Romans 9

 

SECTION OUTLINE NINE (ROMANS 9)

In the next three chapters, Paul overviews God’s threefold dealings with Israel. Here, he overviews the sovereignty of God and Israel’s selection in the past.

I. The Nine Spiritual Advantages of This Sovereign Selection (9:1–5)

A. Paul’s grief over Israel (9:1–3): The apostle is so burdened over Israel’s unbelief that he is willing to suffer eternal damnation if that would help them come to Christ.

B. God’s gifts to Israel (9:4–5)

1. They are a special nation (9:4a).

2. They have been adopted by God (9:4b, 5).

3. They have had God’s glory revealed to them (9:4c).

4. They have been given the covenants (9:4d).

5. They have been given the law (9:4e).

6. They have the privilege of worshiping him (9:4f).

7. They have the messianic promises (9:4g).

8. They have a godly ancestry (9:5a).

9. They are the people from which Christ came (9:5b).

II. The Five Personal Examples of This Sovereign Selection (9:6–29)

A. The example of Ishmael and Isaac (9:6–10): God chose Isaac (Abraham’s son through Sarah) over Ishmael (Abraham’s son through Hagar).

B. The example of Esau and Jacob (9:11–13)

1. What God did (9:12b–13): He chose Jacob (the second-born twin son of Isaac) over Esau (the firstborn twin).

2. When God did it (9:11a, 12a): He made this choice long before they were even born.

3. Why God did it (9:11b): He did it to show that his sovereign decrees are not based on what yet-unborn human beings might or might not do.

C. The example of Pharaoh (9:14–24)

1. The facts involved (9:15–18)

a. God determined to pardon sinful Israel with undeserved grace (9:15–16).

b. God determined to punish sinful Pharaoh with deserved judgment (9:17–18).

2. The fairness involved (9:14, 19–24)

a. In light of this, is God righteous? Yes! (9:14, 21–24).

(1) As a potter creates vessels, God creates nations (9:14, 21–22).

(2) As a potter controls those vessels, God controls nations (9:23–24).

b. In light of this, is man responsible? Yes! (9:19–20): As the vessels have no right to criticize the potter, the nations have no right to criticize the Lord.

D. The example from Hosea (9:25–26): This Old Testament prophet predicted that God would not limit his grace to Israel but would save repenting Gentile peoples; Hosea called these Gentiles “children of the living God” (Hos. 2:23; 1:10).

E. The example from Isaiah (9:27–29): Paul quotes from Isaiah to demonstrate God’s sovereignty concerning Israel.

1. Out of the millions of Israelites, only a small remnant will be saved (Isa. 10:22–23) (9:27–28).

2. Even the remnant would perish apart from the grace of God (Isa. 1:9) (9:29).

III. The Two Grand Conclusions concerning This Sovereign Selection (9:30–33)

A. Through faith the Gentiles have found righteousness without even seeking it (9:30).

B. Through the law Israel has not found righteousness even after seeking it (9:31–33).

1. The seeking (9:31–32): They tried to be saved by works.

2. The stumbling (9:33): They have stumbled over Christ the rock, as predicted by Isaiah

(Isa. 8:14; 28:16).