ROMANS 9
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”– Romans 9:19-29
ROMANS 9 ONLY A REMNANT WILL BE SAVED
In this letter, Paul continues to expound on the sovereignty of God. He quotes the prophet Hosea on verse 2:23 which promises those who were not part of the Israelites will also have a chance to be called sons of the living God. He also quotes the prophet Isaiah that even though the Israelites were as much as the sand, only a remnant of them will be saved. He also mentioned Isaiah’s prediction that if God didn’t keep his promise, they would be annihilated just like Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
This is a warning not just for those first century Christians but also to all believers in our current time. In Matthew 22, we hear Jesus tell the parable of the great feast. It was about a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son and those who were invited didn’t come but killed the messengers who were sent to invite them. So, in his anger, the king ordered everyone in the street corners to come instead. When someone came and isn’t properly dressed for the feast, he was bound and thrown into the pit of darkness. The parable ends with “many are called but few are chosen.”
REFLECTION
- What does it take for a believer to receive the promise of eternal life?
