Romans 9:6

Romans 9:6 says, Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Paul begins to explain the difference in being born as the seed, the children, of Abraham in the flesh and being born the seed of Abraham in the Spirit of God.  Paul said they were not all Israel who claimed to be. We could say the same of people today.  Not everyone who professes to be a follower of Christ are His in the Spirit.  They may go through the motions, but still not accept Christ by faith that He is the only way to salvation.  Verse seven adds, Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.  If being a child of Abraham in the flesh alone were enough, then Ishmael would have been the child of the promise to Abraham. He was the first born, but he was not the one God had promised.  His birth was the result of Abraham and Sarah attempting to bring about God's will in their own disbelief.  In God's plan, Isaac was to be the child of the promise to Abraham and Sarah.  We need to understand that we cannot attempt to add to or take away from God's plan for redemption.  Ishmael and his mother were sent away, not because they were evil, but because they were not the ones God had made the promise about.  God was reminding Abraham that His promise was to Abraham and Sarah, not to Abraham and someone else.  God's promise was made to Abraham based on his faith not his flesh.  This was still true of those who were true Israelites in Paul's day. It was not a matter of simply being born into the nation of Israel, but of being born an Israelite and having faith in God's plan.  Verse eight continues, That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.  Paul was clarifying his teaching that children of the flesh, those simply born into the family of Abraham, were not children of God, but those who were born under God's promise to Abraham were counted as his seed. Verse nine concludes, For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. Again, Paul was emphasizing that the promise was to Abraham and Sarah. We cannot attempt to change or improve the gospel today, anymore than Abraham and Sarah were able to change God's promise then.  Through faith in Christ alone can we be saved.  Paul then applied the same concept to Esau and Jacob.  Verse ten states, And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;  Verse eleven adds, (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)  Verse twelve continues, It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.  Verse thirteen concludes As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.  Esau and Jacob were not only born to Rebecca and Isaac, but they were twins.  Under Jewish law, Esau should have been the heir to the promise, but God chose Jacob to be the heir, even before they were born.  Some would say this is proof of Devine election or rejection by God, but I believe it is simply God's knowledge not being limited by time.  Just as the Heavenly Father knew when Christ would come into the world, He knew which of these two would ultimately serve Him through faith. Verse fourteen says, What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.  I believe Paul was stating that God would have been unrighteous if He had simply acted arbitrarily in those He worked through. God does not just chose some for salvation, but all. It is simply a matter of our accepting or rejecting His gift of salvation through faith.  We cannot become children of God by physical birth, but only by spiritual rebirth through faith in Christ.