ROMANS 9 COMMENTARY

Almost two years ago, I wrote an article entitled, “Objects Of Wrath.” This article was centered around the statement in Romans 9:13, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” I have to admit, this verse was very confusing to me at first.  I didn’t understand how God could hate an unborn child.  After much study though, I figured out what was actually going on in this text.  So I decided to write an article on it.

Little did I know it would cause such a stir.  Honestly, I didn’t realize that so many held to the doctrine of unconditional election.  Due to the firestorm that ensued after writing this article, I decided I would keep my studies on Calvinism to myself.  I didn’t like the fact that so many were willing to break fellowship with me because I disagreed with them on this issue.

Well, I’ve repented.  Praise the Lord.

I have had many people ask me about Calvinism recently.  It seems that it is growing rapidly.  Therefore, I decided it was time to start putting some stuff together, in order to help those who have been confused by these teachings.

However, I think it is very important that I set the tone of this article right away.  I am, in no way, arrogantly proclaiming that I know everything and that all who disagree with me are heretics.  I acknowledge that many whom I deeply respect in the faith completely disagree with me on this issue.  Men of God whom I highly respect, such as Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham and John MacArthur, are all Calvinists.  And I could list many more.

I want to stress that I do not see this as an issue that I would ever break fellowship with someone over.  When you look back at the history of John Wesley and George Whitefield you see an Arminian and a Calvinist, who were best of friends.  Despite their contrasting beliefs, they stood back to back and boldly proclaimed the gospel in this great land we call America.  Had they harbored hatred toward each other, like many do today, we would perhaps have never seen the Great Awakening, nor the birth of this great nation.

I hope you realize that I do not write with a proud spirit.  However, I do feel it necessary to state that I thoroughly believe that the way I am going to exposit Romans 9 is the way it should be exposited.  But, once again, I also acknowledge that Calvinists, who would exposit it in a completely different way, also believe that their interpretation is the correct one.

So, now that I have established that I do not come in an arrogant spirit, I think it necessary to explain why I have decided to write this.  Lately, I have seen many negative attacks on the way Arminians interpret Scripture.  I find it hard to believe that Arminian teaching has been pinned for much of the liberalism and humanism which has invaded American Christianity.  There is much to say about that, but it is a completely unfair comparison.  Remember, Satan often conceals his falsehood in lies that most closely resemble the truth.

It is also said that Arminian teaching has resulted in many false converts.  No.  The problem of false converts in the church today comes from a lack of holiness preaching.  Pew-warmers won’t hang around too long when issues such as holiness and sanctification come up.  They’ll find some lukewarm church to hang out in.  The problem also comes from churches teaching that you can ask Jesus into your heart and then you’re set for eternity, despite how you live.

Many Calvinists would also say that we teach a man-centered, works-based religion, taking away from the sovereignty of God.  This is simply not true.  I will answer this argument, along with some others, as we dive into Romans 9.  But, before we get into it, take a look at what A.W. Tozer said about the sovereignty of God.

“God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, “What doest thou?” Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.”

Though this is a great quote, quotes do not dictate truth.  The Word of God dictates truth.  That is why I am going to give a detailed overview of Romans 9.  This chapter, perhaps more than any other in the Bible, is key to the Calvinist doctrines of unconditional election, limited atonement and irresistible grace.  They probably feel the ground for their argument is more solid in this passage of Scripture than anywhere else.  However, I believe this is the best place to disprove these three doctrines.

That is why I am writing this article.  For some reason, it is difficult to find teachings, straight from God’s word that refute Calvinism.  Many Arminians come to Romans 9 and get so confused that they just skip it.  Then, they resort to the argument that Calvinism simply doesn’t make sense; that it is unjust, and that it doesn’t jive with the character and nature of God.  I agree with all of those things.  But we can’t let the argument stop there.  Our opinions do not dictate truth.  God’s word dictates truth.

Before I show you what I believe to be the correct interpretation of Romans 9, let me give you an overview of what the Calvinists believe.  The doctrine of unconditional election teaches that, before God created the world, he chose to save some people according to his own purposes and apart from any conditions related to those persons.  In other words, before a person is born, God has already made up His mind whether or not he or she will go to Heaven.  And if you ask a Calvinist, they would have to say that this even applies to babies who die before they are born.  A key verse they use to back this up is Romans 9:13, which says, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

So, grab your Bibles and turn to Romans 9.  All I ask is that you be as the Bereans.  Study the word of God to see if the things I am saying add up.  This will be an extensive study, yet you will notice that we are going to jump all over the Bible.  However, that is not my choosing, but Paul’s.  In Romans 9, he is using Old Testament Scriptures to make his point.  Therefore, we will visit those scriptures and read this passage in it’s context.  We will be reading from the New International Version.

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.  (Romans 9:1-5)

Here, we see that Paul is talking about the Jewish people; his brothers, those of his own race.

6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.  7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”  8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.  (Romans 6:6-8)

In verses six through eight, we see that being born a Jew does not make a person a child of God.  “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”Isaac was the son of faith, while Ishmael was a son of the flesh.  If we want to become a child of God, we have to come to him through faith in Christ.  Another passage which shows this is Romans 2:28-29, which says, “28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”Let’s move now to verse nine.

9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

Of course, in verse nine, he is talking about the birth of Isaac.  From Isaac and Rebekah, came Jacob and Esau.  And here is where some get confused.

10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

At first glance, it would appear that God hated one unborn child and loved the other one.  Of course, that makes no sense, but that’s exactly what the text says…right?  Well, you have to understand that Paul was quoting two Old Testament scriptures here.  His hearers, at the time, didn’t struggle with what he was saying because people knew the scriptures back then.  Let’s go to the first scripture he quotes, found in Genesis 25.

Genesls 25:23 says, “The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”So, who is in Rebekah’s womb? Two nations. These are two kinds of people. You have to take hold of that. All through the Bible you see these two kinds of people. One of which God loves, the other he hates.  You have the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.  Those who receive Christ by faith, and those who reject Christ and trust in themselves.

Let’s keep going. We’ve got to find out why God hated Esau.“24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. 27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom. 31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.”

What did Esau do to deserve God’s hatred? He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. God hates that. The birthright was to take responsibility for the family. Jacob sought after this. And God loved Jacob because of his faith and willingness to pick up the birthright. Does that sound like unconditional love or hatred to you? Of course not. Here is a very important truth that you need to grasp.  God always predestined the way, but he never predestines the person.  God had a plan for Esau.  In fact, he had the same plan for Esau that he had for Jacob.  If Esau would only humble himself, repent and trust in God; he would redeemed.  That’s the same plan he has for everyone, by the way.

So, what’s all this business about the birthright?  Well, you can be certain that God is serious about it.  It might not sound like that big of a deal to us, but look at what Hebrews 12:15-16 says: “15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.” God hates it when we deny the birthright. He is actually referred to as “godless”.

Let’s visit one last scripture on Esau. Malachi 1:2-5 says, 2 “I have loved you,” says the LORD. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the LORD says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” 4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.” But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!’ Again, God states that he loves Jacob and he hates Esau. God crushed Esau. Why? Out of hatred?  No.  Actually, he did it out of love.  He did it because he was desiring that Esau come to repentance. But, instead of confessing his sin and repenting, Esau decided to rebuild.  God hates that.

Allow me to point out a very important statement in verse four, “They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.”We had better realize that if we are going to be like Esau, then we are going to be under the wrath of the Lord. That’s not because God predestined it. That is because we sell our birthright for a mess of pottage. Instead of confessing and forsaking our sin, we decide to do things our way. We think that we can save ourselves, or work our way to salvation. Beloved, their is only one Way. It has nothing to do with works.  God predestined the only way, that being faith in Christ! “In repentance and rest is our salvation” (Isaiah 30:15) Any other way will only lead to the wrath of God.

So, we just covered the first section within this passage that the Calvinists use attempting to prove that God predestines individual persons to, either an eternity in Heaven or an eternity in Hell.  I think that after putting this text in it’s proper context we see that this is not the case.  First of all, Paul is using a scripture from Genesis and a scripture from Malachi.  The Genesis passage explained that God sovereignly chose the nation of Israel to be his chosen nation.  While, in the scripture from Malachi, we see why exactly God hated Esau.  It was not because he chose to make Esau into a person that he would hate.  It was because of who Esau became.  Of course, God could say that he hated him before he was even born because God is omniscient; He has absolute knowledge of everything; past, present and future.  We just have to be careful not to confuse his foreknowledge with predestination.

Of course, we also saw why it was that God loved Jacob.  It had nothing to do with God predestining his eternity. God knew who Jacob would become.  God knew that Jacob would turn to him in faith.  That is what God is looking for in us.

In verse fourteen we see a very important question; “Is God unjust?”  Well, of course we know the answer to that is an emphatic, “Not at all.”  However, I would submit to you that, if the doctrine of unconditional election is true, God is unjust.  And I say that, not only from a philosophical standpoint, but most importantly from a Scriptural one.  Over and over, Scripture urges us to repent, so that we can receive the mercy of God.  It is unjust to urge us to do something that we are incapable of doing.  It is unjust for God to do something that does not line up with his word.  So, I say calvinism’s teachings on election are unjust, not because of my definition of justice, but because it contradicts Scripture’s definition of justice.  God can do whatever he wants to do, but I think we all agree that what he does has to line up with His word.

We see a very important statement in verse fifteen, “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”On whom does God have mercy and compassion? Those who repent and come to Him in faith.

This is another verse that Paul is quoting from the OT.  You’ll find it in Exodus 33:19.  This is where God caused his glory to pass in front of Moses.  The point he was making was that he was not doing this for Moses because he earned it, but because God is sovereign and can have mercy on whomever he wills.

Verse sixteen says,“It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” No one can work their way to God. We are only saved by grace through faith in Christ.  Those who hold to the doctrine of unconditional election would say that those who do not believe the way they do are promoting a works-based religion.  But, that is not the case, at all.  There is a big, “For” in verse seventeen, so you can’t just quote verse sixteen.

Verses seventeen and eighteen say, “17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”The Calvinists would try to make this scripture say that God predestined Pharaoh to reject him.  That’s not what he’s saying.

You have to remember that Pharaoh, when we first met him was one who rejected God.  Guess what.  That was before God ever hardened his heart.  You see, Pharaoh hardened his heart nine times.  God hardened his heart three times.

In Pharaoh, you see a man full of pride that was not going to be told what to do.  In Exodus 5:2, after Moses had relayed to him God’s message, his response was, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go?  I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh had it in his heart that he was the supreme ruler and no one was going to tell him what to do.  Therefore, God let him have his way.  It’s this simple, if we decide to ignore God and harden our hearts, God will then harden it for us.  That is to say, that even when it looks completely foolish to continue in our ways, such as when Pharaoh faced two walls of water, he will harden our hearts to do what we wanted to do in the first place.  And we, like Pharaoh, will drive our chariots to our doom.

Another point to make on Pharaoh is that God raised him up so that the whole earth would see the glory of God.  God sought for a man, whom he knew would resist him and he used him in this way.  It wasn’t that God predestined him to resist him.  He just knew that he would.  There is a difference between foreknowledge and predestination.

In verse nineteen, we see a question that would actually be legit if unconditional election were true. “One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” I believe that that is why Paul uses it.  If we don’t have a choice, how can we be guilty?

And in the following passage, great clarity is given to the truth about election.  Look at verses twenty and twenty-one:

20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”

Paul is quoting from Isaiah 29 and 45 and using the imagery of Jeremiah 18 at the Potter’s house where God shapes the pot as he sees fit to Him.  So, let’s go back to Jeremiah 18 to see what’s going on.

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ “

There are a few things we need to see in this passage.  First of all, God is the potter, Israel is the clay.  And, of course, you could also say that we are clay in the hands of God.  Though this passage is talking about Israel, it also applies to us, individually.  And God can do with us whatever he wills.  However, you will see in verses seven and eight that, He is saying that Israel’s response could cause God to repent of the disaster he had planned.  Then, in verses nine and ten, he gives the opposite of that.  The response of Israel could also cause God to reconsider the good he had planned.  Those are two “if-then” statements that cause much confusion to the Calvinist doctrine of election.

Then, in verses eleven and twelve, you see a warning to the people – not just the nation as a whole.  Based on the preceding four verses, they are warned that God is preparing a disaster for them and devising a plan against them.  So, Jeremiah called them to repentance, so that God would repent of the evil he had planned against them.  But their reply says it all.  ”It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.” Unfortunately, that is the response of many today.  God has predestined the plan.  All of us are born in sin and headed for destruction.  But, he has also predestined a way for us to escape that destruction.  Remember, God always predestines the way, never the person.  If we repent and trust in Christ, God will repent of the disaster he had planned for us.  We see this made even more clear in Romans 9:22-24:

22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

Without putting this passage in context, it would be very easy to conclude that God bore us as “objects of wrath,” predestined to spend an eternity in Hell.  Well, here’s the deal.  We were all born objects of God’s wrath, prepared for destruction.  We really were.  You can blame that on Adam (Romans 5:12).  And what is the purpose that God would do something like that?  So He can display His mercy.  Remember in verse eleven we read that God wanted His purpose in election to stand?  He wants the whole world to see his mercy.  And God cannot display His mercy any better than taking an object of His wrath, offering them the free gift of salvation, and when they trust in Him, He can transform them into an object of His mercy.  Do you see it?  How marvelous!

Now, let’s wrap this up in Ephesians 2:1-10:

“1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

It is not that God creates some people objects of His wrath and some people objects of His mercy.  All people are created objects of His wrath.  Yet, He also sent His Son to die for the whole world, and offers His gift of salvation to all who would repent and trust in Him.  It does not come by works.  We cannot earn God’s mercy.  It is only when we repent and trust in Christ for salvation that we can be saved.  If you decide to do things your own way, forsaking the birthright and trusting in yourself, you will receive the wrath of God.  But, if you repent and put your faith in Christ, you will receive His mercy.  Though you were created an object of wrath, you can turn to Christ and become an object of mercy.  Amen!

This is as far as we will go in this study.  I hope it has helped you to better understand Romans 9 and the doctrine of election.  All I would ask of you is to go and study yourselves to see if what I have said adds up.  This study is meant, not to cause a root of bitterness to spring up with my Calvinist brothers and sisters.  Rather, it was meant to unclog some confusion that many have over this passage.  A good study for you would be to read all the way through the book of Romans.  You will see that, in it’s context, it does not teach any of the five points of Calvinism.  And you will find the same to be true if you simply read through the entire Bible, searching for the truth.

For His Glory,

Adam Tennant