God's Mercy On All, Jew and Gentile

March 7th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Romans 11:32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

The astounding statement in v. 32 is merely a summary statement of what Paul has been saying since the first chapter of Romans. The more immediate context, however, is Romans 9 where it is said that God hardens whomever He will (9:18), but He does so in order that He might show mercy. The key term in 11:32 is “shut up” (Gr. sugkleiō), for God has bound all to disobedience. The word means “to imprison” and is used in Luke 5:6 for a net used for catching fish that confines them until they are either thrown out or filleted. Paul also uses the word in Galatians 3:22-23. In that context it is the “Scripture” that is the subject of the sentence that “imprisoned everything and everyone under sin.” Likewise, in Galatians 3:23, it is the Law of God that imprisoned the people of Israel. They were not set free from this prison until they were saved through faith. Note that “God” in Romans 11:32 and “Scripture/Law” in Galatians 3:22 are the ones who imprison all to disobedience. Scripture is the word, or Law, of God, and both reveal that no one can please God, for all have sinned (Rom. 3:9-18). Yet both God and the Scriptures reveal also that freedom from disobedience is found only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Note also that God has imprisoned “all” over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on “all.” Many have attempted to show that “all” means every person in the world so that God will have mercy on all, and all will be saved. This is universalism, and if the passage is taken out of context, then it appears that the Bible teaches universal salvation. Of course Romans never teaches this in context, for Paul speaks of the day of God’s wrath (2:5) and His indignation (2:8) toward unbelievers. So what Paul does mean when he says “all” is simply Gentiles and Jews—the two groups he has contrasted throughout chapter 11. In other words, God’s imprisoning all to disobedience so that He can have mercy on all has to do with the fact that both Jews and Gentiles are included. God has not simply done this to Jews or to Gentiles but to both. There is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles in relation to sin or salvation, for both of them are sinful, and both can receive salvation. They are both imprisoned to disobedience, and they will both be shown God’s mercy. Both groups thus mean that “all” have been imprisoned to disobedience.

God’s purpose in imprisoning all to disobedience is so that He might show mercy to all. The Gentiles were imprisoned to disobedience prior to the coming of Jesus Christ, and it was Israel who was shown God’s great mercy. When Christ arrived, it was the Gentiles who received Him in great numbers, and God showed them mercy while rejecting and hardening Israel during that time. Why both groups cannot come to Christ in equal measure at the same time is only for God to know. But one thing is certain: Israel’s current state of unbelief—having been consigned to disobedience herself—is not permanent. God has also promised to deal mercifully with her.

Food For Thought
Does man have a freewill? Yes, but only within the confines of being imprisoned to disobedience. The moment we are conceived we are imprisoned to disobedience, whether Jew or Gentile. No one is righteous, no one understands, no one seeks for God, and no one who does good—none (Rom. 3:10-12). All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (3:23), His wrath remaining upon all who do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (5:9). Truly, we are born sinners, and the penalty of sin is death. It is what we all choose of our own freewill—every single one of us! So, if every person on the planet who has ever lived died and went to hell, we could all honor the Almighty for being faithful to His word to bring death to sinners as a God of pure justice. However, God only allowed sin in order to show His mercy! So now we can praise Him not only for His justice but also for His unmerited favor, His grace and mercy through Christ.