Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Why God Saves Some But Not Others | New Testament | Romans 9

Episode Date: July 31, 2023

If God could save everyone, why doesn't he? Is it fair that God picks some people to save but not others? Romans 9 is a confusing and controversial passage of scripture. Join as Keith unpacks the truth about God's mercy. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Romans 9

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. Today we're in Romans chapter 9, and it is packed with truth. Let's be frank, this is a dense chapter, and it's not super easy to understand, and on top of that, it's controversial. But look, we're committed to go through every chapter of the New Testament this year on 10-minute Bible talks. So let's do our best to make sense of it, and hear God speak to us in this chapter. Paul ended Romans 8 by saying that God will save everyone he calls and eventually glorify them for all eternity.

So Paul anticipates that someone will ask, well, how did that promise work out for the Jews? I mean, God called the Jews to believe in him, but most Jews don't follow Christ at the present time. So if God promised that Israel would be his people and yet the majority of them did not believe in Christ, does that mean that God's promise failed? The question of the Jews who didn't welcome Jesus as the Messiah goes to the very heart of how God works in the world and in our life. So let's start at the beginning of chapter 9. Paul writes this, I speak the truth in Christ.

I am not lying. My conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own. race, the people of Israel. Paul knows what it is to know Christ and enjoy his righteousness. He also knows the consequences of rejecting God's offer for salvation. And yet he wishes that he himself were cursed and cut off from Christ if somehow that would bring his fellow Jews to faith

in the Messiah. Paul loved the Jewish people so much that he is willing to trade his salvation for theirs. It doesn't make sense to us that the Jews rejected Jesus, given than all the spiritual benefits they enjoyed. In verses four and five, Paul lists those benefits. He says, look, Israel had been adopted by God. They had seen God's glory in the temple. They had benefited from living in covenantal relationship with God. They had the law and the temple and the promises of the Old Testament.

They even had godly leaders. So all these benefits that God had given them were intended to point them toward Christ. So then why didn't the Jews believe in the long, awaited Messiah that God sent. Verse 6. It is not as though God's word had failed. In other words, Paul is saying, look, the Jews' failure to believe in the gospel can't be blamed on God.

Then Paul says something very important, for not all who descended from Israel are Israel. Well, what's that mean that not all who descended from Israel are Israel? Well, remember that Abraham had physical and spiritual descendants, but those weren't always the same. Here's verse 8. In other words, it's not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. Paul says, look, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, but the promise only passed through Isaac. Then Isaac and Rebecca had two sons, Esau and Jacob, but the promise only passed through Jacob. So now Paul is going deeper in tackling the question of why anyone comes to faith and other

don't. He says in verse 10, not only that, but Rebecca's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose and election might stand, not by works, but by him who calls. She was told the older will serve the younger. Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Notice that God decided this before Jacob and Esau were born. And second, notice, that the decision wasn't based on their future behavior. He doesn't say, I know how they'll both respond in the future, and therefore I choose Jacob and not Esau.

No, instead he says, it was before they had done anything good or bad. So Paul is doubling down on saying, look, this isn't by works. It's not because of anything Jacob and Esau did that I chose one and rejected the other. Paul says when it comes to salvation, the only difference between Jacob and Esau, is God's purpose and election. When Paul says he loved Jacob and hated Esau, this is similar to when Jesus told his disciples that they were to love him and hate their families.

He meant that our love for Jesus should be so great that in comparison it looks like we hate our families. But still the bottom line is that God chose Jacob, not because Jacob was superior or better or more open or more moral or anything like that. It was all because of God's grace. of course that means that the reason we are Christians and others aren't isn't because of anything special about us we're no different than anyone else it's all about god's grace and of course that

means that we have nothing to boast about so then paul turns and tries to answer a question about fairness he writes what then shall we say is god unjust not at all for he says to moses i will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. See, Paul knows exactly what we are thinking, and he asks whether God's choice of some, and not all, means that God is unjust or unfair. And Paul answers his own question by saying, not at all. The reason is, because God can have mercy on whoever he wants. Mercy isn't earned.

God doesn't deal with us according to what's fair, but instead, he deals with us. us according to his mercy and mercy isn't required. Maybe an example will help. My wife likes to shop at a particular grocery store near our house because that store hires adults with special needs. Now that store doesn't hire every adult in our community with special needs. So are they open to the accusation that they aren't being fair? Well, of course not. Just because they hire some doesn't mean they have to hire all. Or another example, if a wealthy person promises to pay for the tuition of 10 disadvantaged kids. Is that unfair because she didn't pay for the college tuition of every disadvantaged kid? Well, of course not. Just because she paid for the college tuition of some

kids doesn't mean she has to do that for every kid. But somehow we've made God's grace and mercy something we're entitled to, something we deserve, something that God must do for everyone. But the shock isn't that God doesn't save everyone. The shock is that he saves anyone. Sometimes people ask, well, if God could have saved everyone, why didn't he? Well, in verse 23, Paul gives us at least a partial answer. He says, what if he did this? In other words, what if he chose to save some but not all in order to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy whom he prepared in advance for glory?

God chose to save some, but not everyone, because that is a way that his glory is displayed or manifested in the world. Let me close with an illustration that I hope explains this further. Imagine two artists. The first artist is excellent in charcoal and watercolor and oil and pencil. The second artist is only excellent in charcoal. Now, which artist is the best? And I'm sure it makes sense to you that the artist whose talent is manifested in all

different kinds of medium. That artist would be recognized as the best of those two artists. Let's move it over to sports. Imagine for a moment that we have two athletes, and one athlete is fantastic in basketball. The other athlete is fantastic in basketball, football, baseball, and track. Which is the best athlete, the one whose talent is seen and demonstrated and manifested in a variety of sports?

So now imagine God. Is God most glorified if only his grace is seen or also his wrath? Only his mercy is seen or also his justice. Only his goodness is seen or also his holiness. Well, God is most manifested when all of his attributes are displayed. So why does God save some people from their sin but not all? Well, the Apostle Paul, inspired by God, says that he has done this so that his glory will be manifested to people.

And his glory is seen when all of his attributes are displayed. Amen. Hey, thanks for listening. If you want to go deeper, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talk newsletter. You'll get a short email once a week. It'll challenge you to grow in your faith, give you interesting background on today's passage, and a lot, lot more. Just click the link in the show notes to sign up. It'll help you deepen your journey with Jesus.