Monday 6 June 2011

Contextualizing Predestination

The context of Rom. chapter 9 is Rom. chapters 1-8.

Paul began by stating that salvation was needed by both Gentiles (chap.1) and Jews (chap.2); and he set forth his premise that salvation could be received only through faith in Jesus, rather than through simply being Jewish or having the Law (chap.3).

Paul then supported his premise (salvation through faith alone) by the life of Abraham (chap.4); and explained more about the salvation that was receivable by faith (chap.5).

Paul then addressed an objection to this premise, an objection which had been raised by Judaizers who has been infiltrating the churches attempting to bring believers back under their Jewish Law:

Did not 'salvation through faith' give a licence to sin? they were objecting. Paul answered: No - God's grace actually empowered them to live holy (chap.6); in fact, Paul explained, God's grace (through faith) was even more effective than the Law at producing holiness (chap.7).

'Salvation through faith alone' was therefore a controversial message, attracting persecution and hardship to the faithful. But Paul reassured the faithful of a good eternal outcome of their faith, despite their hardships - seeing they were complying with a plan which after all had been genuinely foreseen and enacted by God Himself (chap.8).

That's the context: Salvation is through faith, not through Jewishness nor having the Law - salvation is therefore even for Gentiles!

In chap.9 Paul then anticipated another objection: If salvation is through faith alone, wouldn't that imply that God's promises (to the forefathers) had somehow failed - seeing most Jews had not become believers? This objection was another ploy by the Judaizers to undermine the faith and to elevate the Jewish Law.

Paul answered that God's promise to the forefathers was never all-encompassing of the natural descendents but was from the beginning limited.

God's promise (to Abraham's seed) followed Isaac's line only, and then Jacob's line only, and spoke of a single seed, who is Christ.

Paul's premise meant that many Jews were missing out on God's promised salvation. To combat Jewish pride, Paul proved that 'salvation through faith alone' was neither a breach of promise nor unfair on God's part.

God was not unjust to have chosen that 'faith' would be His criteria for honoring a vessel.

Even though a vessel had been marked for destruction (due to its failure to meet the chosen criteria - faith, repentance) God had every right to delay that person's destruction and to endure such a person or nation in order to raise him up for His own time and purpose: to later demonstrate His wrath on them and His mercy on others (others who met His chosen criterion - which is faith) even if they are Gentiles.

Having defended his premise of salvation through faith (chap.9) Paul then talks more about the pivotal role of an individual's faith (chap.10). All of this had been a defence against the influence of the Judaizers.

Paul then proceeded to address an opposite misconception amongst Gentile believers: the misconception that God had become utterly disinterested in Jewish people. Although a Jew may currently be missing out on the promised salvation, Paul explained, he can be grafted in again if he believes. And Gentile believers should also be warned against conceit: it was possible even for them to miss out if they similarly don't comply with God's elected criteria.

Thus Paul presented the same Gospel (salvation through faith) to both Jew and Gentile, and successfully defended it against objections and misconceptions from both Jewish and Gentile camps (Rom.1-11).

Finally he urges a practical response, with final personal remarks (Rom.12-16).

So in context, Rom.9 was not presented by Paul as an assertion of five-point Calvinism - rather, it was intended as Paul's defence of the premise he'd presented in chaps 1-8 that salvation is indeed through faith.

It was indeed always God's intention, choice, promise to grant mercy, compassion, salvation exclusively on the basis of faith in Jesus. And it was God's prerogative to demonstrate this plan in the affairs of Israel and the Church.

That's how I understand Paul's design in his epistle to the Romans.

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