Romans 9:6-9
We’re taking our time studying Romans 9 because you can’t eat steak as quickly as you can drink milk. Before we dive in, remember that the tone of this passage is loving. It’s doctrine drips with devotion to people.
9:6
The problem: Based on all that God invested in Israel (see verses 4-5), does their rejection of Jesus mean that his word has failed? Failed here means to fall slack, to loosen. It’s the same idea as when your jeans that fit right out of the dryer turn into gangsta pants by the end of the day. Has God’s word and work, which were once tightly orcestrated around Israel, now fallen to the ground?
You may say at this point, “What does this have to do with me?” Everything! If God can’t be trusted here, he can’t be trusted anywhere, including in your situation. This is like one of those inspiratainal coach movies where a new coach moves in and does all kind of radical things to whip the team in shape. Only in this movie, it looks like the players have all dropped out of school and they’ve fired the coach!
In other words, if God’s best shot at saving these people has failed, he is incompetent. It’s a huge problem.
Paul’s answer to all this? No, Israel’s disbelief doesn’t mean that God’s word has failed, because not all Israel is true Israel. There is an Israel within Israel, a spiritual Israel within national Israel. And it is this Israel that God has been building all along.
You might retort, “Well that’s convenient. If this is true, why didn’t we already know all this before the objection is raised?” But this isn’t the first place such an idea shows itself in Scripture. In Matthew 3:7-10, John the Baptist states that being a descendent of Abraham means nothing. God could zap a rock into a descendant of Abraham. In John 8:31-47, Jesus calls some physical descendants of Abraham spiritual descendants of the devil.
9:6-7
Some background to make these verses and their quotations make sense:
In Genesis 12, God calls Abram out to begin a special nation.
In Genesis 15, God makes a covenant with Abram that includes a promise of offspring.
In Genesis 16, it’s been a long time and still no offspring. So Sarai pressures Abram to take matters into his own hands by sleeping with their servant, Hagar. They have a son and name him Ishmael.
In Genesis 17, God reiterates his promise. At this point Abraham is 100 and Sarah is 90, way past childbearing years.
In Genesis 21, it happens. God brings about a miracle child and they name him Isaac. This is where the quote in verse 7 comes from. It’s a reminder that God chose Isaac, not Ishmael, to be part of his promised work in the world. Ishmael is the child of flesh. Isaac, the child of promise.
9:8-9
It has never been the children of flesh who are the true children of God. It has always been the children of promise.
So God did invest into the nation of Israel (v.4-5) and yes, many of them rejected Jesus. But that doesn’t mean his words or work failed. He was always nurturing a specific lineage from within the group: the children of promise. So the fact that so many Jews reject Jesus does not prove God untrustworthy. On the contrary, it is the continuation of his unstoppable will.
An Application
God’s work in the world is bringing about children of promise, not children of flesh. And this is the work into which we’re caught up as Christians. In our ministry (church, family, friendship, etc.), we must turn from “the Hagars or mere human devices” (Piper) that produce children of flesh. We must turn to God in reliance upon his unique ability to give new life to children of promise.
Discussion Starters
- What do you think is the key message of this passage?
- What did you learn from this passage (something you didn’t previously know)?
- Which point in this chapter spoke to you the most?
- Why do you think God included this chapter in the Bible? What’s the point?
- Do any of these truths apply today? Which ones? How do they apply?
- Are there truths in this passage that contradict the ideas we hear in the world? If so, what are they?
- Is there something in this passage that surprised you? If so, how were you surprised?
- Are there any verses in this passage that confuse you or that seem to contradict other parts of the Bible?
- In view of what we have read, what changes do you think God would want you to make in attitude, words, or actions?
