Romans 9:1-5
Bible Study: Romans 9:1-5
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
In this introductory passage to Romans 9, Paul is going to discuss a thought that would be on the minds of many of the Jewish Christians at the time. If Christ was the Jewish Messiah, then why are the Jews rejecting Him? Why can they not see that this is the messiah their king? In this first part of Chapter 9, we find Paul expressing angst over the matter. He says in Romans 9:3, “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race.” This statement is no small matter by Paul. It is clearly hard for him to see that so many of his ethnic brethren are being excluded in their rejection of Christ.
At the same time as expressing his angst over the matter, Paul, more than anyone, would understand why the Jews rejected Christ. He himself was a leader in the persecution of the Christians until Christ revealed himself to Paul. So, it seems that he is saying, “Oh, if you could only see what I see.” Instead, Christianity is quickly going to the Gentiles. And so, the Jewish people must be wondering, “How can Jesus of Nazareth be the messiah if the Jews have been rejected?“ We might as well also ask: Is God not going to keep his promises to the Jews? If not, how can we believe his promises to the church?
And so Paul continues in Romans 9:4 and Romans 9:5, “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.“ Paul being a Jew, recognizes the questions that Jews would have, and so reaffirms the Jewish history and promises — he is a Jew and he knows them well. Of course, this means that something is off. Either (1) God has not kept his promises, (2) Jesus is not the messiah, or (3) the majority of the Jews at that time have missed something. Paul is going to discuss some rather deep theological topics to answer these questions. He will deal with oft argued concepts such as election and God’s foreknowledge.
As we continue on in this study, bear in mind that even the most talented exegetical minds among us can be wrong. These are topics that even the most devoted followers of Christ have honest disagreements about. What we must do is commit ourselves to reading the scriptures, to understanding them in light of all of scripture, and finally, to humbly pray and ask God for the ability to discern the meaning of the text. What we also must do is bow to God’s Word and not the other way around. Some times we try to interpret scripture by what we prefer. Let us not do that, but instead, commit to the purest and truest interpretation above our preferences.
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