로마서 Chapter 9

Translation: ESV

1

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—

Key Message

Paul has genuine sorrow and anguish toward his own people Israel, and this is the starting point of chapters 9–11.

▸Chapters 9–11 deal with the question of Israel's salvation.

Chapters 9–11 deal with the question of Israel's salvation. Paul begins by confessing his deep sorrow toward his own people Israel. This is not a rhetorical device but genuine anguish. He confirms his sincerity in Christ, with his conscience and the Spirit bearing witness.

Related Verses

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
3

For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Key Message

Paul's love for his Jewish kinspeople is so deep and genuine that he would give up his most precious possession for them.

▸Paul's love for Israel is expressed in extreme terms.

6

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,

Key Message

Not all ethnic Israel is the Israel of promise; God's promise is applied not by bloodline but according to election.

▸Does Israel's unbelief mean the failure of God's word? Paul's answer: No.

15

For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.'

Key Message

God's mercy follows God's sovereign decision; human qualifications or efforts do not determine it.

▸This is a quotation of Exodus 33:19.

16

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Key Message

Salvation does not depend on human will or effort but solely on God's mercy.

▸The criteria of God's election are presented in negation and affirmation.

20

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?'

Key Message

The position of a creature raising objections to the Creator's decisions is absurd — God's sovereignty is absolute.

▸Paul's answer to the objection against God's sovereignty — 'Why does God do this?' — uses the analogy of the potter and clay to present the relationship between Creator and creation.

33

as it is written, 'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.'

Key Message

Christ is a rock of salvation for those who believe but a stumbling stone for those who do not believe, and whoever believes will never be put to shame.

▸A quotation of Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16.