Romans 9:30-10:21

If it was not God’s fault, then why did Israel reject Christ?

·       Israel was ignorant of faith, 9:30-33.

This is a conclusion to the preceding verses of Rom. 9. “What shall we say then?”  Gentiles have become righteous (justified) because, having no written law, they attained to the righteousness of God by faith.  This is what Rom. 1-8 already explained.  But the Jews, having the written law, mistakenly assumed that they could keep the law and thus attain to the righteousness of God.  But justification is never by works.  Thus, Israel stumbled over Christ who came to offer righteousness by the grace of God, a righteousness received only by faith.

·       Israel was ignorant of Christ, 10:1-13.

This is an amazing passage.  Israel had a great zeal for God but it was misguided (not according to knowledge, v2).  Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.  The purpose of the law given to Israel was to point them to their need of Christ, the Savior, the One promised to Adam and Eve and throughout the Old Testament.  The Apostle Paul proves this by using the Old Testament. 

If you want to be righteous according to the law you must live by the law (v5, quoting Lev. 18:5 and Ezek. 20:11,13,21).  But no one could do this.  God, through Moses, had even warned the Israelites, just before they entered the land, that they would not be able to keep the law.  Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day (Deut. 29:4). 

But, you might ask, why did God give them the law if they could not keep it?  As we saw in Romans 7, it was to point people to Christ, to trust the Savior.  Moses said this in Deut. 30:11-14, the very passage quoted by Paul in Rom. 10:6-8.  Israel needed to admit her inability.  Being righteous on her own was like trying to reach into heaven to bring the Savior down or reach into the abyss to bring Him up.  It would not be done.  Instead, the answer was in their hearts.  The greatest command was to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.  This would have led them to put their trust in God.  Rom. 10:9-10 are clear: heart-faith in Christ is the only means of righteousness.  Two other OT quotes reaffirm this message to Israel (v11: Isaiah 28:16; v13: Joel 2:32). 

·       Israel was ignorant of God’s plan, 10:14-21.

In Paul’s day and to this day, Israel must hear and believe the gospel of God’s grace.  They need to hear the gospel because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (v17).  Israel did hear, and as the chapter concludes, those who did not seek God found Him (Gentiles) but Israel was constantly disobedient and contrary.  Israel’s rejection of Christ was because of Israel’s unbelief.

Romans 9:14-29

Concerning Israel’s rejection of the gospel in the days of the Apostles, Rom. 9-11 generally give us three statements: Israel’s rejection is not God’s fault (Ch. 9), Israel’s rejection is Israel’s fault (Ch. 10), and Israel’s rejection is not the end of the story (Ch. 11).  First, consider Rom. 9:1-29.

·       Paul grieved for Israel, 9:1-5.  He even wished it were possible that he could be “accursed from Christ” for his brethren.  It is important to note that Paul is talking about “my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.”  He is talking about the nation, God’s “special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6).  The nation of Israel was the recipient of many blessings from God, chief of which was that Christ came as an Israelite when He dwelt among us.  You might want to think that God failed in some way, having given Israel all these benefits and yet still seeing them reject His Son, the Messiah.  Thus, Paul makes it clear: God did not fail Israel.

·       God’s word was not ineffective, 9:6-13.  God’s choice of the nation came in three stages: first He chose Abraham (Gen. 18:10,14), then Abraham’s son Isaac (Gen. 21:12), and then Isaac’s son Jacob (Gen. 25:23; in this it was said that God hated Esau and loved Jacob, Malachi 1:2-3).  You can read in the OT and see in the Gospels and Acts that God’s choice did not fail.  The chosen people are not from Ishmael or Esau.  They are from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  But don’t miss 9:6: For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.  This is a theme Paul raised in Rom. 2:28-29: … he is not a Jew who is one outwardly … but he is a Jew who is one inwardly … whose praise is not from men but from God.  Keep this in mind as you read through these chapters.

·       God’s choice was not unfair, 9:14-18.  Was God unfair (unrighteous) to choose Jacob and not Esau?  No!  Not any more than He used Pharoah for His purposes in the time of the Exodus.  It is important to note that God’s choice of Jacob over Esau, and His use of Pharoah, is not saying that He chose one for salvation and the other damnation.  These choices had to do with the nation Israel.  Ishmael, Esau and Pharoah could have at some point put their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  But they were appointed by God for the role they played in His choice of one nation.

·       God’s plan is being fulfilled, 9:19-29.  The bottom line is that God made choices (election), and He has that right as the Creator, the “potter.”  He had a reason, which ultimately is to bring glory to Himself.  He poured out His wrath on Pharaoh and Egypt so that He might be exalted among the people of Israel, and the world.  In the same way, His choice of Israel did not mean that all Israelites would be saved (remember v6: they are not all Israel who are of Israel) nor did it mean that no Gentiles would be saved (v24-29). 

Romans 9:1-13

 

Question #8: What does Israel’s rejection of the gospel mean?

This may seem like a strange question to ask in the course of studying the doctrine of “the gospel of the grace of God.”  But it isn’t!  It is a perfectly logical question if you are considering the logic of the Bible. 

First, this question is dealt with numerous times in Scripture.  For example, in Isaiah 40:27 we read, Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? In other words, the people think God has forgotten them.  That is what it looked like to Israel, given the prophecies of judgment in Isaiah 1-39.  Instead, in Isaiah 40-66 God explains how the setting aside of Israel for a time is part of His plan to bring salvation to Israel and to the world.  This is comfort for Israel (40:1-2).

The Third Book of the Psalms (Psalm 73-89) answer the question, “why have you cast us off forever” (74:1).  The Psalms of the Sons of Korah in Psalm 43-49 deal with a similar question.  Both these collections come to a hopeful conclusion.  The Lamentations of Jeremiah was written as the prophet watched Jerusalem and the temple being destroyed by the Babylonians.  Jeremiah said, “my strength and my hope have perished from the LORD” (Lam. 3:18).  But moments later (beginning in 3:22) Jeremiah began to express hope as he remember that God, in His faithfulness, would keep His word to Israel.

There are other places in the Old Testament where this issue is dealt with.  But even in the New Testament we see that Jesus is careful not to express hopeless about Israel.  Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, speaks of very troublesome times for Israel.  But then He clearly affirms that God’s promises to Israel will be kept.  He says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words will not pass away” (24:35), immediately after concluding His parable of the fig tree. 

The fig tree (Israel) was cursed, but then a time will come when leaves again appear.  Given all this, it makes sense to deal with the question again in the context of talking about the gospel of God’s grace.  In the book of Acts some Jews put their faith in Christ, but overall the nation rejected Christ.  The question must be asked: has God finally given up on Israel? 

Not only do we want an answer because of Israel; we want an answer for the sake of our God!  In Deut. 32:26-27 God said He would not completely cut off Israel for the sake of HIS name, lest the nations think they were in the place of God.  In the time of the golden calf, Moses pled with God to be merciful to Israel, lest the Egyptians ridicule the LORD, that He was unable to bring them into the land (Ex. 32:11-13).  Joel 2:17 raises the same issue, lest people mock Israel saying, “where is your God”!  And Moses raised the question again at Kadesh Barnea when Israel “voted” not to enter the land (Num. 14:13-19).  This is all about the glory of God.  So the question must be asked and answered now, as it is in Romans 9-11.