ROMANS 9-10:4: “Is God Unfaithful? Is God Unjust?

9:1-2 ISRAEL’S UNBELIEF

Paul has just finished waxing on the height of hope for the Christian and all of God’s creation in chapter
8. Somehow, there is a connection between this great hope and a great, “unceasing anguish” for Paul.

9:3-5 THE BIG PROBLEM: IS GOD UNFAITHFUL?

The cause for Paul’s grief is the rejection of Christ by his kinsmen, the Israelites. He would switch places
with them if he could; he would be cursed if it meant they could be saved. Israel was adopted as God’s
special people (Deut. 7:6-8), given His glory, joined to Him in covenant, taught by His law, chosen to
worship Him in front of other nations, and promised all of the mercy traced from the fathers through
Christ himself, which were expounded in chapters 3-8. Although the gospel was offered to the Jew first
and then to the Greek (1:16, 2:9-10), it was not received by the Jewish people, by and large. The
Messiah arrived and was spurned by most Israelites, whereas the Gentiles had received Him in greater
proportion.

9:6-8

So if nothing can separate us from the love of God, how can His own people be separated in their
unbelief? Is God unfaithful? Paul’s readers might be wondering how God could be trusted to bring His
promises to fruition in His New Covenant people (Gentiles), when His Old Covenant people (Jews) were
now standing outside of salvation. True Israel was not all Israel—God had not promised salvation to
anyone other than true Israel, and so He hadn’t failed anyone with empty promises. True, spiritual Israel
were those that trusted in God from the heart, not all of those in the biological lineage of Abraham. The
promises made to God’s people were guaranteed to His true people, not to every Jewish man and
woman.

9:9-13

Paul reminds us that God never offered universal salvation to anyone in Abraham’s family tree, from the
very beginning. Only one of Abraham’s two sons was “loved” by God, while the other was “hated”. And
God’s purpose to elect (choose) was displayed in His choosing one over the other regardless of race or
good works. The salvation of Isaac was not influenced by human works; it was based solely on God’s free
choice, on His own calling.
9:14-18 THE NEXT PROBLEM: IS GOD UNJUST?

Paul anticipates someone objecting to the way God dispenses salvation. Is it not unfair for God to
choose our fate before we are born, before we have a chance to succeed or fail? Paul says no, and then
quotes two Scriptures for evidence. The Scriptures both say that God does what He wants in regards to
His mercy toward humans or his hardening of them.

Some think that Paul is talking about chosen nations, not about the salvation of individual souls. With
this view, Paul would only be talking about the outward blessings of Israel—the land, the
commandments, etc.—but not the inward blessing of salvation. The problem is, Paul is dealing with the
cursed state of Israelites (9:1-3), not their lack of outward blessings; the Gentiles are receiving the full,
inner salvation offered in Christ, not external blessings in place of Israel. Paul wants salvation for his
people (10:1), not a nice patch of land in the desert.

Some believe Paul’s only point in quoting Scripture is to show that God has always chosen the recipients
of His mercy or wrath. God did it before, so He can do it now. This is at least a partial defense of God’s
justice. The reader would assume that God was just to begin with, so if it was just to elect in the Old
Covenant, it would be just for Him to do the same in the New Covenant.

Paul references these verses to do more than prove that God set a precedent and is following it. The
mercy quotation comes from God’s declaration of His name—who He is. God included His free choice of
mercy-recipients as part of His own glory and goodness (Ex. 33:19-23). Somehow, the electing actions of
God are essential to His justice, not at odds with it. Paul uses God’s hardening of Pharaoh as an example,
but he quotes the section that reveals why God will harden Pharaoh: to achieve His purpose, to show
His power, and to declare His name to all the earth.

These two Scriptures harmonize to teach us God’s justice requires election. God’s name
(character) is glorious because mercy depends on Him, not on His creatures. God’s glory is full because
He does everything according to His own purpose, not the will of humans. If God bound His decisions
and plans regarding mercy to the will of people, He would be diminishing His name, denying His own
power, and thus acting unrighteously. To be righteous and just, God must be in charge of election. He
must display His power and freedom and glory, or refrain from being powerful and free and glorious.
John Piper develops this idea of God’s righteousness in Romans and the Old Testament in “The
Justification of God”.
9:19-23

Paul anticipates another objection. If God is in charge, why can He blame us for our part? First of all, no
one has a right to interrogate God with suspicions about His moral character. A pot can’t yell at its
potter about its shape. Paul rebukes belligerent objectors, but doesn’t shut out all honest questions.

Paul gives us more than “shut up, clay!” to help us swallow the truth of election. The potter is allowed
to use his pots (9:21), but there is a reason for God’s use of pots. It’s possible that the wrath and mercy
of His character, along with His freedom, must be shown for Him to display His glory. The vessels of
destruction come from the same lump, pre-prepared (again, nothing in the individuals themselves
influence God’s use) and are used by God strategically. The wrath-recipients must exist if God wants to
show us that He has wrath, just like mercy-recipients must exist if He wants to show us that He is a
merciful God. But the vessels of destruction are also there to help contrast deserved wrath with the
higher priority in God’s showcase: His mercy. God is not trying to show how balanced He is in wrath and
mercy; He’s showing, even in His wrath, that He is a supremely merciful God.

9:24-29 NO SURPISES

Paul has argued that God is still faithful and just, despite His promises being grasped by few Israelites
and many Gentiles. Now he shows that this transition in history is not only fair, it is the fulfillment of
God’s own prophetic word. God had always warned corporate Israel that there was only a remnant of
true believers in the land, and that His eternal promises were exclusive to them. He also promised to
extend salvation to the nations that were far off—God delights to save the most unlikely candidates
(which is how Israel was selected in the first place!). No one should be shocked that God has a message
of salvation for Barbarians, not just law-abiding Jews.

9:30-33

It still seems a little unfair. If the Israelites wanted to be good, and the Gentiles could have cared less,
couldn’t God have thrown a bone to the former? This is not really how it all shook out, though. God did
throw the Israelites a rope. The law, covenants, and promises were all given to point them to the
Messiah, the one they needed to remove their sin. They took God’s blinking arrow, directed to Christ,
and pointed it to themselves. They treated God’s law like a ladder to heaven, rather than an invitation to
Jesus. They wanted to be saved, but on their own terms. They didn’t want God to save them, they
wanted to save themselves. They didn’t want to receive God’s mercy by faith; they wanted to receive it
because they were entitled. As they fought to prove themselves by good works, they were offended by
the Savior who told them they weren’t good enough.
10: 1-4 SEEKING GOD THE WRONGWAY

We can have a similar wish/problem concerning those who are seeking God without the end of the law
in sight. The only hope for anyone to reach God is through Christ. If someone insists on following law to
reach God, the loving message they must hear is that the only fulfillment of the law came in Christ. It is
only in Him that we will obtain God’s righteousness, and it is through simply believing!