Romans 9:27

Romans 9:27 says, Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:  Paul is referring to Isaiah 10:22-23 in this statement. I believe Paul was telling the Jews that even though in the time during which Isaiah spoke, the physical number of the Israelites, or Jews, was great, only a small remnant actually followed God.  Today, there may be many who profess to be followers of Christ, but there may be only a small number, a remnant, who truly follow His will.  This is not a call for us to judge the validity of the salvation of others, but to make sure that we remain true to the word of God concerning salvation.  We can know that if anyone professes themself to be a follower of Christ but claims to come to Him through any other way than through accepting His sacrifice on the cross, they cannot truly be His followers.  We must always present the gospel alone as the only way to salvation.  Just as not all who called themselves Jews, God's people, in Isaiah's and Paul's day were really His people in faith, not all who call themselves Christians today are truly His in faith.  Verse twenty-eight adds, For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.  The Jews had attempted to find a right standing with God for a very long time and had made many rules and regulations concerning how to be one of God's people.  Only a remnant had remained true to what being one of God's people really meant.  Through Christ, God finished the work of salvation.  He cut short the rules and regulations and made clear the one requirement.  That is that we cannot be saved by any way other than through faith in Christ.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrha. Paul was referring to Isaiah 1:9.  These should not be unfamiliar verses to the Jews.  They may have considered the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah as a good thing, but Paul was reminding them that if a remnant of the Jews had not remained faithful to God, then all, even those who called themselves God's people, would have been destroyed.  That is why we as followers of Christ today must be His not only in word but in deed as well.  As long as there is a true remnant, there is hope for others to be saved. Verse thirty states, What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.  I believe Paul was asking if the Gentiles could find righteousness simply through faith.  We must understand that this is the only way to attain righteousness. We cannot decide to find righteousness by our own merits, as the Jews felt they had, but can only come by faith in Christ, which the Gentiles were doing.  Verse thirty-one adds, But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.  This was simply the reverse of the question in verse thirty.  As I stated earlier, Paul was asking if the Jews had attained righteousness by the law, without faith in Christ, and the answer was no.  Verse thirty-two continues, Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;  Paul explains why the Jews who were relying on the law to save them were not righteous in the eyes of God.  They stumbled on the only way to salvation, which is through faith in Christ alone. Verse thirty-three concludes, As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.  Paul again referred to the scriptures to emphasize his point.  He was not telling them something new, but something that they should have known themselves if they were familiar with the scriptures. We today need to make sure that no one attempts to proclaim anything as God's word if it contradicts the scriptures.

Romans 9:19

Romans 9:19 says, Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?  There are people today who ask how a loving God can send people to hell.  They want to know if we are doing our best to live right why God would punish us.  The truth is that God does not send people to hell, but He allows them to go of their own free will.  We cannot become good enough to establish a correct relationship with God.  Only God can do that, and it is based on forgiveness through Christ.  Paul was still speaking of the Jews and the Gentiles and the spreading of the gospel.  Verse twenty adds, Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? I believe Paul was asking them why they thought they should be able to question God.  Many Jews still opposed the sharing of the gospel with any but the Jews.  We today need to be careful that we don't attempt to make the gospel exclusive to a particular group of people.  Verse twenty-one continues, Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?  Here again, we could say that God, the Potter, chooses to make some good and some bad, but I believe that as the clay, if we have hard spots, sin, that will not conform to the will of God we will be dishonorable vessels.  I believe that we too often attempt to take away the free will responsibility that we have and attempt to make even the bad things in life the result of God's will.  Though God could make everyone conform to His will, He instead allows us to choose.  Verse twenty-two states, What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: Paul asks the question of God's wrath in relationship to the vessels fitted for destruction.  I believe we need to take note of God's longsuffering in relationship to these vessels.  If their destruction were preordained, there would be no reason for God's longsuffering in relationship to them.  God gives even those who have hardened their hearts against Him plenty of opportunity to come to Him through faith.  Verse twenty-three adds, And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, It is God Who is to be glorified by our salvation.  We can do nothing to shape, or earn it.  Verse twenty-four continues, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?  I believe Paul is pointing out that God calls all to salvation.  We are to become as clay in God's, the Potter's, hands, yielding to what He would make us.  Verses twenty-five says, As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.  Verse twenty-six adds, And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.  Paul was telling the Jews once more that the gospel applied to the gentiles, those who were not considered His people, just as much as it did to the Jews, who were considered His people.  We today, if we aren't careful, can start to consider people in other parts of the world as less deserving of sharing in salvation than we are, but that is never the case.  Christ came to save everyone, and all are equally undeserving of that salvation. All who believe are saved for our benefit but for God's glory.  It is a choice each person must ultimately make for themself.

Romans 9:15

Romans 9:15 says, For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  Paul was speaking to the unbelieving Jews in these verses, and those we verses have just looked at.  Just as God chose Isaac the younger over Esau the elder, so the gospel was now going to the Gentiles, the younger, as opposed to the Jews, the elder.  This was based not on God suddenly deciding to work through another group of people, but on the hardness of heart of the Jews, God's chosen people who were to bring His message to the world.  In this verse, Paul cited the example of Moses and the Pharoah.  God stated His right to show mercy on any He chose to show mercy on and withhold that mercy from those He chose to.  Now, once more, we could make this an arbitrary election or rejection, but I believe as always it is based on faith.  God was working through Moses to deliver the Jews from Pharoah because Moses had faith in God's calling.  When God works through us today, it is because of our faith in Him and not the nature of our birth.  Verse sixteen adds, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.  I believe Paul was stressing the fact that we cannot come to God by our own ability, but only through faith in Christ.  We cannot will ourselves into the family of God.  We can only respond to God in faith.  The key to salvation is always to freely choose to put our faith in Christ.  God calls everyone, but gives everyone the ability to reject His call if they so choose.  Verse seventeen continues, For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.  I believe that this means that God allowed Pharaoh to become powerful, not that He made him powerful.  When we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, I believe that simply means that God allowed him to choose to stand firm in defiance of God.  I do not believe that we can say that God calls some to salvation and that He causes others to be incapable of coming to salvation.  I know there are some who believe otherwise. They believe our eternal destiny is determined even before we are born, but I will always believe that it is our free will to choose. Verse eighteen concludes, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.  In keeping with what I have just stated, I believe this means that God has mercy on those who come to Him through faith and rejects all others.  The hardening of the heart is due to people rejecting God, not God rejecting people. We are told that God stands at the door and knocks, and that He will come in to any who open the door.  There would be no reason for God to knock at our heart's door if our relationship to Him were already determined.

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.

Romans 9:1

Romans 9:1 says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, What Paul was about to tell the Jews of his day, and which we should understand he would make for all time, is that he accepted the truth of the gospel, even though he was born a Jew.  We need to make sure that as we present the gospel to the world that we do so through the Holy Spirit bearing witness to what we say.  Verse two adds, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.  Paul was being persecuted by the Jews, those who were to be God's people, because he was proclaiming the good news of Christ, their promised Messiah to the world.  This rejection was what caused him to have a great heaviness and sorrow in his heart.  He was not feeling sorry for himself, but was feeling a sorrow at their rejection of the only One Who could indeed make them children of God.  He was not proclaiming the promise to the Jews that they were God's chosen people to be made void, but instead to be finally fully realized through Christ. The question then becomes for us today whether we have this same great sorrow in our hearts for those who reject Christ and persecute us for our beliefs.  We can never be effective witnesses for Christ if we want God to punish those that mistreat us.  We must allow the love of Christ to show through us, and He laid down His life, even for those who nailed Him to the cross.  Verse three continues, For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:  Paul states he had this same type love for his fellow Jews. Paul said he would give up his salvation if it meant the salvation of his kinsman.  I don't believe these were just empty words to make Paul look better to the Jews or to feel better about himself.  I believe he had that much concern and compassion for them.  The question for us then is whether or not we have that same compassion for the lost today. When we feel persecuted today, do we ask God with a heaviness in our hearts to forgive them out of love for them, or do we ask Him to punish them for our sakes?  How much are we truly willing to give up for the lost, especially those who hate and persecute us.  Paul said he would give up everything, even his salvation, if the Jews, who were persecuting him, could be saved by his action.  He did not have this ability though. We recognize that Christ alone can save and restore us to God.  Verse four states, Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;  Paul said the adoption into God's family also applied to his kinsman in the flesh, the Israelites.  Being born into the nation of Israel, following the covenants and the law did not save them, because they failed to live up to its standards.  Only through faith in Christ, the adoption, could they be saved. Verse five adds, Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.  Christ came to save all, not just those who were born into the nation of Israel.  The Israelites were just as much in need of redemption as were those that they regarded themselves superior to.  Christ came to redeem all who would accept His sacrifice, and He did it that the Heavenly Father would be blessed forever.

Romans 8:32

Romans 8:32 says, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Paul gives us the reason that we can have hope.  God loves us enough to send His Son, Jesus to redeem us.  In verse thirty-one, Paul had asked if God was for us, who could be against us.  Through sending Jesus to die for the sins of the world, God proved that He is for us. It is up to us then to decide if we are for God, if we accept the sacrifice of Christ.  Verse thirty-three adds, Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.  We no longer have to worry about the judgment of the world as to our relationship with God.  We do not justify ourselves, but God justifies us through Christ. Though the world may attempt to condemn our stand for God, they will ultimately fail if we are indeed followers of Christ.  No one can condemn us, not even fellow believers, if we have truly found forgiveness through Christ.  God justifies us.  This is a wonderful truth that we must never forget.  When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, then God is for us.  He guides and empowers us through the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-four continues, Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. I believe Paul is asking Who is the only One qualified to condemn people, and answers that it is Christ.  He is the One Who not only died for atonement for our sins, but also rose again for our victory over death.  We can never leave Christ on the cross, wanting Him to simply be our Savior, but we must follow Him beyond the empty tomb as Lord.  When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, He frees us from  His condemnation, and He is the only One Who can condemn.  Verse thirty-five states, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Paul asks what in this world can separate us from Christ's love if we are His through Christ, and answers that nothing can.  All these things the early Christians faced as they proclaimed Christ as their Savior and Lord, and we should expect no less.  We face very little persecution as followers of Christ, but no matter how bad it might become, it can never separate us from the love of Christ.  Verse thirty-six adds, As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Paul once more tells us that we should not be surprised if we are mistreated by the world for the sake of Christ.  He was not speaking about what might happen, but what was happening.  Verse thirty-seven continues, Nay, in all these things we ware more than conquerors through him that loved us.  He was speaking about persecution, even to the point of death, and declared through it all that we are more than conquerors.  Just as the Jewish leaders thought they had defeated Jesus on the cross, we can be sure that no matter what occurs, we like Jesus win.  Verse thirty-eight says, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Verse thirty-nine adds, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is nothing now nor in the future that can separate us from the love of God which He makes available through Christ. All we have to do is accept His sacrifice, then the Heavenly Father seals us to Him. Nothing has the power to take that relationship away, so we need to live victoriously through Christ.

Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 says, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  This is an often-quoted verse.  People sometimes interpret it to mean that God is going to make everything work out well for believers in Christ.  This is a promise about the everlasting good that comes from salvation, though.  We cannot claim that God is going to make everything work out as we feel it should in this world. We must belong to God first, which I believe is what is meant by being the called.  Some translations just say called, but I believe all are called, which we will look at shortly.  We need to remember the previous verse had just told us that the Holy Spirit made intercession for us, and in order for that to happen, we must have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  When we are looking at life spiritually, everything will work together for God's glory and our good.  Verse twenty-nine adds, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Some interpret this to mean that certain people were predestined for salvation before man was even created and they are the only ones who will be saved. I believe that everyone was predestined for salvation, as we are made in the image of God.  Not all choose to accept this call to salvation, though. If certain people were predestined for salvation, then Christ's death was but an empty act, since He would have died only for those God had already chosen to be saved.  Spreading the gospel would be a useless act, since it could not change the outcome of a person's everlasting relationship to God.  This would reduce God more to being a puppet master than a loving Father. Verse thirty continues, Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Again, we could interpret this to mean some are always predestined to be saved and justified by God and some are always predestined to be lost. I believe that all are predestined to be saved, called to God through Christ, and those who respond to that call are justified by God.  I firmly believe that God gives people the free will to choose, and that choice determines our relationship to God.  Verse thirty-one concludes, What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  This should be the truth that all followers of Christ live by.  If God is for us, who can be against us. We don't need to fear anything in the world if we are rooted in the will of God.