Romans 9-11
So what about Israel? What about the Jews? In light of the Gospel of faith in Jesus Christ, what about all those promises to “God’s people”? These are a few of the questions that Paul addresses in today’s reading. Unfortunately, it seems that many Christians widely ignore these chapters altogether.
For example, many are so certain of their notion of “free will” that they cannot tolerate any hint of predestination and so must either completely reject Romans 9 or otherwise so twist its words as to be unrecognizable. And, yes, I’m referring to all those — perhaps even you — who contend that God cannot be responsible for hardening hearts, not even Pharaoh’s, despite what Scripture says. Such arguments are ostensibly made in an attempt to make God look good and fair-minded. But in truth, far from defending God, this total devotion to the theology of free will is really justification of self. (When I say that my decision to follow Jesus is my own free choice, I can pat myself on the back for being so wise in making that smart choice, and I can also look down — perhaps with pity, perhaps with disdain — on all those idiots who can’t manage to connect the dots… Does that sound at all familiar?) Let’s not discard Scripture in order to feel better about ourselves. Let’s pay attention to what Scripture actually says.
Similarly, there is antisemitism currently running rampant around the world and right here in the U.S.A., often coming from those who call themselves “Christians” and often framed in supposedly “Christian” arguments (e.g., justifying the hatred of Jews by blaming them for crucifying Jesus). But we’ll find no support for such antisemitism here. One must again ignore — or utterly reject — Romans 9-11 to conclude that God has permanently abandoned Israel. God most certainly still has a heart for Israel. God’s promises to Israel are still valid. And if God does not abandon Israel, then neither should we. Let’s pay attention to what Scripture actually says.
No, let’s not ignore these chapters. Let’s not think that all this “big picture” theology has little or no relevance to us or our daily lives or our politics. Let’s not grow arrogant in our relationship with God. Let’s instead pay all the more close attention to what God might be telling us here. Let’s listen to what He actually says.
See also:
- September 28 (2021) / Romans 9:1-33
- September 29 (2021) / Romans 10:1-21
- September 30 (2021) / Romans 11:1-36
One more thing…
A few months back the Sunday sermons at St. Andrew’s followed the lectionary readings through Romans. You can find most of those sermons on St. Andrew’s YouTube sermon playlist. Two of those sermons (both by Ben) pertain particularly to today’s reading: