpose for Romans is not related to some need within Paul himself (e.g., his concern for defending himself; his missionary plans); nor is it related to some negative situation in the Roman church (e.g., Jew-Gentile disunity). It is motivated rather by Paul's loving concern for his fellow-Christians at Rome, and his desire to bless their hearts and lives with this written version of the deeper aspects of the gospel of grace. This point is brought out very well by Hendriksen (I:24):

Paul, being an intensely warm and loving person, desires to go to Rome in order to be a blessing to his friends (Rom. 1:10, 11) and to be refreshed by them (15:32). Moreover, it is for this same reason that he, now that it is impossible for him to go to Rome immediately , communicates with the Roman church by means of this letter. He writes to the Romans because he loves them. They are his friends "in Christ," and by means of this letter he imparts his love to them . . . .

It is strange that this deeply personal reason . . . , a reason clearly brought out by the apostle himself, is often overlooked. At times the emphasis is placed entirely on theological motivation or on mission incentive: Paul wants to correct errors of the antinomians and/or wants to make Rome the headquarters for the evangelization of Spain. To be sure, these matters are important, but we should begin with the reason first stated by Paul himself in this very epistle.

D. CONCLUSION

We have surveyed the main reasons why Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans. It should be obvious that some of these reasons may overlap or be combined; so we need not focus narrowly upon just one of them. Jewett, for example, says the immediate reason was to resolve the Jew-Gentile tensions, but this was sought in order to gain a strong and unified backing for the mission to Spain ("Argument," 266). After summarizing the missionary, apologetic, and pastoral purposes, Dunn concludes that "all three of these main emphases and purposes hang together and indeed reinforce each other when taken as a whole" (I:lviii).

In my opinion, though, the dominant reason is the last one discussed above: Paul's desire to preach the gospel to the Romans, and his decision to do so in the form of an epistle. This is the factor that Paul stresses in the introductory section of the letter, where we would expect him to say what is closest to his heart. It seems inappropriate to give priority to ch. 15 on this matter, and to pass over what Paul himself chooses to mention first of all. Just because he tells the Romans about his plans in ch. 15 is no reason to assume that his purpose for writing to Rome is specifically or directly related to these plans.

We may conclude, then, that Romans is indeed an occasional letter, that it was occasioned by the need of the Roman Christians to hear Paul's gospel and by the circumstances that made it expedient for him to send it to them in written form at this particular time. Thus Romans is by design a clear presentation of the deeper implications of the gospel, written not for Paul's sake but for the sake of the church at Rome. The references to Paul's own plans and needs in ch. 15 are secondary.

At the same time, just because of the nature of the situation that caused Paul to write this epistle, the purpose for Romans includes the first view discussed above, namely, that it was intended to be a kind of doctrinal essay focusing on the meaning of salvation through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. As noted above, it is a systematic presentation of the gospel : not necessarily the gospel as proclaimed in an evangelistic situation, but the gospel as unfolded to mature Christians.

When this point is understood, we can see that the epistle to the Romans is intended not just for the saints in Rome in the middle of the first century A.D., but for all Christians in all ages. It is relevant for all since it deals with salvation from sin through God's grace. As Moo rightly says (I:21),

That Paul was dealing in Romans with immediate concerns in the early church we do not doubt. But, especially in Romans, these issues are ultimately the issues of the church - and the world - of all ages: the continuity of God's plan of salvation, the sin and need of human beings, God's provision for our sin problem in Christ, the means to a life of holiness, security in the face of suffering and death.

The circumstances contributing to the writing of this letter were far broader than the immediate situation in Rome and Paul's own immediate travel plans. They included Paul's own pre-Christian life as a Jew who sought acceptance with God on the basis of his own righteousness. They included Paul's twenty years of preaching to sinners of all types, Jews and Gentiles. They included his dealings with new Christians and new churches with all their weaknesses and problems. His experience and knowledge of human nature and human need were personal and comprehensive; thus the gospel of Romans is generic and timeless.

In most of the discussions of the purpose of Romans, a forgotten factor is the role of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration of Scripture. It is Paul himself who tells us that "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16). Whatever circumstances led Paul to compose his letter to the Romans, the choice to write and the message he wrote were not his alone. The Holy Spirit worked through Paul to produce this letter (see 2 Pet 1:20-21), and the Holy Spirit knows more than any man what is needed by every sinner and by every Christian seeking peace and power. In the final analysis it is the Spirit of God, and not just the Apostle Paul, who speaks to our hearts in the epistle to the Romans.

VII. THE THEME OF ROMANS

Almost everyone today rejects the idea that Romans is a compendium or summary of Christian theology as such. It is nevertheless generally recognized that the content of the epistle is doctrinal in nature. Its main body is an essay or treatise with a strong doctrinal emphasis and seems to be built around a particular theme. The question now is, exactly what is the theme of Romans? Several answers have been proposed.

A. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

The Reformation established a way of looking at Romans that still has considerable support among Protestants, namely, that the main theme of the epistle is stated in 1:16-17. It can be summed up in the familiar phrase, "justification by faith," i.e., justification or righteousness before God comes through faith alone. John Calvin (xxix) states succinctly that "the main subject of the whole Epistle" is "justification by faith."

Boers says this is the theme that "currently almost universally controls the interpretation of the letter" ( Justification , 77). This is surely an exaggeration, but the justification view is still very popular. Concerning the principal content of Romans, Nygren says (16), "From the beginning evangelical Christianity has spoken clearly on that point: justification by faith. That answer is correct." Defining "theme" as "central topic" rather than as exclusive topic, Hendriksen agrees that justification by faith, "spread out into 'justification by grace through faith'. . . , is clearly the theme of Romans" (I:29). Edwards (3) says that "the driving concern throughout is salvation - that righteousness comes as a free gift of God and is received by faith alone." Stott (35) says two themes are woven together in the epistle. "The first is the justification of guilty sinners by God's grace alone in Christ alone through faith alone, irrespective of either status or works."

Many scholars today have rejected this traditional approach. Though justification by faith is a main topic in Romans, says Boers (88), it "never becomes thematic." Too much of its subject matter simply does not relate to this subject, he says (78). Moo agrees (I:26-27). (See Stott, 24-31.)

B. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

Those who are not satisfied with justification by faith as the theme for Romans sometimes opt for one that is very similar, namely, the righteousness of God (1:17). Beker says this is "the key term for the letter as a whole" ("Faithfulness," 331). Jewett says the thesis of Romans is that the gospel is "the 'power of God' to achieve the triumph of divine righteousness (Rom. 1:16-17)" ("Argument," 266).

Since the righteousness of God is integrally related to justification by faith, the two themes are sometimes confused. This is because one aspect of the theme of divine righteousness is that the righteousness of God is the basis for the personal justification of individual sinners. This is the sense in which Nygren says that the righteousness of God - in the sense of righteousness from God - is "the fundamental concept" and "the very foundation thought" of the epistle (9, 14-15), even though he says the "principal content" of the letter is justification by faith (16).

But most of those today who say that the righteousness of God is the theme of Romans are using the expression in a broader, more comprehensive sense. For them it includes the idea of the divine righteousness as the basis for individual justification, to be sure. For example, Stuhlmacher says the theme of Romans is "the gospel of the divine righteousness in Christ for those who believe from among the Jews and Gentiles" ("Theme," 334, 337). But in Romans, they say, the theme is more inclusive than this. It includes God's righteousness as the basis not only of his dealings with individual believers, but also of his dealings with mankind in general and especially with the Jewish nation in the context of redemptive history.

The question raised by the indiscriminate offer of justification by faith to both Jews and Gentiles is whether God is being fair with the Jews, in view of all the special treatment he has already bestowed upon them and the special promises he has given them. Does the gospel's "no partiality" principle bring God's justice or righteousness into question? "What is at stake is nothing less than the faithfulness of God," says Beker ("Faithfulness," 330); and this is what Paul is dealing with especially in Rom 9-11. Stuhlmacher explains that the "righteousness of God" refers to "the entire redemptive activity of God in Christ from creation to redemption" ("Theme," 341).

Thus according to this view the theme of Romans is not just the salvation of man but the defense of God, with perhaps the greater emphasis falling on the latter. As Fiensy says (227), "Romans is then a theodicy or defense of God in light of the Jewish-Gentile problem in the church." Gaertner says that the kinds of questions Paul raises in Romans (e.g., 3:3; 3:5; 3:29; 9:14) inquire into the nature of God's dealings with sinners, especially with his fairness and faithfulness. Thus Gaertner labels Romans "the gospel of God's fairness" ("Fairness," 1:14).

C. THE EQUALITY OF JEWS AND GENTILES

A third view is that the theme of Romans is the equality of Jews and Gentiles in God's plan of salvation. This is currently a popular view. It stems mainly from the reconstruction of the origin and development of the Roman church as described earlier in this introduction. It goes hand in hand with the idea that the letter is intended to deal with certain specific circumstances existing in Rome, especially the apparent disunity between Jewish and Gentile Christians. It recognizes that "the entire letter to the Romans is . . . permeated with Jew-Gentile issues" (Fiensy, Introduction , 230).

In its most general form this view says that the main emphasis of Romans is the universality of the gospel: there is just one way of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. The transcendent gospel goes beyond the Jew-Gentile distinction. God's salvation is given to both groups equally, favoring neither and offering favor to both.

Boers is an example of this view. He says the consistent theme of the main body of Romans is "salvation of Jews and gentiles, and the relationship between them" ( Justification , 80). This theme is stated in Rom 1:16, "that the gospel is the power of God for all who believe, to the Jews first, and to the Hellenes" (80). That salvation is offered to the Jews first is important, but so is the idea that "there is no difference between Jews and gentiles" (81-82).

Dunn says, "It is precisely the tension between 'Jew first but also Greek' (1:16), which . . . provides an integrating motif for the whole letter." Paul's "repeated emphasis on 'all'" underscores the theme of universality. Even the emphasis on the righteousness of God "is primarily an exposition of the same Jew/Gentile theme," i.e., it is Paul's way of arguing that Gentiles are full recipients of the saving grace of God as much as Jews are (I:lxii-lxiii).

As noted earlier, Stott says two themes are woven together in Romans, the first being justification by faith. But since this applies equally to all people, it is the "fundamental basis of Christian unity." This provides the second theme of Romans, that "'there is no difference' now between Jews and Gentiles. . . . Indeed, 'the single most important theme of Romans is the equality of Jews and Gentiles'" (35-36).

Interpreters differ as to the nature of the circumstances that led Paul to emphasize the theme of equality. Some say the Gentile Christians at Rome did not want to fully accept the Jewish Christians, so Romans is basically defending the right of the latter to full status in the Kingdom of God. This is how Boers understands the "Jews first" theme, as noted above. Jewett says, "Nowhere else in Paul's writings are the concerns of Jewish Christians taken up in so systematic and friendly a manner, thus counterbalancing the prejudices of the Gentile majority of Roman Christians" ("Argument," 276). The development of this theme in Rom 9-11 "is relevant to the situation in Rome," says Bruce. Here Paul "warns the Gentiles among his readers not to despise the Jews, . . . because God has not written them off" ("Debate," 183-184).

On the other hand, some say the problem in Rome was the status of the Gentile Christians. W. Williams says (19-20), "The Epistle to the Romans is a discussion of the relation of the Gentile world to God's plan of salvation." More specifically, Romans is Paul's "defense of the rights of the Gentiles against the Jewish assumption that excluded them from the Church, and from the chance of salvation." Thus "the sole intent of the apostle was to maintain the equality of the Gentiles against the assumption of the Jews." Stendahl agrees that Paul's concern is the salvation of the Gentiles. Even the subject of justification serves the purpose of "defending the rights of Gentile converts to be full and genuine heirs to the promises of God to Israel" ( Paul , 2-4).

Either way the subject is approached, the main point is the same: the principal theme of Romans is to demonstrate the equality of Jews and Gentiles with regard to the saving grace of God.

D. SINNERS ARE SAVED BY GRACE, NOT LAW

All of the themes discussed above are certainly present in Romans, and all are important. All of them contribute significantly to the main theme. But I believe none of them as such is the main point Paul is communicating to us in the epistle. Rather than seeing 1:16-17 as the thesis statement for Paul's treatise, I see it more or less as the starting point leading up to the thesis, which is 3:28: "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

In the most general sense Paul's thesis relates to the gospel , since his desire to preach the gospel in Rome (1:15) is what led him to compose the epistle as a written version of his gospel. In this sense Moo is correct: "What, then, is the theme of the letter? If we have to choose one - and perhaps it would be better not to - we would choose 'the gospel.'" Romans is simply "Paul's statement of 'his' gospel" (I:28).

But since the gospel is the good news about salvation, also in a general sense the theme of Romans is salvation . As Harrison says (7), "Salvation is the basic theme of Romans (cf. 1:16) - a salvation presented in terms of the righteousness of God, which, when received by faith, issues in life (1:17)." Or as Hendriksen says, the basic doctrine at stake (especially in 1:16-8:39) is " the manner in which sinners are saved" (I:25). And the manner in which sinners are saved, whether Jews or Gentiles, is the same: justification by faith.

But the theme of Romans is more precise than this. Yes, sinners are justified by faith, but this means they are not justified by works of law, which is the only alternative. It is just as important to include the negative statement in the theme as the positive one.

In actuality, then, the basic theme of Romans is the contrast between law and grace as ways of salvation. This contrast is seen especially in 3:28, which (literally translated) says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law." The contrast is stated succinctly in 6:14, "You are not under law, but under grace." This is the gospel, the good news of salvation. Certainly it is good news to know that God justifies us by faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. But in a real sense it is also good news to know that we are not justified by law-keeping: a way of salvation which is not only futile but which sinners in their hearts know is futile, and which thus leads only to self-deception or to despair.

Commenting on Romans, Grubbs says, "The Gospel versus the Law is the one theme of which he [Paul] never loses sight in the elaboration of the details of this wonderful production" (9). Though this is a very common way of speaking - "gospel versus law" - it is not altogether accurate. The real contrast is grace versus law, and this message as a whole is the gospel.

Thus Paul's theme is indeed that we are saved by grace, not by law. Law is not a viable option as a means of salvation; the only way for sinners to be counted righteous before God is by grace. Yes, we are justified by faith, but not by works of law. Yes, the righteousness of God figures prominently in our justification, but in contrast to the righteousness of man. Yes, Romans does emphasize full equality regarding this way of salvation; Jews and Gentiles are saved the same way. Both are saved by grace and justified by faith as provided by the righteousness of God, but in contrast with every false way.

This contrast between law and grace as competing ways of salvation is not a matter of OT versus NT nor Old Covenant versus New Covenant, as if law were the way to be saved prior to Christ and grace is the way to be saved now that Christ has come. Also, the contrast between law and grace - THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - is not simply the Law of Moses versus the grace of Jesus Christ. No sinner has ever been saved nor can be saved by the law that applies to him, whether it be the Law of Moses for Jews under the Old Covenant, or some other comparable set of God's commandments for anyone else in any other time. Every sinner who has been saved since the time of Adam has been saved by grace and not by law, and this will always be the case.

The problem that Paul addresses in the book of Romans is not one that confronts Jews only, nor Gentiles only. It is not a problem faced only by those who are under the Mosaic Law, nor only by those to whom the Mosaic Law does not apply. The problem being addressed is this: As a sinner, how can I be saved? It is a problem faced by Jews and Gentiles alike, and the solution is the same for both.

Perhaps even more significantly, the problem addressed in Romans is not one confronted only by unbelieving sinners. It is a problem that believers often wrestle with as well (e.g., the Judaizers). When we state the problem thus - "As a sinner, how can I be saved?" - we can break it down into two separate problems. First is the unbeliever's problem: "How can I become saved?" The answer is: by grace through faith, not by works of law. Second is the believer's continuing problem: "How can I stay saved?" And the answer is: by grace through faith, not by works of law.

This is why the epistle to the Romans has always been and always will be in a class by itself with regard to its impact on individuals and upon the church as a whole. Its basic theme is one that is always needed and always applicable, and one that will result in the highest praise to God the Redeemer once it is understood.

PREFACE TO VOLUME 2

The introductory issues regarding the book of Romans have been discussed in Vol. 1 of this work (pp. 21-55). Also, the outline for chs. 1-8 of Romans is included in that volume (pp. 55-58).

References to passages in the book of Romans itself are usually limited to chapter and verse data only. For my policy regarding quotations from other sources, see the note at the beginning of the bibliography.

I wish to express my thanks to my wife, Barbara, for her patience in accepting my writing schedule while this work has been in production. My thanks go also to College Press for inaugurating this project, and especially to College Press editor John Hunter for adjusting to a writer who suffers from incurable prolixity. Another special word of thanks is due to my employers at the Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary who encourage my writing in many ways, especially through their regular sabbatical policy.

Above all, thanks be to God for his saving grace, for his Holy Word, and especially for the letter to the Romans with its incomparable beauty and power.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following bibliography includes commentaries, books, and articles cited in the text and footnotes of this work. Citations include a minimum of information; the reader must use this list for full titles and bibliographical data.

When commentaries are cited, only the author's name and page number are given. When other sources are cited, usually just the author's name and an abbreviated title (in bold print below) are given.

I. COMMENTARIES

Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans , 2 ed. The Daily Study Bible. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1957.

Barrett, C.K. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Harper's New Testament Commentaries. New York: Harper & Row, 1957; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.

Bartlett, C. Norman. Right in Romans: Studies in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Chicago: Moody Press, 1953.

Batey, Richard A. The Letter of Paul to the Romans . Austin: R.B. Sweet, 1969.

Black, Matthew. Romans , 2 ed. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

Boice, James Montgomery. Romans , 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991ff.

Brokke, Harold J. Saved by His Life . Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1964.

Bruce, F.F. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.

Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . Tr. by John Owen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947 reprint.

Cranfield, C.E.B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. The International Critical Commentary, new series. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975 (1990 corrected printing).

DeWelt, Don. Romans Realized . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1959.

Dodd, C.H. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . New York: Harper & Brothers, 1932.

Dunn, James D.G. Romans. 2 vols. Volume 38 in Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word Books, 1988.

Edwards, James R. Romans . New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992.

Erdman, Charles R. The Epistle to the Romans: An Exposition . Philadelphia: Westminster, 1925.

Godet, Frederic L. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Tr. by A. Cusin. Ed. by Talbot W. Chambers. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956 reprint of 1883 ed.

Greathouse, William M. Romans . Vol. 6 of Beacon Bible Expositions. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1975.

Grubbs, Isaiah Boone. An Exegetical and Analytical Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Ed. by George A. Kingman. 6th ed. Nashville: Gospel Advocate, n.d.

Harrison, Everett F. "Romans." In The Expositor's Bible Commentary . Volume 10. Ed. by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Pp. 1-171.

Hendriksen, William. Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980-1981.

Käsemann, Ernst. Commentary on Romans . Tr. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

Lard, Moses E. Commentary on Paul's Letter to Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.

Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Columbus, OH: Wartburg Press, 1945.

Lipscomb, David. Romans . Vol. I in A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles. 2nd ed. Ed. by J. W. Shepherd. Nashville: Gospel Advocate, 1965.

Lloyd-Jones, D.M. Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3.20-4.25-Atonement and Justification . London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970.

. Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 6-The New Man . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.

. Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 7.1-8.4-The Law: Its Functions and Limits . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.

Luther, Martin. Luther: Lectures on Romans . Ed. & tr. by Wilhelm Pauck. The Library of Christian Classics. Vol. XV. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961.

MacArthur, John, Jr. Romans . 2 vols. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991, 1994.

McGarvey, J.W., and Philip Y. Pendleton. Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.

McClain, Alva J. Romans: The Gospel of God's Grace . Ed. by Herman A. Hoyt. Chicago: Moody Press, 1973.

Mitchell, John G., with Dick Bohrer. Right with God: A Devotional Study of the Epistle to the Romans . Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1990.

Moo, Douglas. Romans . 2 vols. The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991.

Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

Moser, K.C. The Gist of Romans , revised ed. Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Company, 1958.

Moule, H.C.G. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: The University Press, 1918.

Mounce, Robert H. Romans . Vol. 27 in The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.

Murray, John. The Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. New International Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959, 1965.

Newell, William R. Lessons on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans . No publisher given, 1925.

Newman, Barclay M., and Eugene A. Nida. A Translator's Handbook on Paul's Letter to the Romans . London: United Bible Societies, 1973.

Nygren, Anders. Commentary on Romans . Tr. by Carl C. Rasmussen. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1949.

Reese, Gareth L. New Testament Epistles: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Moberly, MO: Scripture Exposition Press, 1987.

Robertson, A.T. The Epistles of Paul . Vol. IV in Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville: Broadman, 1931.

Sanday, William, and Arthur C. Headlam. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2nd ed. The International Critical Commentary, old series. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, n.d.

Schlatter, Adolf. Romans: The Righteousness of God . Tr. by Siegfried Schatzmann. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995.

Shedd, William G.T. A Critical and Doctrinal Commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967 reprint of 1879 edition.

Shields, Bruce. Romans . Standard Bible Studies. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1988.

Smith, Sherwood. Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 1 (1979); and Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 2 (1981). Joplin, MO: College Press.

Stedman, Ray C. From Guilt to Glory, Volume I: Romans 1-8 . Waco: Word Books, 1978.

Stott, John. Romans: God's Good News for the World . Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1994.

Williams, William G. An Exposition of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Cincinnati: Jennings and Pye, 1902.

Wuest, Kenneth S. Romans in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955.

II. MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS AND ARTICLES

Arndt, William F., and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957.

Augustine, The Confessions of St. Augustine . Vol. XIV in The Works of Aurelius Augustine. Ed. by Marcus Dods. Tr. by J.G. Pilkington. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1876.

Balz, Horst. "ajpokaradokiva." Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament . Ed. by Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990. I:132-133.

Bartchy, S. Scott. MALLON CHRESAI: First Century Slavery and the Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7:21 . Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series, #11. Missoula: Scholars Press, 1973.

Beker, J.C. "The Faithfulness of God and the Priority of Israel in Paul's Letter to the Romans." RomDeb , 327-332.

Boers, Hendrikus. The Justification of the Gentiles: Paul's Letters to the Galatians and Romans . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

Bornkamm, Günther. "The Letter to the Romans as Paul's Last Will and Testament." RomDeb , 16-28.

Boswell, John. Christianity , Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

Bruce, F.F. "The Romans Debate -Continued." RomDeb , 177-194.

Campbell, William S. "Romans III as a Key to the Structure and Thought of the Letter." RomDeb , 251-264.

Carson, D.A. Exegetical Fallacies . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. The Table Talk and Omniana of Samuel Taylor Coleridge . London: Oxford University Press, 1917.

Cooper, John W. Body , Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989.

Corson, John. " Faith Alone Involves Obedience, Too!" Christian Standard . (10/2/77), pp. 5-6.

Cottrell, Jack. Baptism : A Biblical Study . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1989.

. "Baptism According to the Reformed Tradition ." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins . Ed. by David W. Fletcher. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990. Pp. 39-81.

. "The Biblical Consensus : Historical Backgrounds to Reformed Theology." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins . Ed. by David W. Fletcher. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990. Pp. 17-38.

. " Covenant and Baptism in the Theology of Huldreich Zwingli." Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1971.

. " Faith , History, and the Resurrection Body of Jesus," The Seminary Review (Dec. 1982): 28:143-160.

. Faith's Fundamentals : Seven Essentials of Christian Belief . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995.

. Gender Roles and the Bible: Creation, the Fall, and Redemption . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994.

. His Truth . 2nd ed. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1989.

. Thirteen Lessons on Grace . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1988.

. What the Bible Says about God the Creator . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.

. What the Bible Says about God the Redeemer . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1987.

. What the Bible Says about God the Ruler . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.

Delling, G. "lambavnw, etc." TDNT, IV:5-15.

DeYoung, James B. "The Meaning of 'Nature' in Romans 1." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society , 31 (December 1988): 429-441.

Donfried, Karl P. "False Presuppositions in the Study of Romans." RomDeb , 102-125.

, ed. The Romans Debate . Revised & expanded edition. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991.

. "A Short Note on Romans 16." RomDeb , 44-52.

Erickson, Millard J. The Evangelical Mind and Heart . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Fiensy, David A. New Testament Introduction . The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994.

Foerster, Werner. "swvzw, etc." TDNT, VII:965-1024.

Friedrich, Gerhard. "eujaggelivzomai, etc." TDNT, II:707-737.

Fuller, Daniel P. The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God's Plan for Humanity . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

Gaertner, Dennis. "Romans: Gospel of God's Fairness ." Christian Standard , part 1 (12/20/87), pp. 14-16; and part 2 (12/27/87), pp. 4-6.

Graber, Friedrich. "All, Many." The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology . Ed. by Colin Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975. I:94-97.

Gromacki, Robert. The Virgin Birth : Doctrine of Deity . Nashville: Nelson, 1974.

Gundry, Robert H. Sôma in Biblical Theology: With Emphasis on Pauline Anthropology . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Harris, M.J. " Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament." Appendix. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology . Ed. by Colin Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978. III:1171-1213.

Hobbs, A. I. " Conversion : What Is It, and How Produced?" In The Old Faith Restated . Ed. by J.H. Garrison. St. Louis: Christian Publishing Company, 1891. Pp. 254-274.

Hodges, Zane C. Absolutely Free . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.

Jervell, Jacob. "The Letter to Jerusalem." RomDeb , 53-64.

Jeremias, Joachim. The Central Message of the New Testament . London: SCM Press, 1965.

Jewett, Robert. "Following the Argument of Romans." RomDeb , 265-277.

Kittel, Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament . Tr. & ed. by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapid: Eerdmans, 1964-1976.

Klein, Günter. "Paul's Purpose in Writing the Epistle to the Romans." RomDeb , 29-43.

Lamar, J.S. "The Ground of Man's Need of Salvation." In The Old Faith Restated . Ed. by J.H. Garrison. St. Louis: Christian Publishing Company, 1891. Pp. 98-119.

Lewis, C.S. The Abolition of Man . New York: Macmillan, 1947.

Luther, Martin. "Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Writings ." In Vol. 34: Career of the Reformer IV . Luther's Works (American Edition). Ed. by Lewis W. Spitz and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960. Pp. 327-338.

. " Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans." In Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I . Luther's Works (American Edition). Ed. by E. Theodore Bachmann and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960. Pp. 365-380.

MacArthur, John F., Jr. The Gospel According to Jesus: What Does Jesus Mean When He Says, "Follow Me"? Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

Maurer, Christian. " ." TDNT, VIII:557-558.

. "pravssw, etc." TDNT, VI:632-644.

Milligan, Robert. Exposition and Defense of the Scheme of Redemption . St. Louis: Bethany Press, n.d.

Moreland, J.P., and David Ciocchi, eds. Christian Perspectives on Being Human: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integration . Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross . 3 ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965.

Murray, John. The Imputation of Adam's Sin . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959.

Nash, Donald A. "A Critique of the New International Version of the New Testament." Cincinnati: Christian Restoration Association, n.d.

Oepke, Albrecht. "kaqivsthmi, etc." TDNT, III:444-447.

Reese, Gareth L. New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts . 2nd ed. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1976.

Rengstorf, Karl Heinrich. "dou'lo", etc." TDNT, II:261-280.

Ridderbos, Herman. Paul : An Outline of His Theology . Tr. by John R. de Witt. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975.

Rueda, Enrique. The Homosexual Network : Private Lives and Public Policy . Old Greenwich, CT: Devin Adair, 1982.

Ryrie, Charles C. So Great Salvation : What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ . Wheaton: Scripture Press/Victor Books, 1989.

Sanders, E.P. Paul and Palestinian Judaism . London: SCM, 1977.

Schaff, Philip. " Preface ." In John Peter Lange, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Romans . Tr. by Philip Schaff. Grand Rapids: Zondervan reprint, n.d.

Schneider, Johannes. "parabaivnw, paravbasi", etc." TDNT, V:736-744.

Schrenk, Gottlob. "iJerov", etc." TDNT, III:221-283.

Spicq, Ceslas. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament . Tr. by James D. Ernest. 3 volumes. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews and Gentiles and Other Essays . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976.

Stuhlmacher, Peter. "The Purpose of Romans." RomDeb , 231-242.

. "The Theme of Romans." RomDeb , 333-345.

Thielman, Frank. Paul and the Law: A Contextual Approach . Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994.

Thiessen, Henry. Introduction to the New Testament . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1944.

Trench, Richard Chenevix. Synonyms of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958.

Tyndale, William. "A Prologe to the Epistle of Paule to the Romayns." In The New Testament, Translated by William Tyndale, 1534 . Ed. by N. Hardy Wallis. Cambridge: University Press, 1938. Pp. 293-318.

Unger, Merrill F. Unger's Bible Dictionary . 3rd ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1966.

Vincent, Marvin R. The Epistles of Paul . Vol. III in Word Studies in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973 reprint of 1887 edition.

Watson, Francis. "The Two Roman Congregations : Romans 14:1-15:13." RomDeb , 203-215.

Wesley, John. Journal from October 14, 1735, to November 29, 1745 . Vol. I in The Works of John Wesley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, reprint of 1872 ed.

Wedderburn, A.J.M. "The Purpose and Occasion of Romans Again," RomDeb , 195-202.

Wiefel, Wolfgang. "The Jewish Community in Ancient Rome and the Origins of Roman Christianity." RomDeb , 85-101.

Wiens, Delbert. "An Exegesis of Romans 5:12-21." Journal of Church and Society (Fall 1969): 5:42-54.

Williams, Philip R. "Paul's Purpose in Writing Romans." Bibliotheca Sacra (January-March 1971): 128:62-67.

Young, Richard. Intermediate N.T. Greek : A Linguistic and Exegetical Approach . Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY TO VOLUME 2

The following bibliography includes commentaries, books, and articles cited in the text and footnotes of this work. Citations include a minimum of information; the reader must use this list for full titles and bibliographical data.

When commentaries are cited, only the author's name and page number are given. When other sources are cited, usually just the author's name and an abbreviated title (in bold print below) are given. Some sources are cited with an even more abbreviated reference (see list of abbreviations).

I. COMMENTARIES

Achtemeier, Paul J. Romans . Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985.

Barrett, C.K. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Harper's New Testament Commentaries. New York: Harper & Row, 1957; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.

Black, Matthew. Romans . 2nd ed. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

Bruce, F.F. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.

Brunner, Emil. The Letter to the Romans: A Commentary . Trans. H.A. Kennedy. London: Lutterworth Press, 1959.

Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . Trans. John Owen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947 reprint.

Cottrell, Jack. Romans , Vol. 1. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996.

Cranfield, C.E.B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. The International Critical Commentary, n.s. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975 (1990 corrected printing).

Denney, James. "St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans." In The Expositor's Greek Testament , ed. W. Robertson Nicoll, II:555-725. New York: George H. Doran, n.d.

DeWelt, Don. Romans Realized . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1959.

Dodd, C.H. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans . New York: Harper & Brothers, 1932.

Dunn, James D.G. Romans . 2 vols. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word Books, 1988.

Earle, Ralph. Romans . Vol. 3 of Word Meanings in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974.

Edwards, James R. Romans . New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992.

Fitzmyer, Joseph A. Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary . The Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

Godet, Frederic L. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Trans. A. Cusin. Ed. Talbot W. Chambers. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956 reprint of 1883 ed.

Griffith Thomas, W.H. Romans: A Devotional Commentary . 3 vols. London: Religious Tract Society, n.d.

Haldane, Robert. An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans . MacDill AFB: MacDonald Publishing, 1958.

Harrison, Everett F. "Romans." In The Expositor's Bible Commentary , Volume 10, pp. 1-171. Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976.

Hendriksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980-1981.

Hughes, R. Kent. Romans: Righteousness from Heaven . Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991.

Käsemann, Ernst. Commentary on Romans . Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

Lard, Moses E. Commentary on Paul's Letter to Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.

Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans . Columbus, OH: Wartburg Press, 1945.

Lloyd-Jones, D.M. Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 9 - God's Sovereign Purpose . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.

Luther, Martin. Luther: Lectures on Romans . Ed. & Trans. Wilhelm Pauck. Vol. XV of The Library of Christian Classics. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961.

MacArthur, John, Jr. Romans . 2 vols. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1991, 1994.

McGarvey, J.W., and Philip Y. Pendleton. Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, n.d.

McGuiggan, Jim. The Book of Romans . Lubbock, TX: Montex Publishing Company, 1982.

Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans . The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

Moule, H.C.G. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans . The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: The University Press, 1918.

Mounce, Robert H. Romans . Vol. 27 of The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.

Murray, John. The Epistle to the Romans . 2 vols. New International Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959, 1965.

Newman, Barclay M., and Eugene A. Nida. A Translator's Handbook on Paul's Letter to the Romans . London: United Bible Societies, 1973.

Nygren, Anders. Commentary on Romans . Trans. Carl C. Rasmussen. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1949.

Sanday, William, and Arthur C. Headlam. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . 2nd ed. The International Critical Commentary, o.s. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, n.d.

Shedd, William G.T. A Critical and Doctrinal Commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967 reprint of 1879 edition.

Smith, Sherwood. Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 1 (1979). Thirteen Lessons on Romans . Vol. 2 (1981). Joplin, MO: College Press.

Stott, John. Romans: God's Good News for the World . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1994.

Vanderlip, George. Paul and Romans . Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1967.

Wuest, Kenneth S. Romans in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955.

II. MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS AND ARTICLES

Arndt, William F., and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature . 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957.

Bilezikian, Gilbert. Beyond Sex Roles . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.

Büchsel, Friedrich. "krivnw [etc.]." TDNT . III:921-954.

Cottrell, Jack. Baptism : A Biblical Study . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1989.

. "Baptism According to the Reformed Tradition ." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins , ed. David W. Fletcher, pp. 39-81. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990.

. "The Biblical Consensus : Historical Backgrounds to Reformed Theology." In Baptism and the Remission of Sins , ed. David W. Fletcher, pp. 17-38. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1990.

. Faith's Fundamentals : Seven Essentials of Christian Belief . Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995.

. Feminism and the Bible: An Introduction to Feminism for Christians . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992.

. " 1 Timothy 2:12 and the Role of Women." Four parts. Christian Standard , January 10, 1993, pp. 4-6; January 17, 1993, pp. 4-6; January 24, 1993, pp. 4-6; January 31, 1993, pp. 4-6.

. " Priscilla , Phoebe, and Company." Christian Standard , December 12, 1993, pp. 4-5.

. " Response to My Critics." Three parts. Christian Standard , November 21, 1993, pp. 5-6; November 28, 1993, pp. 4-6; December 5, 1993, pp. 4-6.

. Tough Questions , Biblical Answers. Part Two. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1986.

. What the Bible Says about God the Creator . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1983.

. What the Bible Says about God the Redeemer . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1987.

. What the Bible Says about God the Ruler . Joplin, MO: College Press, 1984.

Delling, Gerhard. " , ." TDNT . VIII:523-524.

. "tavssw [etc.]." TDNT . VIII:27-32.

Donfried, Karl P., ed. The Romans Debate , revised & expanded edition. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991.

. "A Short Note on Romans 16." RomDeb , 44-52.

Forster, Roger T., and V. Paul Marston. God's Strategy in Human History . Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1974.

Fürst, Dieter. " Confess ." In The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology , ed. Colin Brown, I:344-348. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975.

Gaertner, Dennis. Acts . The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993.

Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.

Hübner, Hans. "a[timo"." In Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testamen t, ed. Horst Balz & Gerhard Schneider, I:177. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Keil, C.F. and F. Delitzsch. The Pentateuch . Trans. by James Martin. Vol. 1 of Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.

Kittel, Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament . Trans. & ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 10 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-1976.

Köster, Helmut. "tevmnw [etc.]." TDNT . VIII:106-112.

Lampe, Peter. "The Roman Christians of Romans 16 ." RomDeb , 216-230.

Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves . London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960.

Michaelis, W. "mavcaira." TDNT . IV:524-527.

Nash, Donald A. "A Critique of the New International Version of the New Testament." Cincinnati: Christian Restoration Association, n.d.

Oepke, Albrecht. "zevw, zestov"." TDNT . II:875-877.

Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things To Come . Findlay, OH: Dunham, 1958.

Pinnock, Clark H. "From Augustine to Arminius: A Pilgrimage in Theology." In The Grace of God, the Will of Man: A Case for Arminianism , ed. Clark H. Pinnock, pp. 15-30. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.

Piper, John. The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23 . 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Reicke, Bo. "proi?sthmi." TDNT . VI:700-703.

Schreiner, Thomas R. "Does Romans 9 Teach Individual Election unto Salvation?" In vol. 1 of The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will , ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware, pp. 89-106. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.

Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins . New York: Crossroad, 1987.

Shank, Robert. Elect in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Election . Springfield, MO: Westcott Publishers, 1970.

Sherlock, William. A Discourse Concerning the Divine Providence . Pittsburgh: J.L. Read, 1848.

Spencer, Aida B. Beyond the Curse : Women Called to Ministry . Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985.

Spicq, Ceslas. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament . 3 vol. Trans. James D. Ernest. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

Stählin, Gustav. " [etc.]." TDNT . IX:113-171.

. "skavndalon, skandalivzw." TDNT . VII:339-358.

Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews and Gentiles and Other Essays . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976.

Trench, Richard Chenevix. Synonyms of the New Testament . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958.

Walters, James. "' Phoebe ' and 'Junia(s)' - Rom. 16:1-2, 7." In Vol. 1 of Essays on Women in Earliest Christianity , ed. Carroll D. Osburn, pp. 167-190. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993.

Weiss, K. "fevrw [etc.]." TDNT . IX:56-87.

Wright, N.T. The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

. "The Messiah and the People of God." Oxford University: D.Phil. dissertation, 1980.

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ABBREVIATIONS

AG Arndt and Gingrich, Greek lexicon

ASV American Standard Version

GC God the Creator, by Jack Cottrell

GRe God the Redeemer, by Jack Cottrell

GRu God the Ruler, by Jack Cottrell

KJV King James Version

LB Living Bible

LXX Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT)

MP McGarvey-Pendleton Romans commentary

NAB New American Bible

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

NIV New International Version

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NT New Testament

OT Old Testament

RomDeb The Romans Debate, by Karl Donfried

RSV Revised Standard Version

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the NT, ed. Kittel

TEV Today's English Version

For fuller titles and publishing information on books, see the Bibliography.

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College: Romans (Outline)

VIII. OUTLINE

PROLOGUE - 1:1-17

I. EPISTOLARY GREETING - 1:1-7

A. The Author Introduces Himself - 1:1

1. A Slave of Christ Jesus

2. Called to Be an Apostle

3. Set Apart for the Gospel of God

B. The Gospel and the Old Testament - 1:2

C. The Subject of the Gospel Is Jesus - 1:3-4

1. The Two Natures of Jesus

2. The Incarnation

3. Messiahship

4. The Two States of Jesus

5. The Resurrection of Jesus

6. The Son's Full Identity

D. Paul's Apostleship - 1:5

1. The Origin of Paul's Apostleship

2. The Character of Paul's Apostleship

3. The Focus of Paul's Apostleship

4. The Purpose of Paul's Apostleship

5. The Goal of Paul's Apostleship

E. The Recipients of Paul's Letter - 1:6-7a

F. The Blessing - 1:7b

II. PERSONAL REMARKS - 1:8-15

A. Paul's Prayers for the Romans - 1:8-10

B. Paul's Desires Regarding Rome - 1:11-13

C. Paul's Debt to the Romans - 1:14-15

III. TRANSITIONAL STATEMENT - 1:16-17

A. The Glory of the Gospel - 1:16a

B. The Power of the Gospel - 1:16b

C. The Scope of the Gospel - 1:16c

D. Faith and the Gospel - 1:16c

1. Faith Is a Condition for Salvation

2. Faith Is Not the Only Condition

E. The Heart of the Gospel - 1:17a

F. The Golden Text of the Gospel - 1:17b

PART ONE:

THE IMPOTENCE OF LAW AS A WAY OF SALVATION - 1:18-3:20

I. THE SINFULNESS OF THE GENTILES - 1:18-32

A. Universal Knowledge of God and His Law - 1:18-20

B. Universal Rejection of the True God - 1:21-25

C. The Utter Depths of Gentile Depravity - 1:26-32

II. THE SINFULNESS OF THE JEWS - 2:1-3:8

A. Jews Are Under the Wrath of God, No Less Than the Gentiles - 2:1-5

B. God Will Be Partial to No One in the Judgment - 2:6-11

C. Under Law, the Criterion of Judgment Is Obedience Alone- 2:12-16

D. Jews Who Look to the Law for Salvation Are Condemned by Their Own Disobedience - 2:17-24

E. True Jewishness Is Identified Not by Circumcision but by the Inward State of the Heart - 2:25-29

F. Such Equal Treatment of Jews and Gentiles Does Not Nullify But Rather Magnifies God's Righteousness - 3:1-8

III. UNIVERSAL SINFULNESS AND HOPELESSNESS UNDER LAW - 3:9-20

PART TWO:

THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF GRACE AS A WAY OF SALVATION - 3:21-5:21

I. GRACE AS JUSTIFICATION BY CHRIST'S BLOOD THROUGH FAITH - 3:21-31

A. Righteousness Through Faith Is Now Fully Revealed - 3:21-23

B. Sinners Are Justified by the Blood of Christ - 3:24-26

C. Sinners Are Justified by Faith Apart from Works of Law - 3:27-28

D. The Way of Grace Is Available to All - 3:29-30

E. Grace Lets Law Do Its Proper Work - 3:31

II. ABRAHAM: PARADIGM OF GRACE - 4:1-25

A. Abraham Was Justified by Faith Apart from Works - 4:1-5

B. David Explains and Confirms Justification by Faith Apart from Works - 4:6-8

C. Membership in Abraham's Family Is by Faith, Not by Circumcision - 4:9-12

D. The Inheritance Promised to Abraham Comes by Faith, Not by Law - 4:13-17a

E. Faith Means Giving Glory to God and Believing His Promises - 4:17b-22

F. Those Who Believe Like Abraham Are Justified Like Abraham - 4:23-25

III. GRACE AND ASSURANCE - 5:1-21

A. Assurance of Personal Salvation - 5:1-11

1. Justification by Faith Is the Key to Assurance - 5:1-2

2. Tribulations of Believers Do Not Nullify Assurance - 5:3-5

3. Christ Died for Us While We Were Still Sinners - 5:6-8

4. Our Hope Is Even More Secure Now That We Are His Friends - 5:9-11

B. The All-Sufficiency of the Death of Christ - 5:12-21

1. One Sin of One Man (Adam) Brought Sin and Death to All - 5:12-14

2. Christ and His Sacrifice Are Greater Than Adam and His Sin - 5:15-17

3. Christ's Cross Completely Cancels the Results of Adam's Sin - 5:18-19

4. Grace Triumphs over Sin and Death - 5:20-21

PART THREE:

THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF GRACE GIVES VICTORY OVER SIN - 6:1-8:39

I. OBJECTIONS TO GRACE BASED ON A FEAR OF ANTINOMIANISM - 6:1-7:13

A. Does Grace Make Sin Irrelevant? NO! - 6:1-14

B. Does Freedom from Law Mean We Are Free to Sin? NO!- 6:15-7:6

1. We Are Slaves to God - 6:15-23

2. We Obey God from Our Hearts - 7:1-6

C. Does Grace Mean That Law Is Bad? NO! - 7:7-13

II. GRACE GIVES VICTORY OVER SIN - 7:14-8:13

A. The Christian Continues to Struggle Against Sin - 7:14-25

1. The Nature of the Struggle - 7:14-20

2. The Source of the Struggle - 7:21-25

B. Victory over Sin Comes Through the Holy Spirit - 8:1-13

1. God Frees Us from Sin's Penalty and Power - 8:1-4

2. Sin and Death Are Defeated in Us Through the Holy Spirit - 8:5-13

III. THE ASSURANCE OF FINAL AND TOTAL VICTORY OVER THE FALLEN WORLD - 8:14-39

A. The Holy Spirit Marks Us as Sons and Heirs - 8:14-17

B. The Redeemed Cosmos Is Our Inheritance - 8:18-25

C. God Promises to Bring His Family Through Earthly Trials - 8:26-30

D. God's Gracious Love Gives Us Unshakable Assurance - 8:31-39

PART FOUR:

THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

IN HIS DEALINGS WITH THE JEWS - 9:1-11:36

I. THE PROBLEM OF ISRAEL: THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF THE JEWISH NATION - 9:1-5

A. Israel's Agony: They Are Accursed - 9:1-3

B. Israel's Ecstasy: They Are Recipients of Unspeakably Glorious Privileges - 9:4-5

II. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ETHNIC AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL - 9:6-29

A. Israel's Situation and God's Faithfulness - 9:6-13

1. God's Word Concerning Israel Has Not Failed - 9:6a

2. The Key to the Puzzle: the Existence of Two Israels - 9:6b

3. Ethnic Israel Exists by God's Sovereign Choice - 9:7-13

a. The Choice of Isaac - 9:7-9

b. The Choice of Jacob - 9:10-13

B. God's Right to Choose and Use People without Saving Them - 9:14-18

1. God's Righteousness Is Challenged - 9:14

2. God's Sovereignty in Election for Service - 9:15-16

3. God's Purposes Can Be Served by the Unsaved - 9:17-18

C. God Used Ethnic Israel to Produce Spiritual Israel - 9:19-29

1. The Objection - 9:19

2. Paul's Initial Rebuke of the Objector's Attitude - 9:20-21

3. Beyond Ethnic Israel to Spiritual Israel - 9:22-24

a. The Calvinist View

b. Seeing Paul Through Non-Calvinist Eyes

4. Prophetic Confirmation of God's Purpose - 9:25-29

III. ISRAEL'S CHOICE OF LAW RATHER THAN GRACE 9:30-10:21

A. Personal Righteousness Versus the Righteousness of God- 9:30-10:3

1. The Reason for the Gentiles' Acceptance - 9:30

2. The Reason for the Jews' Lostness - 9:31-33

3. The Jews' Rejection of God's Righteousness - 10:1-3

B. Christ Alone Is the Source of Saving Righteousness - 10:4-13

1. An Either-Or Choice: Works-Righteousness, or Faith in Christ - 10:4

2. The Futility of Law-Righteousness - 10:5

3. Saving Righteousness Comes through Trusting Christ's Works, Not Our Own - 10:6-10

4. God's Righteousness Is Available Equally to Jews and Gentiles - 10:11-13

C. The Jews Have Not Believed in Christ, and Their Unbelief Is Inexcusable - 10:14-21

1. The Necessary Prerequisites to Saving Faith - 10:14-15

2. Most Jews Have Not Believed the Gospel Message - 10:16

3. The Jews' Problem Is Not Ignorance but Stubbornness of Will - 10:17-21

IV. THE SALVATION OF GOD'S TRUE ISRAEL - 11:1-32

A. God's True Israel Is the Remnant Chosen by Grace - 11:1-6

1. God Has Not Rejected His People - 11:1-2a

2. God Had a Remnant of Believers in the OT - 11:2b-4

3. Those under Grace Are God's New Covenant Israel - 11:5-6

B. Unbelieving Israel Has Been Hardened - 11:7-10

C. The Hardening of Unbelieving Israel Becomes a Blessing

for Both the Gentiles and the Jews - 11:11-16

D. The Olive Tree: A Metaphor of Judgment and Hope - 11:17-24

1. Words of Warning to Gentile Christians - 11:17-22

2. Words of Hope for Hardened Jews - 11:23-24

E. God's Plan for Israel's Salvation - 11:25-32

1. The Mystery of Israel's Salvation - 11:25-27

2. God's Continuing Love for Israel - 11:28-29

3. God's Ultimate Purpose Is Mercy - 11:30-32

V. DOXOLOGY: GOD'S WAY IS RIGHT - 11:33-36

PART FIVE:

LIVING THE SANCTIFIED LIFE - 12:1-15:13

I. A CATALOGUE OF VIRTUES - 12:1-13:14

A. Grace Demands a Transformed Life - 12:1-2

B. Using the Gifts of Grace for Unselfish Service - 12:3-8

C. Miscellaneous Moral Teaching - 12:9-16

D. Personal Vengeance Is Forbidden - 12:17-21

E. The Relation between Citizens and Government - 13:1-7

F. The Relation between Love and Law - 13:8-10

G. Walking in the Light - 13:11-14

II. CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IN MATTERS OF OPINION - 14:1-15:13

A. Do Not Judge Others in Matters of Opinion - 14:1-12

1. We Should Accept All Whom God Has Accepted - 14:1-3

2. We Answer to Our Lord and Not to Each Other - 14:4-9

3. Each of Us Will Be Judged by God - 14:10-12

B. The Stewardship of Christian Liberty 14:13-23

1. We Must Sacrifice Our Liberty for the Sake of the Weak - 14:13-15

2. Do Not Allow What You Consider Good to Be Spoken of as Evil - 14:16-18

3. We Must Do Only Those Things Which Build Others Up - 14:19-21

4. Each Christian Must Be True to His Own Convictions - 14:22-23

C. Living in Unity and Hope - 15:1-13

1. Selfless Service Produces a Unified Witness - 15:1-6

2. Through Christ's Selfless Service, Jews and Gentiles Glorify God Together - 15:7-12

3. A Prayer That All Believers May Abound in Hope - 15:13

PART SIX:

PERSONAL MESSAGES FROM PAUL - 15:14-16:27

I. PAUL'S MINISTRY AS THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES - 15:14-33

A. Reflections on His Past Service - 15:14-22

B. His Plans for the Future - 15:23-29

C. His Request for Prayer - 15:30-33

II. PAUL AND HIS FELLOW WORKERS - 16:1-24

A. Commendation of Phoebe - 16:1-2

B. Greetings to Individual Acquaintances - 16:3-16

C. Warnings against False Teachers - 16:17-20

D. Greetings from Paul's Companions - 16:21-24

III. CONCLUDING DOXOLOGY - 16:25-27

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