INTRODUCTION

Chapters 9, 10, and 11 of the Book of Romans are often skipped in many commentaries. Those commentators do not take what God said about Israel too seriously and teach that the Church is the "new Israel." There are other commentaries that do take these chapters somewhat seriously but they will often refer to them as being merely parenthetical. However, chapters 9, 10, and 11 are not parenthetical but very pivotal. These three chapters vindicate God’s righteousness in His relationship to Israel. In the first eight chapters of the Book of Romans Paul deals with the theology of the righteousness of God. He shows that everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, is a sinner and has fallen short of the righteousness of God. Then Paul points out what God has done in order to provide righteousness for men. At the end of chapter 8, as he concludes the theology of God’s righteousness, Paul points out that, in light of all that God has done for believers in justification, sanctification, and glorification, there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God.

Generally, Paul would first deal with the theology of an issue and then move on to the practice of it. Yet, in the Book of Romans he did not do this. Instead, between the theology of God’s righteousness in chapters 1-8 and the practice of God’s righteousness in chapters 12-16, he inserted three chapters dealing with God’s righteousness in His relationship to Israel. The purpose of chapters 9, 10, and 11 is to answer three questions: Why are there so few Jews being saved when the gospel is to the Jew first? How do the Gentiles know they can trust God when His promises to Israel have not been fulfilled? Has the gospel nullified God’s promises to Israel?

I. THE THEOLOGY OF ISRAEL’S REJECTION: ROMANS 9:1-29

Paul introduced his theme on the theology of Israel by pointing to his own sorrow. Having that strong Jewish, Pharisaic background, Paul realized the truth had to be affirmed at the mouth of two or three witnesses. Therefore he presented two witnesses to the fact that he was deeply sorrowing over the issue of Israel’s rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua. The first witness was his conscience and the second witness was the Holy Spirit. Paul expressed his desire in verse 3: he was willing to go to Hell and to the Lake of Fire if it would bring about Israel’s salvation. This wish was not for the lost in general, but specifically on behalf of the Jewish people, Paul’s kinsmen according to the flesh. But he realized this is not the way it is going to happen. He is simply expressing a personal desire, and the Holy Spirit and his conscience witness here that he was not just talking, but he was actually willing to do this.

Next (Romans 9:4-5), Paul outlined Israel’s privileges and prerogatives to show that Israel really should have received the Messiah, but did not. This was their fault, not the fault of God. Furthermore, if they did not believe, these privileges and prerogatives did not guarantee their salvation. Altogether, Paul listed eight things.

But it is not as though the word of God has come to nought. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel (Romans 9:6). The Greek word translated as come to nought means "to fall out" or "to fall from." It is a Greek word that is used to speak of withering flowers (Jas. 1:11; I Pet. 1:24) and of falling away from a straight course (Acts 27:17, 26, 29). The point is that the Word of God has not fallen off its straight course or the plan and purpose of God. The purpose of God has not been suddenly frustrated by Israel’s rejection. Paul then expounded, using the little particle "for," which is often explanatory, as it is here. The explanation is: For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel. It is important that this verse is not misunderstood. Paul is not distinguishing between Israel and the Church or between Jews and Gentiles. Rather, he is distinguishing between Jews who believe in the Messiahship of Yeshua and Jews who do not believe or between the Remnant and the non-Remnant. The first expression, all Israel, refers to the believing Jewish Remnant, which is the believing, natural seed of Abraham. The second expression, of Israel, refers to the entire nation, the whole natural seed. There is one Israel which comprises the entire nation and, within the whole of physical Israel, there is a spiritual Israel. Spiritual Israel is never stated in Scripture to be the Church. Spiritual Israel is always those Jews, within the nation as a whole, who believe. This is an elaboration of his statement in Romans 2:28-29.

After stating that there are two Israels, and that there is a distinction between Israel as a whole and Israel as the believing Remnant, Paul then gave two illustrations from the Old Testament. Through these two illustrations in verses 6-13, Paul made four points. First, God’s Word has not failed, although Israel has failed. God’s plan is still working its way out, and everything is going according to plan. Second, the blessings do not come through man’s physical descent or personal merit. Third, the blessings come by the grace of God due solely to the will of God. Fourth, physical descent alone will not obtain these promises, but only physical descent plus its spiritual appropriation. What Paul is not saying – and will not say – is that the promises were taken away from physical Israel and given to the Church. What he is saying, is that these promises are still going to be given to physical Israel, but only to that part of physical Israel that believes. So it is not physical descent only, but physical descent plus its spiritual appropriation.

In Romans 9:14-29 Paul explained Israel’s rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua in light of biblical principles. Paul raised two questions and provided an answer to each. The first question is: Is God unrighteous? Verse 14 begins with: What shall we say then? Whenever Paul introduced a question with these words, it was something to be refuted. The question is: Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unrighteous in that He chose Jewish believers in place of the whole nation? Is God unrighteous in choosing only the proportion of Israel that believes, not Israel as a whole? This question arose only because Paul taught absolute election apart from any human merit. The first answer is: God forbid. In the second answer (verse 15) he quoted Exodus 33:19, which shows that God has an absolute right to dispense His mercy as He pleases. Mercy does not depend on the one "willing" or "running." In other words, mercy is not dependent upon human works; mercy depends solely upon God’s grace. In verse 17, the third answer is a quote from Exodus 9:16. Here, Paul introduced another Scripture to prove divine sovereignty in that God is absolutely free in His dealings with men; for in Moses we see the goodness of God; in Pharaoh we see the severity of God.

The second question that Paul raised is raised from a human standpoint. You will say then unto me, Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will? (Romans 9:19). The question is: if God hardens hearts, how can He blame them when they are doing what He willed them to do? The word will refers to God’s counsel or to God’s decree. Paul never answered this question directly, but dealt with the attitude of heart that produced the question. The question itself implied a total forgetfulness of the relationship between the creature and the Creator, the relationship of man to God. As Paul began to answer the question, he gave an illustration of the potter and of pottery. The point of the illustration is to place man in a proper relationship to the Creator. If God did not elect, no one would have been saved: For there is none that seeks after God (Rom. 3:11). Men are not lost because they are hardened; they are hardened because they are already lost. They are already filled with sin; they have fallen short of God’s righteous standards, and they are lost because they are sinners and do not seek God. Even though up until now Paul has been concerned with two different groups of Jews (those who believe in the Messiahship of Yeshua and those who do not believe), he turns to the calling of the Gentiles to point out that, among them also, God has fitted some for salvation (Romans 9:24). Thus, there are vessels of mercy among both the Jews and the Gentiles, and there are vessels of wrath among the Jews and the Gentiles.

II. THE EXPLANATION OF ISRAEL’S REJECTION: ROMANS 9:30-10:21

In this section Paul deals with Israel’s rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua from the standpoint of human responsibility. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith: but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law (Romans 9:30-31). The reason that Israel did not obtain righteousness, even though they did pursue it, was because they did not come to it on the basis of faith. It was Israel’s avoidance of faith and insistence upon works that caused the problem. Why? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works (Romans 9:32a). Their attitude of trying to attain righteousness by works carried within it the attitude of rejection of the Messiah Himself. Salvation is by faith in the Messiah alone plus nothing. As soon as someone says, "I am going to try to attain salvation by my works," that attitude carries within it the rejection of the Messiah Himself.

Israel sought righteousness by Law, and they stumbled. Paul quotes Isaiah 8:14 which confirms the twofold attitude of both stumbling and rejection. Yeshua’s offer of salvation by pure faith in Him, apart from works, proved to be two things: a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumbled over the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith plus nothing; and then they were offended by it. Regarding those who believe, Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16: they are not ashamed of this doctrine of salvation by grace through faith plus nothing. The Jewish Remnant did not stumble over Yeshua. Again, throughout these chapters Paul is not distinguishing between Israel and the Church or between Jews and Gentiles, but between Jews who believe and Jews who do not believe – between the Remnant and the non-Remnant.