God’s Redemptive Plan

The next great section of the book of Romans is chapters 9 through 11. In these great chapters, the Apostle Paul reveals how both Jews and Gentiles fit into God’s redemptive plan to save humanity of sin. God’s faithfulness to the Jews is also central in these chapters. God gave His promises to the Jews, the first to Abraham, then additional promises to Moses, David and the prophets. If God was not faithful to the Jewish promises, how do we know if He will be faithful to the Gentiles? The Apostle Paul admits that, on the whole, the Jewish people rejected Jesus Christ and the Good News proclaimed by His apostles. Despite all the advantages of Old Testament history, the Jewish people stumbled over the “stumbling stone,” Jesus Christ (Romans 9:32-33). Yet the Apostle Paul reveals in chapters 9 through 11 that God’s promises to the Jewish people are still valid and binding (Romans 9:4-5). In the end, the Jews will be saved (Romans 11:26).

Romans chapters 9 through 11 is probably the strongest and the most extended teaching of the Apostle Paul on election. The Apostle Paul discusses election but NOT personal election. He asserts that no one can claim to be chosen by God because heritage or good deeds. God freely and mercifully chooses to save whomever He wills. God's sovereignly selects to save people according to His goodness and mercy (Romans 9:14-16, 18). God is not arbitrary. The Apostle Paul affirms God’s faithfulness (Romans 9:1-13), righteousness (Romans 9:14-18), justice (Romans 9:19-29), and grace (Romans 9:30-33). Like the Apostle Paul, the Prophet Jeremiah also confessed the faithfulness of God:  “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning . . . . The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him” (Lamentations 3:22-23, 25 (NLT). The Apostle Paul uses the analogy of the potter and the clay to teach God’s sovereignty and power over all humanity (Romans 9:19-21). The main point of this analogy is the sovereign freedom of God in dealing with people (see also Jeremiah 18:1-10). God knows what He is doing even if humans do not understand God’s plans and purposes.

In chapters 9 through 11, the Apostle Paul shows his great love for the Jews and the Jews’ salvation (Romans 9:4-5; Romans 10:1; Romans 11:1). The Apostle Paul was “an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin” (Romans 11:1, NLT). He expressed genuine concern for his Jewish “brothers and sister” by saying that he would be willingly to take God’s wrath and become cursed (“anathema”) if that could save the Jewish people (Romans 9:2-3). Like Moses, the Apostle Paul was willing to be cursed and separated from Jesus Christ if it meant the salvation of the Jews (Exodus 32:30-35). Sadly, members of the Apostle Paul’s own race, the Jews, were rejecting the Good News of God’s free salvation and righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Rejection of the Good News by the Jews was a crushing blow to the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul was willing to forfeit his own relationship with Jesus Christ for the sake of his Jewish people (Romans 9:3). The Apostle Paul was STILL a Jew and apart of Israel. However, the Apostle Paul was a part of Israel that believed in Jesus as God’s Messiah to the world.

Jesus came into the world as a Jew in fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises. Even more, Jesus was a descendent of Abraham, grew up in Palestine as a Jew and He was viewed as a Jewish Rabbi in public ministry. Also, Jesus centered His preaching and teaching in the Jewish synagogues and the Temple. Jesus’ teaching and preaching in His public ministry repeatedly stated to the Jews He was the Messiah (the Christ). Therefore, the Jews were the most prepared to accept Jesus as their Messiah. However, the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah. When Jesus died and was resurrected, the Jews also rejected the preaching of the Good News message by His apostles. However, the Gentiles accepted the Good News of salvation and righteous by faith in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. The Apostle Paul reveals that the Jews’ rejection of Jesus Christ does not deny the faithfulness of God. God is still faithful, righteous, just, and gracious, and He can be depended on to accomplish His purposes and keep His promises.

In Romans 9:6-9, the Apostle Paul redefines Israel (also called Jewish or a Hebrew). Not everyone with Israelite blood in their veins is really Israelites. Physical descent is no guarantee of a place in God’s spiritual family. The Apostle Paul clarifies in Romans 9:8 that the true Israelites are not because of the flesh but according to the promise. The true Israel (true Jews) are those people that have accepted Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ) by faith. Only those faithful to God according to the promise (the remnant) were considered true Jews (Romans 11:5). Some Jews like the Apostle Paul, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, the Twelve disciples, Crispus, and many other Jews accepted Jesus as the Christ by faith and became His devoted followers. So, the Apostle Paul is reminding his readers that although many Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah there were some Jews that accepted Jesus as their Messiah and these people were the real Jews (see also Rom 2:29; Galatians 3:7). Even though the Apostle Paul went to the Jews first, relatively few Jews ever accepted by faith the Good News (Romans 9:27-29, referencing Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 10:22-23). Therefore, the real Jew is the one that accepts and believe in Jesus as their Messiah and the Good News (Gospel).

For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. For “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:5-13 (NLT)

The Apostle Paul proclaims in Romans 10 by citing Old Testament passages that Jesus Christ has provided salvation and righteousness (a right relationship with God) through wholehearted faith in His incarnation (coming to earth) and resurrection (coming back from the dead) (Romans 10:5-13; see also Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 30:12-14; Isaiah 28:16; Joel 2:32). The Apostle Paul takes these Old Testament passages that was given as the way to life and applies these passages to the Good News of Jesus Christ as the way to life. According to the Apostle Paul, the Jews’ enthusiasm and zeal for God was misdirected (Romans 10:2). Sadly, the Jewish people did not understand God’s way of making people right with Himself was not by keeping the law (Romans 10:3). Jesus Christ had already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. During His public ministry on earth, Jesus Christ revealed and lived the true intent of the Old Testament law (e.g., love, mercy, humility, faith, peace, forgiveness, and thanksgiving) (see Matthew 5:3-20; see also Matthew 23:23). As a result, all who believe in Jesus Christ and follow His example are made right (declared righteous) with God (Romans 10:4; see also e.g., Deuteronomy 10:12; Proverbs 22:4; Romans 1:17; 1 Peter 5:14). Righteousness (a right relationship with God) is gained by faith in Jesus Christ, and is readily available to anyone who will receive the gift of righteousness freely from God through Jesus Christ (Romans 10:8).

Essentially, the Apostle Paul was teaching what the Old Testament prophets had repeatedly taught on the importance of seeking God with all our whole hearts and confessing our love and devotion to Him as the true God of both heaven and earth (see e.g., Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:14-15; Kings 18:36-37; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:6-8; Habakkuk 2:2-4; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:29). The Apostle Paul affirmed that in Jesus Christ the God of Israel was Himself present among His people. Jesus Christ is the most complete revelation of God and no one can fully know God apart from Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul confessed that “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9) and Jesus is “God over all” (Romans 9:5, NIV).

The Apostle Paul teaches that our salvation and righteousness is as close as our own mouth and heart (Romans 10:10). Salvation requires inward belief (“with our heart”) and outward confession (“with our mouth”) (Romans 10:10). If we genuinely believe in our hearts and say with our mouths that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord, WE ARE SAVED and made right with God (Romans 10:8-13). Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved (see also Joel 2:32). No longer has one to try to make him or herself righteous with God by keeping the law but only to call upon the Name of the Lord. This is the freeness of the Gospel. God’s salvation is a gift and the only condition is openness of the heart and this statement of the Apostle Paul is repeated throughout Romans and the New Testament (e.g., Romans 1:16-17; see also John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-9). According to the Apostle Paul, we do not have to make ourselves righteous with God by obeying the law. Jesus Christ has provided the Gospel and we are made right and reconciled with God through our wholehearted faith and trust in Him alone. All God requires is our wholehearted acceptance of Jesus Christ His grace, and not our merit or deeds, for our happiness and salvation.

In Romans chapter 11, the Apostle Paul reviews the history of the Jewish people and reveals God’s eternal love for His chosen people (Romans 11:25-27). God has not rejected the Jewish people. The Apostle Paul quotes from the Old Testament’s story of the Prophet Elijah and the faithful remnant who remained loyal to God (1 Kings 19:10-19). According to the Apostle Paul, the Jews that believe Jesus Christ now (this small majority that believes) are the faithful remnant (Romans 11:2-4). The Apostle Paul remains the Roman church that God has always had a small group of people (a remnant) that has remained faithful to Him (Romans 11:1, 5). As it was in the days of Elijah, so it was in the Apostle Paul’s day. There was still a faithful remnant that believed in Jesus as their Messiah (Romans 11:5-6). As mentioned above, the Apostle Paul himself was a Jew, and so were Jesus Christ’s disciples and nearly all of the early Christian missionaries were a part of the faithful remnant.

Speaking to Gentile Christians, the Apostle Paul warns them not to feel superior or greater than the Jewish people (Romans 11:17-24). Abraham's faith is like the root of a productive tree, and the Jewish people are the tree's natural branches. Because of unfaithfulness, the Jews were the broken branches and Gentile believers have been grafted into the tree like a wild olive shoot. Yet, both the Jews and Gentiles share the tree's nourishment based on faith in God. Botanists and orchard growers commonly used grafting to improve their stock of flowers and fruit. Usually, they graft a weaker, cultivated branch onto a wild but sturdy root stock. The Apostle Paul admits at Romans 11:24 that “contrary to nature” God has grafted the wild branches (Gentiles) onto the cultivated roots (the Jewish people) – a reverse technique sometimes used to reinvigorate an olive tree. Therefore, the Apostle Paul interprets the Jews’ temporary felling to accept Jesus as the Messiah resulted in Gentiles being engrafted. Yet, the salvation of the Gentiles is dependent on the Jewish people, especially the patriarchs (see e.g., Abrahamic covenant) “for salvation comes through the Jews” (John 4:22, NLT). For God’s Messiah (Jesus) came through God’s historic people (the Jews) (Romans 1:16-17).

Therefore, the Apostle Paul looks at the rejection of the Good News by the Jews not a tragedy because this rejection enabled the Good News to be taken to the Gentiles. The Gentiles only received the Good News message because the Jews rejected this gracious message. So, the Apostle Paul sees the rejection of the Good News by the Jews not a failure but furtherance of God’s eternal redemptive plan and promises. Through the Jewish people’s rejection of the Good News, the true Jews (those that accept Jesus as the Messiah) took God’s Good News to the Gentile world (Romans 11:11, 15). Now, the Gentiles have been grafted into the people of God. Therefore, Jews and Gentiles are reconciled and saved by grace and mercy of God (Romans 11:15, 17).

The Apostle Paul confirms that the Jewish rejection of the Good News is not permanent but temporary until the appointed or complete numbers of Gentiles have been reached (Romans 11:25-27). All Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). So the temporary rejection of the Jewish people will be ended when the full number of Gentiles has come. Therefore, the Apostle Paul says that God will save Israel in the end because God is faithful to His promises and this summarizes Romans 9 through 11.

In summary in God's original plan, the Jewish people were to be the source of God's blessing to the world (Genesis 12:3). God chose the Jewish people to be the people through whom the rest of the world could find salvation (Genesis 12:1-3). When the Jewish people neglected this mission, God blessed the Gentiles anyway through the Jewish Messiah. Yet, God still maintained His love for the Jewish people because of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Romans 11:28-29). Someday, the faithful Jews will share in God's mercy.

The Apostle Paul had a vision of a church where all people – Jews and Gentiles would be united in their wholehearted love for God and in their obedience to Jesus Christ. While respecting God's law, this ideal church would look to Jesus Christ alone for salvation. God chose the Jews, just as He chose the Gentiles, to unite Jew and Gentile into a new Israel, a new Jerusalem, ruled by His Son, Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 2:11-22). God's plans will not be defeated because God is faithful and faithful to His promise. He will “have mercy on them all” – Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 60).

Apostle Paul:  Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give Him advice? And who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36 (NLT)

“Listen, all you people . . . ! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with Him! Whenever you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought Him out, they found Him.” 2 Chronicles 15:2-4 (NLT)

References

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

New Student Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament. Columbia Campus: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2014.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.