Romans 9:19-21 Romans 9 presents God’s sovereignty in extremely stark terms, which raises many objections. Paul addresses two potential objections in 9:14-29. Last week we looked at objection #1: It seems unjust for God to embrace some and reject others. This week, we’ll look at objection #2: You will say to me then, “Why does he still find […]
We’ve been thinking a lot about God’s sovereignty over who becomes a Christian and who doesn’t (the doctrine of election) as we work through Romans 9. Let’s pause and consider three reasons that election is good news:* 1. Election means his love is unconditional and secure. If he based his love on our will or exertion, it would come and go. (Actually, it
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We already addressed whether this verse refers to Jacob and Esau as individuals or as representatives of their respective nations (Israelites and Edomites). This post will address the word ‘hate’ in Romans 9:13: As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” This Greek word that all the major Bible translations render as
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Romans 9:14-18 I’ll be posting more thoughts on 9:13 this week. But for this sermon, we moved on into verses 14 through 18; which shed light on what we’ve covered so far. Let’s take it verse-by-verse. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! Note how Paul’s perceived objections
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Romans 9:13 is tough: As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (To see the context for this statement, click here.) Several questions spring from this verse. We’ll tackle one in this post and at least one more in a subsequent post. Did God love and hate two individuals or two nations? Clues that
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Why do some receive Jesus and others reject him? Is it determined by environmental influences? Is it determined by one’s morality? In Romans 9:6-13, Paul argues that parentage and personal record do not determine who becomes a child of promise. In this post, we’ll look at verses 10-13. For a discussion of verses 6-9, click here.
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