16 - The Israelites Chosen With A Purpose Series

Romans 9:1-5

1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

Paul takes a turn in the focus of his letter, where he now expresses his deep concern, sorrow and constant grief for the people of his own background – the Jews. He says that he is honestly, deep-down, concerned about them, and his conscience bears witness with the Holy Spirit of this fact. He uses very strong words to express his concern for his people – sorrow and grief; words that are usually used in relation to death. He seems to be saying that he’s upset because they are still dead, and haven’t come to know the life that Jesus has to offer them.

He goes on to say that he wished he was cut off from Christ instead of the Jews being cut off from Christ. He says this out of desperation – not as a heartfelt desire that this should really happen. He refers to the Jews as his countrymen in human terms, since he came from the same faith and background as them.

He then goes on to explain how the Jews (Israelites) received so much from God, and were therefore so blessed by God. They were adopted by God, when God called Abraham. They experienced God’s glory like people of no other race or faith did. They received the covenants from God – the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant. It was to them that the law of God was given through Moses. It was to them that the various instructions to worship God were given – again through Moses. They received amazing promises from God for their lives. Those promises made to Abraham pertained to them through their ancestors Isaac, Jacob. It was through the lineage of Abraham that Jesus came as a man into the world. He then concludes this thought by saying that not only was Jesus human, but He was also divine and was therefore above all things, and all people. He goes on to say that Jesus is the eternally blessed God. So Paul is once again proclaiming as he did in the 1st Chapter that Jesus was both human and divine.

Romans 9:6-9

6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”

Paul goes on to say that it doesn’t mean that God’s Word has had no effect on the Jews at all, meaning that it actually has, and some have been saved as a result – himself included since He was from a Jewish background. He goes on to say that not all those who of natural descent (born into Jewish families) are truly of the faith of Israel, nor can they be called children of God. In fact, God clearly said that it was through Isaac that the promise would be fulfilled and Abraham would have descendants. It was not through Ishmael or through any servant of his. It means that mere descendants of Abraham would not be called the children of God, but rather, only those who, like Abraham, believed in the promise of God that he would have descendants like the sands of the sea and the stars in the sky. Faith was a prerequisite to being saved. Only those who believed God, just like Abraham did could really be called children of God.

The promise of God to Abraham was that at the same time the following year, Sarah would have a son, and it was through this son Isaac, that God decided would bring descendants of Abraham into the world. Paul seems to be saying clearly here that it’s faith that makes one a child of God and not merely being a descendant of someone who has faith.

This same truth applies to us, The Church today. Just because our parents were or are believers in Jesus, does not make us believers in Jesus or make us Christians. We need to have faith in Jesus for us to be considered believers or Christians. The Christian faith is not naturally inherited.