To the human eye there may be a time when some of the true children of God are almost indistinguishable from people who are merely behaving as believers or are circulating among believers. But the difference is there nevertheless. It has been put there by God. And in the end, since some of these people have the life of God within them and some do not, these who possess that life will show it by their spiritual growth. The distinction between those who seem to be spiritual children and those who actually are is critical to understanding the next section of Romans.

Paul is dealing with a troublesome problem faced by himself and the other early preachers of the gospel. The original Christians were Jews. Thus they naturally began obeying the Great Commission by witnessing to their Jewish family members, friends, and neighbors. Since the promises of the Messiah were to Israel and since Jesus of Nazareth was that Messiah, according to their belief and understanding, Israel should have been willing to embrace Jesus. But Israel as a whole did not, and as time went on the people who were becoming Christians and the largest number of emerging Christian churches were overwhelmingly Gentile.

This was a severe disappointment to the early evangelists, even a great sorrow, as Paul’s opening paragraph in Romans 9 makes clear. But even more than this, it was a theological dilemma. The promises of God were to Israel, and yet Israel as a whole was unresponsive. Did this mean that God’s promises to Israel had failed, that is, that God had Himself failed? That God was impotent in the face of unbelief? Or did it mean that the promises of God could not be trusted? That in the matter of salvation God was simply free to change His mind? This is the problem Paul wrestles with in the middle section of Romans, chapters 9 through 11. The first of these introduced in Romans 9:6, is that the promises of God were not made to all the physical descendants of Abraham, but only to those whom God had elected to salvation and in whom He had therefore implanted or was implanting life.

Paul states this by saying, “It is not as though God’s Word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” A little later and a similar way, he contrasts those who are Abraham’s “descendants” with those who are His true “children” (v. 7). At first glance this argument may seem to be merely a novel idea, perhaps even an “argument from desperation,” as some would have it. But it is nothing of the sort. That not all Israel was true Israel was already and Old Testament perception. Every Jew was aware of the contrast made by the prophets between the nation as a whole and the remnant. It was increasingly obvious that the nation as a whole was apostate and that only a few Jews gave any indication of being among God’s genuine people. It was the same at the coming of Christ. The nation as a whole was going about business with little true faith at all, just as most people, both Jew and Gentile, do today.

We come now to the doctrine of election. We begin exactly where the apostle begins in Romans, namely, with the fact of election itself. The reasons are obvious. First, there is no sense arguing over the justice of God in electing some to salvation and passing over others unless we are convinced that He does. If we do not believe this, we will not waste our time puzzling over it. Second, if we are convinced that God elects to salvation, as Paul is going to insist He does, we will approach even the theodicy question differently. We will approach it to find understanding, rather than arrogantly trying to prove that God cannot do what the Bible clearly teaches. To seek understanding is one thing. God encourages it. But to demand that God conform to our limited insights into what is just or right is another matter entirely. So let me begin by saying that as long as we believe that God exercises any control over history or the lives of His people, then we must come to terms with election one way or another. It is inescapable. Election is an inescapable fact of human history.

What Paul does is go back to the earliest moments in the history of the Jewish people, to the stories of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and show that election operated there. We remember, of course, that the apostle is trying to explain why not all Israel has been saved and why the fact that they have not been saved does not mean that God’s purpose or promises have failed. In the case of these three fathers of the nation, Paul is going to show that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became what they were by election and that others were not granted this privilege.

The biblical doctrine of election does not exclude the choice of nations for specific purposes in history, the doctrine does nevertheless also and more fundamentally refer to the choice of individuals – and that it is on this basis alone, not on any supposed right of birth or by doing of works, that a person is brought into the covenant of salvation.

How could it be otherwise, if the condition of fallen humanity is as bad as the Bible declares it to be? When we were studying chapter three of Romans we saw that Paul’s summary of the fall was expressed in these words: “There is no on righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Rom. 3:10-11). This is an expression that is referred to as total or radical depravity. It means that there is not a portion of our being that has not been ruined by sin. Sin pervades all our actions and darkens all our natural understanding, with the result that, rather than fleeing to God, who is our only reasonable object of worship and our only hope of blessing, we flee from Him.

How could a creature as depraved as that possibly come to God unless God should first set His saving choice upon him, regenerate him, and then call him to faith? How could a sinner like that believe the gospel unless God should first determine that he or she should believe it and then actually enable him or her to believe?

Of course, that is exactly what God does. In fact, we have already seen this action explained at length in Romans 8, where Paul spoke of a five-step process involving foreknowledge (or election), predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. Those five terms describe the very essence of salvation, and the significant thing is that God is the author of each one. It is He who foreknows, He who predestines, He who calls, He who justifies, and He who glorifies. The only thing Paul is adding in Romans 9 is that this is entirely apart from any supposed right of birth or good works. It is due entirely to the will and mercy of the sovereign God. Election means that salvation is of God. It is His idea and His work, and therefore it is as solid as God Himself is.

If salvation were up to me, I would blow it. Even if I could choose God savingly, which I can’t, I would soon unchoose Him and so fall away and be lost. But because God chooses me, I can know that I am secure because of His eternal and sovereign determination. God began this good work. And “He who began [this] good work…will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

Romans 9:6-12 Reflection Questions:

How can we be sure we are Christians? There are a number of specific questions to be answered that pertain to the matter. Do I believe on Christ? Have I been touched by knowledge of Jesus’ death for me, and have I committed myself to Him? Am I serious about following after Jesus, obeying His commands, and pleasing Him?

Ask yourself: Has my life been redirected? Is there anything I am doing now that I did not do before or would not be doing were I not committed to Jesus? And are there things I have stopped doing? Is Jesus my very own Lord and Savior? Do you testify of Jesus?

Am I learning about Christ? I know people who claim to be Christians who never go to a Bible study, never take notes of a sermon and never study the Bible on their own. If you are one of them how can you think of yourself as a Christian when you have no interest in learning about the One who gave Himself for you? How can you consider yourself a believer when you really don’t care about Jesus?

What is your feeling about the doctrine of election?