Is There Unrighteousness with God? May It Never Be!

20But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” 21Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? 22What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, 24us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? 25As he says also in Hosea, “I will call them ‘my people,’ which were not my people; and her ‘beloved,’ who was not beloved.” 26“It will be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ There they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

27Isaiah cries concerning Israel, “If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved; 28for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.” 29As Isaiah has said before, “Unless the Lord of Armies had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah.” 30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn’t follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; 31but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. 32Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone; 33even as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed.”

In chapter 8 the apostle Paul declared with confidence that no one can condemn us and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. Believers are children whom God predestined, called, justified, and glorified; for that reason, he said, no one can cut them off from God’s love or stand against them. These words were a great comfort to the Christians who were suffering persecution. Yet Paul, who preached the gospel boldly with the help of the Holy Spirit, carried a grief for his own people, who were rejecting the Messiah and were not saved. The grief ran deep, for the Jews had gone beyond rejecting Jesus; they had put him to death on the cross. And still, the Jews were the people God had specially chosen. So Paul said that he would be content to be accursed and cut off from Christ, if only they were saved. When he says he would have nothing left to wish for if his people were saved, we can see how much he loved the Jews. He had left behind the brothers and relatives who had stood in the way of his faith, yet he never stopped longing for his own people to be saved.

In Greek, to be accursed is “anathema,” the word God used when he commanded Joshua, at the conquest of Jericho, to leave nothing alive in the city, not even a single object, but to burn it all and destroy it. Because Paul knew that on the last day those who have not received Christ will be judged, he poured out his heart: if only he could save his own people, he would be willing to bear the curse in their place.

Romans 9:4-5

4who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises; 5of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.

Someone singled out and appointed by a person in power gains great influence. If even the power a person bestows is that great, we can see how many privileges Israel held, chosen in a special way by God the Creator. They received the glory of God meeting them himself, the covenant that Jesus Christ would come through them, and the law by which they could live according to the word. They also received the privilege of worship, of bowing down before God, and the promise of the forgiveness of sins. And as God had promised, Christ was born of the line of the tribe of Judah.

God gave them these privileges so that through the law they would understand his will and receive Jesus Christ, who would be born of their line. He went further and gave them the charge of proclaiming the gospel to the nations, but they rejected Christ and killed him. God’s people today, too, want his blessing but refuse the effort of taking up their calling, and so they are not being sanctified into the true Israel.

The Jews were chosen as part of God’s plan to send Christ, but in their folly they executed the Son of God on a cross. Failing to grasp what lay at the heart of God’s plan, they persecuted the church and became the enemies of Christians. As this went on, Paul came to long earnestly for his brothers and his kinsmen by blood to repent and be saved. As you look at the apostle Paul, what thoughts come to you? Even if you cannot fully understand God’s will and give yourselves to the salvation of all humanity, you should at least pray for the salvation of your family and relatives.

Romans 9:11-13

11For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls, 12it was said to her, “The elder will serve the younger.” 13Even as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

The apostle Paul is speaking of Esau and Jacob in Rebekah’s womb. He tells us that although they had not yet done anything good or bad, God loved Jacob and hated Esau. Saying that the elder will serve the younger, he states plainly that this was decided not by their works but by God’s choice alone. Esau’s wicked life and Jacob’s becoming an ancestor of Christ came about, he says, because God had determined it all in advance, and so they were able to live as they did. Regardless of their works, he says, Esau in the womb was rejected and Jacob was saved.

This question must leave you confused. The reason is this: if God justifies us who were called when we believe in Christ and hold to the faith, then surely good works that show that faith are required. When we speak of the salvation of an individual, it is true that those who have lived by faith are saved, and that those who did not live by faith, like Judas Iscariot, are not. Then why was this said of Esau and Jacob while they were still in the womb? It becomes easy to understand if, rather than treating it as a matter of individuals, we look at Esau and Jacob within a larger frame.

Esau and Jacob in Rebekah’s womb are growing under the same conditions, and they will be born into a good home, with Isaac as their father and Rebekah as their mother. They will be raised alike and grow up loved. God said the elder would serve the younger, yet Esau never served Jacob in his lifetime; so this word clearly carries another meaning. Moreover, Esau, as the firstborn, had more wealth than Jacob and lived a life of plenty. Even so, God said that he hated Esau, and from this we can tell that the word has a spiritual meaning.

Every human being is born with a sinful nature because of Adam’s sin. If we acted by that nature, we would behave like the hardened Pharaoh, or attack David, the good man who served God, as King Saul did. Yet look at David repenting after his adultery, and at Moses, who had killed a man, repenting too. They show that when the grace of God is poured out on our sinful nature, we repent of our sin and turn from the way we were going. When God does not give the grace that turns that sinful nature around, Scripture expresses it by saying that he hated, and that he did not have mercy.

The grace of God keeps people from living as they please, and even when they have made evil plans, it makes them realize those plans are wrong. So rather than complaining that the God of love does not give grace to everyone, you should recognize that your turning back and repenting comes from having received God’s grace and mercy, and give thanks from your heart. No one can complain to the Creator, asking why he does not give grace to all people equally, because God has the right to work as he wills, and resenting it is unbelief and pride, a refusal to acknowledge almighty God. Of course, if our faith is like that of the Pharisees, who love to have their merits recognized, we will not give thanks for God’s absolute sovereignty. Esau, who did not receive grace, tormented Jacob to the end; yet that torment made Jacob grow and made him a father of faith from whom the twelve patriarchs came. It was not for lack of hearing God’s word that Esau did evil. God used this wicked Esau to train Jacob. Esau was loved by his parents more than enough, but because God did not show him mercy, he could not help but live according to his human nature. Even so, because grace belongs to God, no one can ask why he did not give grace to Esau.

Let us picture Israel inside one great womb. Though Israel received God’s unconditional love, not all of them became his people. Israel, too, was divided into those who received mercy and those who did not — that is, into those who kept the law and those who waited for the Messiah in faith. May you know what a wonderful gift it is to be loved by God and to receive his mercy.

Israel’s betrayal became, according to God’s plan to save the nations, the opportunity for the Gentiles to be saved. But the Gentiles, too, like Esau and Jacob divided in the womb, were divided into those who heard the gospel and still lived by their nature and those who lived by faith. Esau and Jacob in the womb were not just two individuals but Edom and Israel, and Israel was divided into people of faith who waited for the Messiah and legalists who kept the law. From this we can see that the grace of God is salvation.

Romans 9:17

17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

God chose Pharaoh so that, through his power, his name would be proclaimed to Israel and they would be saved. God deliberately called Pharaoh at a particular time and gave him his position. To lead Israel, who had lived more than four hundred years in Egypt, into Canaan, God had to make his name known to them. As the means of making himself known, he used Pharaoh’s hardened heart; yet Pharaoh, though he saw God’s works with his own eyes, refused to the end to turn back. This shows how wicked a heart is that has not received God’s grace and mercy. To lead Israel into Canaan at the time he had appointed, God worked for hundreds of years, and he bore with Pharaoh’s countless changes of mind. When we see him so patient for the sake of his children, can we say that God is unrighteous?

Without grace, the stubborn human heart and its disobedience cannot be turned around. You who receive grace every day must strive not to lose that love. No one is perfect, so we sin and worry day by day; but within God’s grace we must keep repenting and turning back. If your heart is growing hard and you no longer fear sinning, you must examine yourself to see whether you are standing outside God’s grace.

Romans 9:21-23

21Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? 22What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,

I would like you to imagine that you are a potter. With the clay in your hands, whether you make a jar that stands outside in the rain and snow or a dish kept inside the house is up to you. Suppose the jar complains that it hates being outside and wants to be made into a dish that people love; you would not remake it into fine porcelain just because it complained. If you have resolved to make a jar to hold a year’s worth of food for your family, you will think all the harder about how to make a good jar that will not crack. The jar could not understand the potter’s heart, which cared for the family, and since it disliked being outside, it complained without end. But the potter, making a jar to hold a year’s supply of soy sauce, red pepper paste, and soybean paste, treasured it more than the dishes used inside the house. If the potter made the jar to meet a need, the jar has only to understand what its purpose is and do its part. Paul said that whatever kind of vessel the Creator has made us, if we faithfully fulfill the responsibility that fits that use, we will receive a special love.

Because God wants all his creatures to be without blemish, whatever their size, if they hold his grace he will regard them as vessels for honor that he loves. We must keep in mind that when we carry out well the work given to us, we can display God’s glory and lift up his name. As it is written, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion”; if you are loved, I hope you will give thanks from your whole heart.

Romans 9:24-25

24us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? 25As he says also in Hosea, “I will call them ‘my people,’ which were not my people; and her ‘beloved,’ who was not beloved.”

God’s choice is always sovereign. He made Abraham the father of many nations, and used his faith and his line, guiding his life so that Jesus Christ could come. Israel was a people with these privileges, but because they did not live for God’s glory, the gift of salvation was given freely to us Gentiles. By God’s sovereign choice we were chosen within his plan for the whole universe, and that is how we could become his people. When verse 26 says that in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” they will be called “children of the living God,” it speaks of the Gentiles. The Gentiles, once told they were not God’s people, came to be called children of the living God precisely because Israel abandoned its place.

In verses 25 and 26 Paul quotes Hosea, using Hosea’s own life to make it easy to understand that God chose the Gentiles. Hosea married Gomer, and she bore his firstborn son, Jezreel. She bore two more children, named Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi, names that mean “not forgiven” and “not my people.” Because his wife Gomer was a wayward woman, Hosea lived a hard life. Through the names of Hosea’s children, God declared that the fallen people of Israel had no hope left. It was a sorrowful thing, but God used Hosea’s life so that the people would readily see that Israel had forsaken him. And he made it known that the Gentiles would receive grace, saying that he would call those who were not his people “my people,” and call “beloved” those who were not beloved.

Romans 9:27-28

27Isaiah cries concerning Israel, “If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved; 28for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”

Israel, chosen by God, will be divided just as Esau and Jacob were divided in the womb, and only the remnant who stayed close to God will be saved. Paul quotes Isaiah to stress that, like Jacob, there is a remnant in Christ who hold fast to the gospel. Israel could no longer be saved simply for being the chosen people. Those who left God have stepped outside the shelter of salvation, so their future will be settled through judgment. The remnant who relied on God have received, under his mercy and his absolute protection, the promise of a greater salvation. Perhaps words like salvation, judgment, heaven, and hell feel unreal to us. Yet through thousands of years of human history the Bible urges us to consider carefully whether we will be among those who leave or among the remnant, just as Esau and Jacob, who shared one womb, were divided. God has always helped the remnant, and to the remnant he has shown his plan and the fulfillment of his covenant.

Romans 9:29

29As Isaiah has said before, “Unless the Lord of Armies had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah.”

God waited for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to turn back, but steeped in pleasure, they threw away grace, and all of them were judged by fire. When God spoke to Israel of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he was warning that the stubbornness of the Jews was reason enough for judgment. Yet he did not destroy fallen Israel completely; he left a seed, because his mercy and grace seek to save Israel to the very end.

Today the Gentiles fill the church, but one day a great many Jews will return to Jesus Christ. On the day he saves the remnant of Israel and the remnant of the Gentiles, God will judge the world as he judged Sodom and Gomorrah. As you can sense when you look at the world now, the last days are near. The nearness of the end means that the time given to us may be short. Even so, if we cannot make up our minds in faith and keep wavering, an unhappy end is all that awaits us.

Esau and Jacob were born of the same parents and yet went separate ways. In the same way, though you now share one home and one church in your walk of faith, faith itself may divide you between heaven and hell. Even if we were together in the same womb, only the remnant is saved. Living in a fast-changing world, what you must think about deeply is whether you are living as the remnant now. On the day Jesus Christ comes to save the remnant, those who stayed true to the faith will meet Christ at the sound of the trumpet. May you not fall to the temptations of the world, but be God’s holy people who wait for Christ with steadfast faith and set your hope on the Kingdom of God.