Daily Thoughts from Romans: How Gentiles Get In (9:22-33)

Daily Thoughts from Romans: How Gentiles Get In

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea,

   “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”  “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written,

   “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  (Romans 9:22-33 ESV)

Paul has been trying to explain why most Israelites have not embraced Jesus as Messiah and has shown that God’s election is the cause.  Just being of the lineage of Abraham does not make one a chosen Israelite.  But now he shows that God has chosen to save Gentiles as predicted in the Old Testament prophecies, prophecies which only anticipated a small remnant of Jews being saved.

God loves His wrath, desires to show that He is passionately against sin.  He has endured unbelievers, vessels He chose for destruction, to show how deserved His wrath is as their wickedness increases, so that He can demonstrate all the more His rich mercy on those sinners who deserve wrath but whom He has chosen for glory.  And He has chosen Gentiles for such glory.

The quote from Hosea is addressed to Israel, but in effect says that Israel, in her history of rebellion, became to God like Gentiles, not His people, yet He would call them back to peoplehood.  If He can do this with Israel He can do it with the nations, the Gentiles.  And in fact, as he shows from Isaiah, only a small number of Israelites would endure the judgment.  On the other hand, millions, even billions, of Gentiles have embraced Israel’s Messiah as Savior.

Paul concludes that Gentiles, then, who did not even pursue God and His righteousness, got both by Abraham-like faith, whereas Israel, who pursued God’s righteousness by their own works, failed to achieve it.  They refused the faith-only offering of salvation in Jesus, the Messiah, getting tripped up over him instead of believing in him.  I cannot establish my own righteousness!  Jesus is my only hope!  Faith in him is the only avenue!  No Jew or Gentile will be saved without it.