SPRINGCREEK FELLOWSHIP
Sunday, May 10, 2026

      • Acts 2:42CSB

  • All My Ways

      • Psalm 119:73–80CSB

  • I Got Saved
  • Goodness Of God
  • Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery
  • AS STATED LAST WEEK, a good way to understand Paul’s ARGUMENT for why God is still RIGHTEOUS is to consider Romans 9-11 is with the following outline:

    Chapter 9 - Israel’s REJECTION—their PAST!

    Chapter 10 - Jews and Gentiles RECEPTION—their PRESENT!

    Chapter 11 - Israel’s RESTORATION—their FUTURE!

    Within (Romans 9:6-33) there are FOUR MAIN QUESTIONS (the first one implied, and the remaining three direct) that will serve as an outline of our study:

    (v.6) - “Has the Word of God failed?”

    (v.14) - “…Is there injustice with God?”

    (v.19) - “…Why then does he still find fault?”

    (v.30) - “What should we say then?…”

    I. Question #1 (Implied): “Has the Word of God Failed?” - (9:6-13)

    The immediate IMPLIED ANSWER: NO! - (v.6a) - “It is NOT as though the word of God has failed…”
    Paul then gives TWO ANSWERS (vv.6b-8) and TWO PROOFS or ILLUSTRATIONS from the OT that prove his point (vv.9-13).

    ANSWER #1: - (v.6b)

    “…because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”

    “What does that mean?”
    FORTUNATELY Paul has previously addressed this issue (Message #8, Aug 24, 2025) in the form of a NEGATIVE/POSITIVE:
    Romans 2:28–29 CSB
    28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. 29 On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.
    NEGATIVES:
    (v.28a) - “For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly…”
    (v.28b) - “…AND true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh.”
    POSITIVES: (v.29a) - “On the contrary…” (CSB) “But…” (ESV, NASB, NKJ, LSB)
    (v.29) - “…a person is a Jew who is one inwardly,”
    (v.29b) - “…and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter.”
    PROOF: (v.29d) - “…That person’s praise is NOT from people BUT from God.”
    It’s NOT your GENETICS or PHYSICAL PROCEDURE at birth that makes one a Jew, but it is a SPIRITUAL ACT by the Holy Spirit that makes a person a Jew!

    ANSWER #2 - (v.7)

    Paul’s second answer is also in the form of a NEGATIVE/POSITIVE:

    “Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac.”

    Romans 9:7–8 LSB
    7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed, but: “through Isaac your seed will be named.” 8 That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed.
    The LSB is consistent in translating “seed” - from the Greek σπέρμα - ‘seed, offspring, descendant’
    The Bible ACKNOWLEDGES that Abraham had more than one child, but at the same time ONLY ONE son was “…considered as seed” [offspring, descendant]!
    When God first CALLED Abram, He promised him “offspring”!
    Genesis 12:7 CSB
    7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
    Genesis 13:14–16 CSB
    14 After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, 15 for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
    Genesis 15:1–6 CSB
    1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” 4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
    However, TEN YEARS LATER the promised child did not come, so Sarai and Abraham came up with PLAN B:
    Genesis 16:3–4 CSB
    3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her.
    MORE on this part of the story in a bit…BACK TO ROMANS 9

    CLARIFICATION - (v.8)

    WHICH IS also in the form of a NEGATIVE/POSITIVE:
    Romans 9:8 CSB
    8 That is, it is NOT the children by physical descent [τέκνα τῆς σαρκὸς - ‘children of the flesh’] who are God’s children, BUT the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.
    Hebrews 11:17–18 LSB
    17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only son, 18 to whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”
    “Why is this important?”
    Galatians 4:22–26 CSB
    22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman. 23 But the one by the slave was born as a result of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born through promise. 24 These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery—this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
    Galatians 4:28 CSB
    28 Now you too, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.
    We are NOT born again because of HUMAN EFFORT, but we, “…like Isaac, are children of promise.”
    Romans 4:16–24 CSB
    16 This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations— in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. 18 He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be. 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do. 22 Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, 24 but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
    BTW - That’s the meaning of Paul’s CONCLUSIVE STATEMENT, “So then…” in (v.16)
    Romans 9:16 CSB
    16 So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.
    In Paul’s argument beginning in (9:1) he is talking about the CHOICE of God in the lineage of the descendents of Israel—as a NATION, and I believe it is INCORRECT to apply this verse to the CHOICE of an INDIVIDUAL who is saved by faith!
    OTHERWISE, how do you square (9:16) with most of Romans 10?
    Romans 10:8–16 CSB
    8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?
    MORE ON THIS in the next few weeks…
    We now come to the TWO ILLUSTRATIONS or PROOFS given in the form of a GROUND—the evidence, or reason why Paul’s argument is TRUE!

    ILLUSTRATION #1 - The Promise to Sarah! - (v.9)

    Paul doesn’t elaborate, or explain because it couldn’t be more clear!
    Romans 9:9 CSB
    9 For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.
    God made the promise to BOTH Abraham and Sarah!
    Genesis 18:10–15 CSB
    10 The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?” 13 But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid. But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”
    The POINT: When God speaks, we can know that His word is TRUE!
    Before Sarah had ever laughed, God gave them the name of their future son: Isaac - ‘He laughs!’
    Genesis 17:19 CSB
    19 But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring.
    ONE MORE…

    ILLUSTRATION #2 - Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau! - (vv.10-13)

    Though it may be difficult to RECONCILE or UNDERSTAND how this could be fair or just (WHICH IS why the question in (v.14) is next), Paul’s point is that God did speak of this in His Word!

    1. The SETTING - (v.10)

    BEFORE he quotes the verses, he sets the stage…
    (v.10a) - “Not only that, but…” from Οὐ μόνον δέ, - ‘Not alone, but…’
    (v.10b) - “…Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac.”

    2. The MEANING - (vv.11-12a)

    SO NOW the illustration is the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and Paul uses another GROUND:
    Romans 9:11–12 CSB
    11 For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand— 12 not from works but from the one who calls…
    THIS illustration emphasizes God’s sovereignty even more than the first since it involves God’s choice of one twin over another.
    AND it was made before they were even born or “…done anything good or bad.”
    FURTHER, it was (v.12) - “not from works but from the one who calls…”
    God made his decision and revealed it to their mother!

    3. The SCRIPTURES - (vv.12b-13)

    Romans 9:12 CSB
    12 …she was told, The older will serve the younger.
    Genesis 25:23 CSB
    23 And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.
    Esau, the older, did not actually serve Jacob, but Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, did.
    2 Samuel 8:14 CSB
    14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.
    Romans 9:13 CSB
    13 As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.
    Malachi 1:2–3 CSB
    2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. Yet you ask, “How have you loved us?” “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, 3 but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
    David Hocking points out that it was NOT BEFORE they were born that God said he hated Esau, but after!
    During the wilderness wanderings, the EDOMITES, the descendents of Esau would not let the Israelites pass through their land on the King’s Highway and threatened to “…come out and confront you with the sword” (Numbers 20:18). They made them wander around and suffer greatly for it.
    Hocking believes the statement in Malachi was, “…because of what they did to Israel!”
    Even with that explanation, the idea of God “hating” someone is difficult!
    ONE THING that does help my understanding is, according to Robert Mounce is that, “The strong contrast is a Semitic idiom that heightens the comparison by stating it in absolute terms.”
    While we tend to AVOID using the word “hate” (for the most part), it was not always so.
    Luke 14:26 CSB
    26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.
    John 12:25 CSB
    25 The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
    Gary Hammerick - “Their usage was not emotive, but rather comparative!”
    Mike Winger - “Love and hate in Near East Culture is a comparative word, not emotional!

    Conclusion

    I would like to close this message with a quotation from Robert Mounce:
    Romans 1. The Justice of Rejection (9:1–29)

    Paul was not building a case for salvation that in no way involves the consent of the individual. Nor was he teaching double predestination.

    Rather he was arguing that the exclusion of so many Jews from the family of God did not constitute a failure on God’s part to maintain his covenant relationship with Israel. He had not broken his promise to the descendants of Abraham.

    THAT was the answer to the question of whether or not God’s Word had failed!
    IT HAS NOT!
    We shall resume our study of the remaining three questions NEXT WEEK!

      • Romans 2:28–29CSB

      • Romans 9:7–8CSB

      • Genesis 12:7CSB

      • Genesis 13:14–16CSB

      • Genesis 15:1–6CSB

      • Genesis 16:3–4CSB

      • Romans 9:8CSB

      • Hebrews 11:17–18CSB

      • Galatians 4:22–26CSB

      • Galatians 4:28CSB

      • Romans 4:16–24CSB

      • Romans 9:16CSB

      • Romans 10:8–16CSB

      • Romans 9:9CSB

      • Genesis 18:10–15CSB

      • Genesis 17:19CSB

      • Romans 9:11–12CSB

      • Romans 9:12CSB

      • Genesis 25:23CSB

      • 2 Samuel 8:14CSB

      • Romans 9:13CSB

      • Malachi 1:2–3CSB

      • Luke 14:26CSB

      • John 12:25CSB

SPRINGCREEK FELLOWSHIP
jay@scfnwa.com
479-751-2154
http://www.scfnwa.com
18 members • 8 followers