Romans 10:1-2 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.Throughout their history, the Jewish people have always been zealous for their religion (cf.  2:17-20). From the days of Moses, Israelite boys were carefully instructed in the OT Scriptures and in the many ra...  Read More

Romans 9:32-33 Because [Israel] did not pursue [righteousness] by faith, but as though it were by works… They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”Perhaps the greatest hindrance to salvation is one’s self-righteousness—the belief that we as humans are innatel...  Read More

Romans 9:30-32a What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith…All of mankind is born a sinner and will die as a result (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), both physically and spiritually. Since all hu...  Read More

Romans 9:23-24 …God did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom He also called…The profound truth in this passage is that God chooses some for salvation while leaving others in their sinful state. This infuriates many and causes them to question either the truth of the Bible or the character of God. But God being God,...  Read More

Romans 9:27-29 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; 28 for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold, “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, we would have become like Sodom… resembled Gomorrah.”From about 740 BC until...  Read More

Romans 9:25-26 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”From Jacob’s day circa 1850 BC to 586 BC, God chose the nation of Israel, rejected them for rebellion, then scattered th...  Read More

Romans 9:25-26 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”Among the objects of God’s mercy is “us” in v. 24, both Paul, a descendant of Abraham, and Gentile believers. After all,...  Read More

Romans 9:22-24 What if God, though willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared beforehand for glory— 24 us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.According to Romans 9:22, God has...  Read More

Romans 9:22-23 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory…In speaking of the “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,” Paul is speaking of human beings in such a way tha...  Read More

Romans 9:19-21 You might ask, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?So if God has mercy on ...  Read More

Romans 9:18-19 So then [God] has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”In v. 17 Paul spoke of God having hardened the heart of the Egyptian Pharaoh during the days of Moses. Looking back, it was not the only time God did such. For example, when the Israelites entered Canaan to take the land by ...  Read More

Romans 9:14-18 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to de...  Read More