The Unbreakable Thread of Promise: Text: Romans 9:6-13
Introduction: Has God Failed?
We come now to one of the high peaks of Scripture. Romans 9 is a continental divide in the landscape of theology. How you read this chapter will determine how you read the rest of your Bible, how you understand your salvation, and how you worship God. It is a chapter that has caused many to stumble, and many more to sing.
The apostle Paul has just concluded chapter 8 with one of the most glorious, soaring affirmations of the believer's security in all of Scripture. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. But this magnificent conclusion immediately raises a deeply troubling question, one that would have been burning in the mind of every Jewish reader. If God's love for His elect is so unbreakable, what about Israel? What about the chosen people? The vast majority of them had rejected their Messiah. The very people to whom the promises were given were now, by and large, enemies of the gospel. Does this not mean that God's promises have failed? Has the word of God fallen to the ground, null and void?
This is not a small problem. If God's promises to national Israel can fail, what assurance do we have that His promises to the church will not also fail? If God can go back on His word to them, what stops Him from going back on His word to you? The integrity of God is on the line. The reliability of His every promise hangs in the balance.
Paul's answer in this chapter is a thunderous, unequivocal defense of the absolute sovereignty and righteousness of God. He shows us that the word of God has not failed in the slightest. The problem is not with God's promise, but with our carnal, fleshly assumptions about who the promise was for. We live in a sentimental age that wants God to be a celestial democrat, treating everyone the same, respecting their autonomous choices. But Paul presents us with a King, a Potter, a sovereign Lord who accomplishes all His holy will. And in this truth, we find not terror, but the only firm foundation for our everlasting comfort.
The Text
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR SEED WILL BE NAMED.” That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed. For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “THE OLDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”
(Romans 9:6-13 LSB)
God's Word Has Not Failed (v. 6)
Paul begins by tackling the central problem head on.
"But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;" (Romans 9:6)
The word of God has not missed its target. It has not fallen down. Why? Because God was never aiming where we thought He was. Paul makes a crucial distinction, one that runs like a razor's edge through the whole of redemptive history. There is an Israel of the flesh, the physical nation, and there is an Israel of the Spirit, the elect remnant within that nation. Being born a Jew did not automatically make one a true child of God. There has always been an election within the election.
This is not a New Testament invention. It is not Plan B because Plan A with the Jews failed. This was the plan from the very beginning. God's Word is a precision instrument, not a shotgun blast. It accomplishes exactly what He sends it to do. It was never a blanket promise of salvation to every single physical descendant of Abraham. To think so is to misunderstand the very nature of God's covenant dealings.
The Sieve of Promise (v. 7-9)
Paul now proves his point by going back to the patriarchs. He demonstrates that from the very start, God's promise was selective and sovereign, not based on natural descent.
"nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed, but: 'THROUGH ISAAC YOUR SEED WILL BE NAMED.' That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed. For this is the word of promise: 'AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.'" (Romans 9:7-9 LSB)
Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was his firstborn. By all natural and cultural rights, he was the heir. But God said no. Ishmael was the son of the flesh, the result of Abraham and Sarah's clever, man-made plan to "help God out." But Isaac was the son of the promise. He was born supernaturally, out of a dead womb and an old man, by the direct, creative power of God's spoken word.
Paul draws the line for us: it is not the children of the flesh, but the children of the promise who are the true seed. This is a foundational principle. God's people are not created by human effort, by natural birth, or by religious observance. God's people are created by God's promise. The promise itself is what brings the children into being. God speaks, and a people who were not a people become His people. This is true of Isaac, and it is true of every single person who is born again. We are not children of God because of our bloodline, but because of God's promise in Christ.
The Scandal of Unconditional Election (v. 10-12)
Now Paul tightens the screws. Someone might object and say, "Well, the difference between Isaac and Ishmael is obvious. They had different mothers. One was a slave, one was a free woman." It is a weak objection, but Paul anticipates it and demolishes it with his next example, which is even more pointed.
"And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, 'THE OLDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER.'" (Romans 9:10-12 LSB)
Here, every possible human variable is removed. Same father, Isaac. Same mother, Rebekah. Conceived at the same time. Yet before they were even born, before they had a chance to do anything right or wrong, God made His choice. God drew the line. He said, "The older shall serve the younger," completely upending the natural law of primogeniture.
Paul tells us exactly why God did it this way: "so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand." God arranged the circumstances in this precise way to make one thing inescapably clear: salvation is not about us. It is not based on our works, our choices, our foreseen faith, or any quality in us whatsoever. It is based entirely on one thing: the free choice of "Him who calls." God's purpose is the foundation, His choice is the mechanism, and His call is the effective agent. This doctrine is a sledgehammer to human pride. It leaves no room for boasting. We contributed nothing to our election but the sin that made it necessary.
The Offensive Apex (v. 13)
Paul then drives the point home with a quotation from Malachi that has shocked the sensibilities of men for centuries.
"Just as it is written, 'JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.'" (Romans 9:13 LSB)
This is the hard edge of the doctrine, and we must not try to blunt it. Many well-meaning people try to soften this by saying "hated" just means "loved less." And while the word can have that sense in some contexts, that is not what is going on here. This is the language of covenant. To be loved by God in this sense is to be brought into covenant with Him, to be the recipient of His saving, electing grace. To be hated by God is to be passed over, to be rejected from that covenant line of promise. It is an act of sovereign preterition.
This was not because Jacob was a better man than Esau. If you read the Genesis account, Esau often comes across as the more straightforward and likable of the two. Jacob was a schemer, a supplanter. The point is not that God chose the good guy and rejected the bad guy. The point is that God chose one sinner and not another, according to His own good pleasure, to display the utter freedom of His grace. God is not obligated to love anyone. The fact that He chooses to set His saving love on any of us is a staggering mystery of mercy.
Conclusion: The Only Solid Ground
So why does Paul teach this difficult, offensive doctrine? Is it to fill our heads with abstract theology so we can win arguments? Not at all. He teaches it because it is the only possible foundation for true Christian assurance.
If your salvation depends, at the end of the day, on your choice, your work, your faithfulness, or your ability to hang on, then your salvation is as fragile as you are. You will live your life in a state of constant anxiety, never knowing if you have done enough. But if your salvation rests entirely on the sovereign choice of God, on a purpose that was fixed before you were born, on a love that chose you not for what you would do but in spite of it, then your salvation is as secure as God Himself.
This doctrine does not produce arrogance; it produces humility. It does not stifle evangelism; it fuels it, because we know that God has an elect people and that His Word will not return void. It does not lead to despair; it leads to worship. It strips us of every last shred of self-reliance and causes us to fall on our faces before the God who has mercy on whom He will have mercy. Our salvation is not a cooperative project between us and God. It is a divine rescue, from first to last. And because it is all of Him, all the glory goes to Him.