God’s choice and mine

Romans 9:1-18

¹ With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. ² My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief ³ for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. ⁴ They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. ⁵ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

⁶ Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! ⁷ Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. ⁸ This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. ⁹ For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁰ This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. ¹¹ But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; ¹² he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” ¹³ In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”

¹⁴ Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! ¹⁵ For God said to Moses,

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”

¹⁶ So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

¹⁷ For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” ¹⁸ So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.

This is not exactly the easiest passage of scripture to understand, the workings of Gods’ sovereignty and man’s free will. Theologians have debated this for centuries. So, what can I take from it?

• Paul has a huge heart for his brother Israelites to come to faith in Jesus as Messiah/saviour.
• Ancestral lineage does not automatically make you a child of God.
• It is faith in Jesus that brings me into the family of God.
• God’s mercy, compassion and kindness is not for me to manipulate or judge, but His to bestow.

Many years ago, I remember having a conversation where I told the person I was a Christian but not one of those ‘born again’ ones (John 3:1-7). Clearly, I understood there was a difference but not the true meaning. I see the same in this passage … Paul is explaining the dynamic of faith and there is an exchange in our hearts that needs to take place.

It was another several years before I made that exchange. Was it my will or Gods sovereignty, I’m not going to know this side of heaven and regardless, I am forever grateful it happened.

I sincerely pray today that you have also made that exchange, and by faith have accepted Jesus as your Lord and saviour.

Written by Suzie Hodgson