The Unfailing Promises of God

After extolling the riches of the gospel, the book of Romans raises a sudden question: What about God’s promises to Israel? Today, Sinclair Ferguson expounds on God’s great plan to unite Jewish and gentile believers in Christ.

This week on Things Unseen, we’re taking a helicopter tour of Paul’s great letter to the Romans, and we’re halfway there now. Today, we’ve reached chapters 9–11. What are they all about? When we read Paul’s letters, it’s always important to ask why did he move from saying that to now saying this? So, how is the glory of Romans 8:31–39 related to the apparent gloom of the opening verses of chapter 9, where Paul seems to be in some distress?

Well, you’ll remember how chapter 9 begins. Paul is heartbroken because his kinsmen according to the flesh, the Jewish people, who’ve had so many spiritual privileges, by and large have not come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul even echoes Moses’ words and says that he’d be willing to be accursed himself if that were possible, if it would lead to their salvation. I suspect that being in the spiritual heights in Romans 8:31–39 may have triggered in Paul’s emotions the realization that he, a Jew, had tasted the grace of Christ, but his own people by and large, the people he loved, wanted nothing to do with the Savior.

And in addition, Paul seems to have been aware of the tensions—or at least the potential tensions—in the Roman churches between Jews and gentiles. That wasn’t altogether surprising because sometime before, Claudius Caesar had expelled Jews from Rome partly because of some conflict with the Christians, and Jewish Christians had been sent away too. But now they’d been allowed to return. But in the meantime, the churches in Rome must have become very gentile-type churches. So, I think you can imagine how perhaps the Jewish Christians who returned may have felt that they no longer really mattered. So, Paul’s concern for the Jews, and then his extended exposition of God’s purposes for Jews and gentiles in chapters 9–11, is not only biblically important, theologically important—it was pastorally important.

So, what’s his argument? Well, it’s this: God’s Word hasn’t failed. His promises have not been broken. His purposes for His ancient people need to be understood biblically, says Paul, for the truth has always been that belonging to God’s people has never been merely a matter of physical descent. God’s grace has always worked in fallen humanity in a distinguishing election through the response of faith, as in Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau.

And Paul says that what is happening in his own day is actually the fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy: God is making those who are not genetically His people become His people, and vice versa. And in doing this, God acts both sovereignly and righteously. But alas, Paul’s kinsmen, who had the promise of justification by grace through faith, had mistakenly tried to establish their own righteousness instead of receiving God’s righteousness. Not only so, but the Old Testament had indicated that God’s purposes all along had been to call gentiles to faith and salvation.

The Jews’ own Bible had said that everyone who believes will be unashamed, not just every Jew who believes—although that was certainly true—but every single human being who believes. And this believing comes through hearing, and that hearing comes through preaching, and that preaching comes through God sending preachers—exactly what was happening through Paul’s mission to the gentiles. How sad, then, that God says of Israel, “All day long, I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people” (Rom. 10:21).

And these words bring us to Romans 11. Gentiles have received the gospel; Jews by and large have rejected it. Has God then simply rejected his ancient people? Well, no, says Paul. He himself was a Jew. And there were other Jews, a remnant who believed in the Lord Jesus. But he says a hardening had come on others, something Paul says the prophet Isaiah had already spoken of in his day, and David had spoken of the same thing. Is this, then, the end for the Jewish people? No, says Paul, and woe be to any gentile who thinks that it’s the gentiles who are now the special people. In fact, the Jews’ rejection of Christ had led to the gentiles hearing the gospel. Now, it’s Jews who see gentiles experiencing the promises of salvation they had first received. And if that makes them jealous and they turn to Christ, then, says Paul, the conversion of Jews will be like life from the dead. And that was his great hope and comfort.

Now, Bible students and scholars discuss and debate exactly how Paul believed this would happen. The great thing is that it will happen. Jewish and gentile believers will be united in Jesus Christ in the church. So, it’s no wonder that Paul ends up marveling at the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God.

So, if your head is spinning as we land the helicopter today, don’t forget these last words. And join us for a slightly less intense ride tomorrow, when we’ll think about the fourth—and the last—section of this great letter.