God's Sovereign Choice

Romans 9

1 I a tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 b that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For c I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my 1 countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, d to whom pertain the adoption, e the glory, f the covenants, g the giving of the law, h the service of God, and i the promises; 5 j of whom are the fathers and from k whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, l who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

6 m But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For n they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 o nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, p "In Isaac your seed shall be called." 2 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but q the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: r "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son." 3 10 And not only this, but when s Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of t Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, u "The older shall serve the younger." 4 13 As it is written, v "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." 5

14 What shall we say then? w Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, x "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." 6 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For y the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, z "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." 7 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He a hardens.

19 You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For b who has resisted His will?" 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? c Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" 21 Does not the d potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make e one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering f the vessels of wrath g prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known h the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had i prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He j called, k not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

25 As He says also in Hosea:
l "I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved." 8 26 "And m it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
' You are not My people,'
There they shall be called sons of the living God." 9

27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: 10
n "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
o The remnant will be saved. 28 For 11 He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
p Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth."

29 And as Isaiah said before:
q "Unless the LORD of 12 Sabaoth had left us a seed,
r We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah." 13

  1. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 1:23
    Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth.
  2. Cross References
    Romans 10:1
    Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 32:32
    "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin - but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
  4. Cross References
    Exodus 4:22
    Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn.
    Romans 8:15
    For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father.
  5. Cross References
    1 Samuel 4:21
    Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
  6. Cross References
    Genesis 17:2
    "And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
    Deuteronomy 29:14
    I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone.
    Luke 1:72
    To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant.
    Acts 3:25
    "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:13
    So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
    Psalms 147:19
    He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
  8. Cross References
    Hebrews 9:1
    Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
    Hebrews 9:6
    Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
  9. Cross References
    Acts 2:39
    "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
    Acts 13:32
    And we declare to you glad tidings - that promise which was made to the fathers.
    Ephesians 2:12
    That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 10:15
    The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.
  11. Cross References
    Luke 1:34
    Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?
    Luke 1:35
    And the angel answered and said to her, " The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
    Luke 3:23
    Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:6
    In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
  13. Cross References
    Numbers 23:19
    God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
  14. Cross References
    John 8:39
    They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
    Galatians 6:16
    And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
  15. Cross References
    John 8:33
    They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?
    John 8:39
    They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
    Galatians 4:23
    But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 21:12
    But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
    Hebrews 11:18
    Of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called.
  17. Cross References
    Galatians 4:28
    Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 18:10
    And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
    Genesis 18:14
    "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
    Hebrews 11:11
    By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
  19. Cross References
    Genesis 25:21
    Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
  20. Cross References
    Romans 4:17
    (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed - God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.
    Romans 8:28
    And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 25:23
    And the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.
  22. Cross References
    Malachi 1:2
    I have loved you," says the LORD. "Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the LORD. "Yet Jacob I have loved.
    Malachi 1:3
    But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:4
    He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
  24. Cross References
    Exodus 33:19
    Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
  25. Cross References
    Galatians 3:8
    And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed.
  26. Cross References
    Exodus 9:16
    But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
  27. Cross References
    Exodus 4:21
    And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back t...
    Deuteronomy 2:30
    But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass...
    Joshua 11:20
    For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, ...
    John 12:40
    "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their h...
    Romans 11:7
    What then? Israel has not obtained what it seek...
    Romans 11:25
    For I do not desire, brethren, that you should ...
  28. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 20:6
    And said: "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?
    Job 9:12
    If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?
    Daniel 4:35
    All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?
  29. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:16
    Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
    Jeremiah 18:6
    O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
    Romans 9:22
    What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.
    2 Timothy 2:20
    But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
  30. Cross References
    Proverbs 16:4
    The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
  31. Cross References
    2 Timothy 2:20
    But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
  32. Cross References
    1 Thessalonians 5:9
    For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
  33. Cross References
    Proverbs 16:4
    The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
    1 Peter 2:8
    And "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
  34. Cross References
    Colossians 1:27
    To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
  35. Cross References
    Romans 8:28 - 30
    And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
  36. Cross References
    Romans 8:28
    And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
  37. Cross References
    Isaiah 42:6
    I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles.
    Isaiah 42:7
    To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
    Isaiah 49:6
    Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'
    Luke 2:32
    A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.
    Romans 3:29
    Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.
  38. Cross References
    Hosea 2:23
    Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!'
    1 Peter 2:10
    Who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
  39. Cross References
    Hosea 1:10
    "Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.'
  40. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:22
    For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
    Isaiah 10:23
    For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
  41. Cross References
    Romans 11:5
    Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
  42. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:23
    For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
    Isaiah 28:22
    Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
  43. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:9
    Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.
  44. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:23
    'The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath.'
    Isaiah 13:19
    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
    Jeremiah 49:18
    As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors," says the LORD, "No one shall remain there, Nor shall a son of man dwell in it.
    Jeremiah 50:40
    As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors," says the LORD, " So no one shall reside there, Nor son of man dwell in it.
    Amos 4:11
    I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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