Romanos 9:1-5

Paul Is Concerned For Israel Because In Spite Of Their Many Advantages A Large Proportion of Them Have Rejected The Messiah Who Has Come From Among Them (9:1-5).

We find in Paul's introductory comments some heart-rending words (Romanos 9:1), as Paul demonstrates his love and concern for his fellow Israelites. He is not happy with their lot. He points out that the Israelites had many outward advantages, including the fact that they had produced the Messiah (Romanos 9:1), but that he is heartbroken because they have not taken advantage of them. Indeed he is so concerned that he wishes that he could take their curse on himself, just as their Messiah had actually done (Gálatas 3:10), so that they might be saved. It is noteworthy that Paul does not spell out what he saw as the situation of the ‘unbelieving' Jews. He is not out to stir up hatred. But closer examination of the wider narrative indicates what that situation is:

1) He saw them as ‘accursed from Christ', something implied in Romanos 9:3.

2) He saw them as not on the whole being ‘true Israel' (Romanos 9:6).

3) He did not see their relationship with Abraham as making them ‘the children of God' (Romanos 9:7).

4) He saw the majority of them as not being of God's elect (Romanos 9:6; Romanos 9:8; Romanos 9:15; Romanos 9:18; Romanos 9:22; Romanos 9:27; Romanos 9:29; Romanos 11:1).

He will then demonstrate in some detail from Scripture why this is undoubtedly so, and why the doctrine of election is no guarantee of salvation for all Israelites. It will be noted that there is no connecting word at the beginning of chapter 9, (e.g. no ‘therefore', or ‘and'). This indicates that Paul is now commencing a new argument And as one who himself is ‘in the Messiah' (in Christ - Romanos 9:1) Paul here brings out his depth of feeling for his fellow-Israelites, who were humanly speaking his ‘brothers and kinsmen according to the flesh', but the majority of whom were not ‘in Christ'. He stresses the wonder of the privileges that God has given them, including the bringing forth of the Messiah, something for which he as a true Jew is clearly very gratified. But this makes their rejection of the Messiah all the more culpable. This emphasis on the Messiah underlines the fact that the reason why he is so distressed for his brothers in Israel is because they have not responded to the Messiah, and have thereby forfeited their position before God (this will be brought out more fully in Romanos 9:30 to Romanos 10:21). By inference from Romanos 9:3 they are ‘anathema from Christ', they are no longer His people, and indeed his first following argument will emphasise that they cannot be seen as the children of God (Romanos 9:7), or even as Israel (Romanos 9:6; compare Romanos 11:16).