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    Romans 9 - God’s People - Who are they?

        People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood (3:25) for them personally, for their sins.  God gave his only son Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins.

        There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether Jews or non-Jews (3:30).

        In Romans chapter 3, Paul asks about the advantages of being a Jew.  In chapter 9, Paul explains the privileges.  However, Paul clearly states that Jews are no better than others (3:9); we are all sinners.  God elected Jews for the benefits Paul mentions in this passage - not for salvation by default.

        The point is that God requires faith for righteousness.   A true Jew is one whose heart is right with God (2:29).  When we accept God’s gift of salvation, we are saved by God; we receive a changed heart produced by God’s Spirit (2:29).

        We must believe in God as Abraham did.  Faith makes us right with God (9:30).  The law can never make someone right with God (Hebrews 10:4).

        God gave the people of Israel a special privilege; they were the recipients of His wonderful promises, and the Messiah was promised and delivered through Israel.

        But never confuse God’s Way of salvation, His provision of a Rescuer to all people without showing favoritism, with fatalism, or God choosing some people for hell or heaven before they can listen and respond to his offer of salvation.  That is nonsense and an affront to God’s character - He is perfect and just.  Romans chapters 2 and 9 emphasize this point.

        Romans 9 confirms God’s requirement for every person to believe for right standing (9:33).  God warned the Israelites that his Way is one of faith in the Messiah, the Cornerstone.

        And Romans 9, like Hebrews 10, is a clear statement of the new covenant canceling and replacing the old.  God’s Way through Jesus Christ displays His grace, power, and fame through the earth.  As Pastor Troy Warner so aptly said, "Jesus is the only willing sacrifice in the history of sacrifices."

        This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight.  This is accomplished from start to finish by faith (1:17).

        The promise, the new covenant of Jesus Christ, is given as a free gift received by faith (4:16).

        What will you and I do with the Great Rock of Zion, the stone that makes people stumble?  That is the question.  God’s elect are those in Christ Jesus.  God does not force anyone against their will to believe.  You are not born a believer in Jesus Christ.  Your nation or tribe will not give you salvation.  And your deeds - following the law - likewise do not earn you salvation.

        God’s Way to heaven is through Jesus Christ.  May we think of ways in the week to come to motivate each other to have greater faith in Jesus and to produce a harvest of good deeds.

        Those chosen for destruction are selected based on their lack of faith - their own doing.  They refuse to listen to God.  If you trust God, then increase your desire to live to please the LORD.  Salvation is from God alone.  You are among those elected for eternity with God because you have accepted God’s free gift.  

Thank you, God, for your Way of Salvation.  Amen.



Kari and her latest stained glass creation, “Prairie Harvest.”


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