Is Romans 9 about individual salvation?
It is about individual salvation in the sense that Paul's design in this chapter, so it seems to me, was to defend the justice of God's scheme of 'salvation by faith'.
The scheme meant that many Jewish individuals were missing-out on experiencing salvation, due to their unbelief. This seemed to some an almost untenable outcome - that Jewish individuals themselves could miss-out.
Nevertheless, Paul explained, God was justified and Scripture was not broken - for it had always been God's prerogative and plan to save on a different basis than the individual's own works or Jewishness.
God's plan had always been to save Jewish individuals mercifully on the basis of his or her faith alone. And the Prophets already foresaw God's choice that the same merciful scheme would extend also to Gentile individuals.
It was quite okay therefore, Paul explained to the believers at Rome - it was entirely just, equal, merciful, Scriptural & pre-stated - that they should now be experiencing God's promised salvation on a different basis to works (of the Law). It was also to-be-expected sadly that the rest were missing out even despite their Jewish nationality.
No comments:
Post a Comment