The Hardest Chapter In The Bible Series

At the Southern tip of England there is a well-known spot called Land's End. Fredrick Harris in

his book Spires Of The Spirit says there is a house there on the edge of the cliff with a sign, which

reads, "The last house and the first house in England." It is both at the same time. It is a paradox

that is easily explained. If you are facing the sea this was the last house you would see before

plunging down the rocky cliff being slapped by the water. However, if you were coming from the

sea gazing up at the green and pleasant land, this was the first house to be seen. Depending on

the perspective from which you looked at it, it was either the first or the last house in England.

Most all paradoxes are resolved by recognizing the importance of perspective.

If you insist on looking from a point of view different from that of the author, you will be

puzzled by inconsistencies and wonder confused through the clouds of obscurity and mystery.

Truth can only be conveyed from one mind to another when both are looking from the same

perspective. If you are standing on land looking out to sea past this last house in England you

will feel obligated to call the man a liar and one who is perverting the truth who is saying from

his ship at sea that he is looking at the first house in England. On this particular issue most

people could quickly adjust and recognize the validity of another point of view, but not all issues

are so simple as looking at a house from two different perspectives. Some issues get quite

complicated, and you have to be aware that there is a Christian perspective, a Jewish perspective

and a pagan perspective. On top of this, there may be several different perspectives within each

of these major categories. The point is, you never really understand what a person is trying to

communicate until you can see the matter from his particular perspective.

Nowhere is this so true as when we come to this chapter in Paul's letter to the Romans. In the

series of volumes called Proclaiming The New Testament this 9th chapter of Romans is titled

"The Hardest Chapter In The Bible." Alexander Maclaren, the great Baptist preacher of

England, in his Expositions Of The Holy Scripture has 98 pages expounding Romans 8, but not a

single page when he comes to chapter 9. Finding sermons on this chapter is like trying to find

children who eat no candy on Halloween. They are rare. It is filled with too many puzzles and

mysteries. It is one of those sections of Scripture that people hope will go away if they ignore it,

but years of good solid neglect has not eliminated a word. Not even one of those harsh words that

stun you into silence, or fill you with anger at the apparent tyranny of God because he treats men

like lumps of worthless clay.

Nowhere in the Bible is there such a series of powerful and emotion packed words. This

chapter is a vial of verbal violence. Without a proper perspective from which to view it you

might conclude it is a language bomb planted in God's Word by a satanic saboteur designed to

blow the consistency and unity of the Bible to bits. From the very start it is a mystery as Paul

uses the strangest language to declare that he is not lying. It is as if everything he is going to say

is being challenged as lies. Then in verse 2 the Apostle who urges us to rejoice always, and who

has just finished writing one of the most optimist chapters in the Bible, says he is in great sorrow

and unceasing anguish of heart, and could even wish himself cut off from Christ and be a victim

of damnation if it would save his people the Jews. How can he love Christ if he is willing to go to

hell and be cut off from Christ for the sake of his people? Is this not idolatry and the loving of

men more than God? What is Paul trying to do here? Why does he picture God's sovereignty in

such a way that it appears to deny man's free will? Is Paul a fatalist?

It is well worth our time to try and unravel the mysteries of this chapter, for the problem Paul

is wrestling with here is still a difficult but relevant problem today. The problem is the Jewish

question, or the relationship of the Jews to the church and God's plan. Paul is caught up in the

midst of this problem in a way that is unique. Paul is the great Apostle to the Gentiles, yet he is a