In this thought-provoking session, we unravel the complexities of righteousness by faith versus the works of the law. We take a look at the enigmatic role of Israel within the larger context of God’s redemptive narrative. Prepare to see how Paul’s thought-provoking conclusion in Romans 9 redefines our understanding of faith, righteousness, and salvation, offering hope and clarity for believers seeking a deeper grasp of their spiritual journey.
So this beautiful passage in Romans 9 tells us that you and I are vessels of mercy. That is, we’re a vessel filled up with the mercy of God. Think of it as you go about your day, as you go about your life. You’re filled with God’s mercy. These vessels of mercy are to reveal the glory of God to others. And the glory of God to others is to the vessels of wrath, those who have been filled up with being handed over to the powers that they choose instead of God. That’s what wrath is all about. It’s God giving people over to what they choose instead of him, not because he’s about to abandon them, but because he has to show them the tough way. If they don’t find appealing—if Jesus isn’t appealing to them— the story of Jesus, the account of Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus for their sins, then God has to let them have it the tough way, which is to experience an end of themselves through giving them exactly what they want as an alternative to God. And you know that all alternatives to God are nothing. They are empty. They are lifeless. They disappoint. And so God has to bring men and women to disappointment in order for them to call out or need or require or even desire mercy. So you and I have been called vessels of mercy, and even us, Paul says, that’s you and I, even us, verse 24, whom he called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. I will call them my people who were not my people, and her beloved who was not my beloved. Now, don’t think of this as an afterthought on God’s part. Some of us have fallen for the trap to feeling that God is sort of moving into plan B when he saves the Gentiles, as if plan A, saving the Jews, didn’t work. Well, that’s not the case at all, because God is sovereign. And he is the initiator of salvation. He knows the end from the beginning. He knew that Israel would reject him, yet he is the one who chose Israel. And yet, this is how it works. God’s plan of salvation operates through their rejection. God knows that they will reject, and he uses that rejection, which becomes an instrument by which they crucify Christ, in order to save those who are not his people yet. So once they are saved, then they become witnesses to the original people of God, the Israelites. God is not in plan B here at all. And it shall come to pass, he said, in the place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there they shall be called sons of the living God. You may think in your own heart, I just don’t measure up enough to be a Christian. I’ve had too much of a sinful life, or I’m too addicted to this or that, and I’ve failed so many times, I just can’t be a Christian. And so you may be one of those people who feels that you are not God’s people. But listen to what it says again. I will call them my people who were not my people. Do you feel that you are one of those who simply doesn’t cut the mustard, doesn’t come up to the bar, is not sufficient enough for God? You are not God’s people. Well, God is going to call you his people. In fact, he does that for the whole world, ultimately. The truth is that God has set his heart upon the human race. Now, here we have a verse that so many have misunderstood. Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved, for he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. And people say, there you have it. only a few of the Israelites will be saved, just a remnant. Well, I’m sorry to tell you, that is not the interpretation. Paul was quoting from the Septuagint, that’s the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, because many people in Isaiah’s day did not, or rather in the days of the captivity, after the captivity, did not remember the Hebrew language. They were second generation. They lived in lands that spoke Greek. And so the leaders of the people of Israel translated the Hebrew into Greek, and that’s called the Septuagint. Paul was quoting from the Septuagint. And in fact, the Septuagint says this, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will return. And he’s referring to the people who were taken by Assyria and transferred into their land to live there. And after the collapse of Assyria and Babylon, then came Cyrus the Medo-Persian, who allowed the people to return to their homeland, and a remnant returned. Why is Paul then saying this? Because he’s talking about how Israel will be saved. This is chapter 9, and he’s saying just as a remnant returned to Jerusalem, so also a remnant of the Jews at the present time is coming to Christ and returning to faith in God through his Savior Jesus, through the Messiah. So, you see, he’s simply building the case for the full influx of Israel. That comes later in chapter 11, where he says all Israel will be saved. So, unless you want to hold a contradiction in your mind, you have to understand that that Romans 9 is talking about a remnant first of all, because God is calling people out of all the elected at various and different times. A remnant first of all will return, and as the gospel keeps spreading throughout the world and in the judgment, then also all Israel will be saved. Now, what is tremendously important about this chapter is the end of it. It is enormously revealing. Verse 30, what shall we say then? Okay, so Paul is bringing a conclusion now. When he asks, what shall we say then? In the light of all this, what shall we say? that Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at the stumbling stone. Now, let me tell you why this is remarkable, and perhaps you realize it yourself already. This is a conclusion, and a conclusion never introduces new data. It simply summarizes what is the previous data that has been explored. But here, Paul is introducing new data. What is that new data? Well, righteousness by faith. He hasn’t talked about righteousness by faith at all in this chapter. He’s talked about election and calling people who are elect. So what do we conclude then? We conclude, since this is a conclusion because Paul has said, what shall we say then? that righteousness by faith is the same as God’s call of the elect. In other words, if you have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that in him you have found your righteousness because he is counted as your righteousness, if you have come to believe that, that is evidence that you are one of the called elect. You are one of the elect that has been called. Now, that makes election much more simple, doesn’t it? Much more understandable. It’s not that God is electing a few and rejecting the rest, not that he’s predestining some for heaven and predestining the rest for hell. That’s a nonsensical doctrine and an evil one. It’s this, that God has set his heart upon the world to elect it. God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity have chosen to elect the world that it may not ever be lost. And he’s going to elect that world by bringing them the good news of Jesus Christ, which is what righteousness by faith is all about, isn’t it? When we are counted righteous by faith and we come to believe that, let’s put it more personally. Perhaps you were a legalist and you kept all the laws of God and tried to be good but never felt you could succeed, and therefore you felt almost overwhelmed with your own sins and your own inabilities and defeats. But then one day you went to a church and they preached that Jesus is accounted to you as righteous because he took all the burden of your sins upon himself and rose from the dead on your behalf. Therefore, you are treated as if you were righteous like him. You heard that teaching. You heard that gospel. And at last, oh, you came to believe it. You found at last that you no longer needed to seek after your own righteousness and try to obey everything in order to feel assured of God’s peace and acceptance, but you now found Jesus to be your righteousness. and you went home with joy. That experience is God having elected you before the world was ever created, and then calling you on that particular day or moment in time when you heard the message of Christ our righteousness. So you see, this is how Paul brings things together. Election is talking about salvation, as it were, from God’s point of view. He is electing us. So think of election as God’s message coming down from heaven, or God’s action coming down from heaven to you. And righteousness by faith is like, it’s also coming from God, but it’s from our point of view. Oh, I see, our point of view is that Christ is our righteousness. So once we get that message from our point of view, we look up to God in faith, in a faith that he gave us. But election is us seeing things from God’s point of view, God’s action of electing us is our response of righteousness by faith, of that is believing by faith that Christ is our righteousness. Still though, don’t make the mistake that your faith is your response. It is God’s gift to you which you now exercise. Isn’t this just wonderful? I would like to encourage you to read again Romans chapter 9 and look at the surprising conclusion, because it suddenly makes sense of the whole chapter. Well, thank you for joining me today, everyone. This is Colin Cook, and you’ve been listening to my broadcast, How It Happens. This program is now in its 27th year, and all thanks to God and to you, because you are the supporters of the program. It’s listener-supported radio. Each program costs $39 per 15 minutes, which is about $200 for a week’s programs and $850 to $900 for a month’s programs. This small ministry pays for that. But in reality, you do, because you keep it going. 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