Paul's Epistle to the Romans — page 39

Opponents may not have difficulty accepting when God acts sovereignly in mercy toward someone, but they may not accept when it comes to an act of judgment. Paul continues to show that God is also sovereign in judgment. Just as Israel acted perversely by worshiping the golden calf, and God sovereignly chose to show them mercy, so it was with Pharaoh – he acted perversely, but in his case, God hardened him, and then judged him. Since Pharaoh was reaping what he had sown, God was justified in judging him. Thus, we see God's sovereignty being exercised in showing mercy to some and also in hardening others. Paul says: "Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens". (v. 18). God can and does exercise judgment on the wicked, and He is just in doing so, but He can choose to show mercy to some; it is His prerogative.

Who Can Resist the Will of God?

Chap. 9:19-23 – Men will accuse God of injustice, pointing to His treatment of Pharaoh as an example of predestining people to hell. Paul continues to show that this is not true; God would never predestine anyone to a lost eternity. He also points out that it is foolishness on man's part to question God's ways. He presents the argument that skeptics and opponents use: "If God hardens man so that he does not believe, how can God 'find fault' (JND) with him for not believing?" (v. 19) Paul responds to this mistaken notion by showing that, although God acts in judgment, the Scriptures do not say that He chooses people for eternal destruction. "The vessels of wrath [are] prepared for destruction" (v. 22), but they are not prepared by God as such; people prepare themselves by their own unbelief! In Pharaoh's case, God did not predestine him for judgment. If we read carefully the account of the Lord's treatment of Pharaoh (Ex. 4-12), we will see that he himself prepared himself for his judgment by repeatedly hardening himself against the Lord. But he was not condemned from the moment of his birth. In his life, he proved to be wicked, and God could justly have cut him off, but chose to preserve him alive for a time so that He could show His power in judgment, and through him, exalt His name on the earth.

The Lord knew that Pharaoh would harden his heart against Him (Ex. 3:19) and told Moses that judicially He would harden him further, as a consequence. The Lord said: "but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go" (Ex. 4:21, 7:3). Note that the Lord did not say at that moment: "I have hardened his heart...", but rather: "I will harden his heart". It was something the Lord would do as a consequence of Pharaoh hardening his heart first. Certainly, Pharaoh proved to be a wicked man and hardened his heart against the Lord. Scripture records: "But Pharaoh's heart was hardened [he was stubborn – JND]" (Ex. 7:13). (This verse was unfortunately mistranslated in the King James Version, saying: "He hardened Pharaoh's heart." This would make the Lord the Originator of the hardening, which is not true.) Exodus 7:13-14 is the first mention in Scripture of Pharaoh's heart being hardened, and it is clearly something he himself did. Indeed, he repeatedly hardened his heart against the Lord (Ex. 7:22, 8:15, 19, 32, 9:7). It was only after all this that Scripture finally says: "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart" (Ex. 9:12, 10:1, 20, 27, 11:10), which is the fulfillment of what the Lord said in Exodus 4:21 and 7:3 that He would do. The Scriptures say: "A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy" (Prov. 29:1). This was Pharaoh's case.

Paul shows that questioning God's sovereignty is to misunderstand who God is and who we are. He says: "You will say then to me, 'Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?' But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Or does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" God has all power in heaven and on earth and can do whatever He wants – and He never does wrong. He said to Abraham: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25).

All men deserve judgment, but if God chooses to show mercy to some, who are we to say that He is doing wrong? The fact that someone is saved is complete proof of God's sovereign grace. The old and true saying is: all may come (Rev. 22:17), but no one will come (John 3:32); but because of God's sovereign power working in men, some will come to Christ and be saved (John 6:44). Although God may choose some for blessing (as "vessels of mercy"), He never chooses anyone to go to hell. All who prove to be "vessels of wrath" are "prepared for destruction" by their own unbelief (v. 22). There is no such thing as predestination to hell. Paul says that the reason God chooses some to be "vessels of mercy" is to demonstrate "the riches of His glory" (v. 23).

1. N. Darby said: "The root of the question is this; is it God who judges

man or man God? God can do what He wants. He is not the object of our judgment" (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible – on Romans 9). F. B. Hole said: "How slow we are to admit that God has the right to do what He wants, that in fact, He is the only one who has that right, since He alone is perfect in foreknowledge, wisdom, justice, and love. Things may seem inexplicable to us, but it is because we are imperfect."

The Principle of Sovereign Election of Grace Applied to the Gentiles Chap. 9:23-26 – Paul then shows that the principle of sovereign election applies to both Gentiles and Israel. He says that “the vessels of mercy” (believers) “which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”. Thus, all blessings, whether for Jews or Gentiles, rest upon the sovereignty of God.

He quotes Hosea 1:10 and 2:23 to show that God will again devote Himself to Israel in a coming day. They are currently in a position of not being His people – it being written of them “Lo-ammi” (“not My people”). But then, in sovereign grace, He will make them His people again. Their current position of not being His people is identical to the position in which the Gentiles are. Paul's reasoning is that if God can deal in this way with Israel, then He can also do so with the Gentiles.

Chap. 9:27-29 – Paul then quotes the prophet Isaiah to emphasize what he already taught in verses 6-8 – that this act of grace toward Israel will not include every Israelite of natural descent. The mass of the nation will prove unfaithful and will be judged by God, but “the remnant” will be saved. He says: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,” (by natural descent) the remnant shall be saved” (Isa. 10:22). And again: “Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed [a very small remnant – KJV], we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha” (Isa. 1:9). Those who will make up this remnant will have faith and, consequently, will receive the Lord and be blessed according to the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These will form the nucleus of the nation in the millennium. Vs. 30-33 – Paul then concludes by stating that the Gentiles who “followed not after righteousness” have attained “the righteousness which is of faith [by the principle of faith – JND]”. On the other hand, Israel, which sought “the Law” for “righteousness”, did not attain it because they sought it by “the works of the Law” and not by faith.

Paul asks: “Why?” He answers his question, stating “Because it was not by faith”. The Jews (nationally) missed the blessing because they misunderstood the purpose of the Law. They thought it was a ladder on which one climbed to attain righteousness, and they tried to establish their own righteousness by keeping the Law, and as a result, they became blind as to their true state. And the main proof of their state of blindness is that they “stumbled at the stumbling stone” – Christ. They rejected Him!

Paul quotes Isaiah 28 to show that while the nation as a whole stumbled at the “stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence”, God worked sovereignly and some in this present time (a remnant) believed the gospel. By saying: “whosoever believes”, Paul points to the fact that there is human responsibility in receiving the blessing – a person, whether Jew or Gentile, must believe. This acts as a sequence (connection) to the subject in the next chapter, which has to do with man's responsibility.

MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY The Present Rejection of Israel

Chapter 10

It would not be a balanced presentation of this subject if Paul ended his discussion at this point. In chapter 9, he insisted on God's sovereignty in salvation; now, in chapter 10, he speaks of the other side of the subject – man's responsibility. These two lines of truth run side by side throughout all Scripture. They may appear to merge at some point in God's ways, but they never do. They are like the two rails on a long and straight railway. Looking down the road, the rails seem to come together in the distance, but it is clear that this does not occur. Such is the case with God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. God wants us to understand and enjoy these two distinct lines of truth as they are found in the Scriptures, without trying to unite them.

Israel's Responsibility – To Believe

Paul ended the previous chapter by stating that “whosoever believes on Him shall not be confounded” (chap. 9:33). This brings man to responsibility. To receive salvation, we must believe in God's testimony of the gospel concerning the finished work of Christ on the cross. Paul now continues this theme in chapter 10. Frequently, throughout this chapter, he emphasizes the fact that men must believe God's testimony in order to be blessed by Him.

Chap. 10:1 – Knowing that the Jews saw him as a traitor and enemy of the nation of Israel, Paul reaffirms his love and concern for Israel. His great “desire of... heart and prayer to God” was that those of Israel might be “saved” (TB). The fact that they were not saved (except for a few individuals like himself) shows that being natural descendants of Abraham did not save them! If it had saved them, he would not be praying to that end. As mentioned, man's responsibility is to believe God's testimony of the gospel concerning His Son. But that is exactly what the Jews failed to do. Instead of receiving Christ, they stumbled at that “stone of stumbling!” (Chap. 9:32)

1. 2 – Paul declares two reasons for their failure: in

first, they had "zeal" for their national religion that led them to cling to its forms and ceremonies, and not to see that those things really pointed to Christ. (See the epistle to the Hebrews.) Clinging to the forms of Judaism, they cast a veil over their hearts, and "even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is laid over their heart" and they are not able to "look steadfastly to the end of that which was transitory" (2 Cor. 3:13-15). The "end" of the legal covenant is Christ and His finished work on the cross. The types and shadows in the Law all pointed to Him, but they did not see it. This shows that, although it is "good to be zealous", our zeal should be "always in a good thing" and in the right way (Gal. 4:18). In the case of the Jews, their zeal was not "according to knowledge". They did not know that their Scriptures pointed to Christ.

1. 3 – Second, the Jews "did not know the righteousness of

God". They did not understand the meaning of the cross and, consequently, rejected the gospel. As mentioned in our comments on chapter 3:21-31, the righteousness of God has to do with the way in which He took up the question of sin at the cross and settled it for His own glory and for the blessing of all who would believe. The Jews, unfortunately, did not see this in the death of Christ. They believed (and still believe) that His death on the cross was God's way of dealing with Him in justice for His blasphemy of imagining that He was the Messiah – and Whom they insisted was an impostor (Isa. 53:4). In their ignorance, the Jews sought "to establish their own righteousness" – thinking that it could be attained by keeping the Law. Thus, they "did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God", and this caused them to lose the blessing of salvation.

1. 4a – To eliminate the false notion that righteousness can be

attained by man's performance, Paul declares emphatically: "For Christ is the end of law for righteousness" (JND). The article "the" is not in the preposition "of" before the word "law". This indicates that he is not referring specifically to the Law of Moses, but to the principle in which man's performance is the way to attain righteousness. Paul is alluding to God bringing the test of man in the flesh to an end by the death of Christ. From the fall of man to the death of Christ, God kept man in the flesh under testing. For 40 centuries of human history, leading up to the cross, God tested the flesh in man in every possible way (forty is the number that indicates testing in the Scriptures), and the flesh proved to be bad in all things (chap. 3:12, 7:18). All of man's attempts in the flesh to attain righteousness on the basis of human merit and performance failed. God, therefore, ended the test, and "condemned sin in the flesh" in the death of Christ (chap. 6:6, 8:3). The word "end" here is "telos" in Greek, which means "conclusion" (J. N. Darby, Collected Writings, v. 10, p. 22).

By saying: "For righteousness", Paul did not mean that righteousness in Old Testament times was attained through keeping the Law, but now, since the coming of Christ, it is found in Him. The Law was never given for that purpose! (Gal. 3:21) If it had been the means of righteousness in Old Testament times, no one who lived in those times would reach heaven, because no one was able to keep it! Any hope of attaining righteousness along that line is condemned from the start. By adding "to everyone who believes", Paul is indicating that the only way in which someone can be considered righteous is by believing.

The Blessing of the Gospel Is Within Reach of All

Chap. 10:5-10 – Paul, then, contrasts "the righteousness which is of the Law" with "righteousness which is of faith". He shows that the Mosaic Law was something directed to performance and quotes Leviticus 18:5 to prove it: "The man who does these things shall live by them". The emphasis here is on doing – that is, on human performance. On the other hand, "the righteousness which is of faith" requires nothing for a person to do, but simply to believe the "word of faith".

Vs. 6-7 – Paul then draws a principle from the Law to show that God's blessing is really based on faith alone. He quotes Deuteronomy 30:10-14, which has to do with when Israel failed in their responsibility to keep the Law, and all possibilities of obtaining merit with God on the basis of human performance were lost. Moses told the people that, even so, if they turned to the Lord with faith ("with all thy heart, and with all thy soul"), He would still bless them in the context of that legal system. They would not have to do anything to deserve that favor. They would not have to go up to heaven or cross the sea, because the legal commandments were right there in front of them – in their mouth and in their heart – waiting to be obeyed. All they would have to do would be to turn to the Lord in faith, and He would start again with them.

Although Deuteronomy 30 has to do with the Law, Paul uses this principle of grace working for those who recognize their failure and turn to the Lord in faith, and adapts this principle to the gospel. His point is that God blesses on the principle of faith, regardless of whether it is in the context of the legal covenant or in the gospel that he preached. Paul then takes the liberty of interpreting the passage in Deuteronomy, inserting in parentheses the two great facts of the gospel: the incarnation of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. He says that a person does not need to worry about who "shall ascend into heaven (that is, to bring Christ down from above)", or who "shall descend into the abyss (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead)?" (TB) because that has already been done. Christ has already descended and become the supreme sacrifice for sin, and He has risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God.

1. 8 – Thus, the gospel does not ask us to do something

humanly impossible, but simply to believe. Just as the Law was “near” the Israelite (in his heart and mouth), Paul says that “the word of faith, which we preach” is also in the gospel. The difference is that the old commandment was a word that had to do with what man should do, but now the word in the gospel is about what Christ did! The gospel speaks of a work that was finished (John 19:30; Heb. 10:12). Since the word of truth is “near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (the Jews heard the Word of God daily in their homes and in their synagogues), salvation was within reach of all of them. No Jew, therefore, could say: “God made salvation too difficult for me.” Vs. 9-10 – Paul goes on to show that, since everything was done for us in the coming of Christ and in His death and resurrection, all a person needs to do is “confess Jesus as Lord” (JND) and “believe” in his heart “that God has raised Him from the dead”, and he will be “saved”. To believe “in your heart”, of which Paul speaks here, means to believe sincerely; it is not a mere intellectual thing. This shows that God wants truthfulness (Ps. 51:6). There are two “ifs” in this verse that combine and give the believer the assurance of salvation: if “we confess” and if “we believe” in our hearts, “we will be” saved. It is that simple! This is God's great promise in the gospel. God has never disappointed anyone who has trusted in Christ for salvation.