Someone objected to my understanding of Romans 9 saying:
"You took Romans 9 out of context both with the rest of the chapter and with the rest of the Bible. Pharaoh was pre-ordained to be a child of God's wrath. God turned him and his will to do His bidding like a rider does a horse...Salvation is NOT by the will of men but by the will of God. God determines who is quickened in spirit (born again) and who is not..."
He went on to say:
"Stop making doctrinal statements without backing them up whith scripture in context John, it is very dangerous."
Okay - let's consider Romans 9 in context.
The context of Romans chapter 9 is of course Romans 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 this premise by the life of Abraham (chap.4); and explained more about this salvation that was receivable by faith (chap.5).
Paul then addressed an objection to this premise - an objection which had been raised by the Judaizers who were infiltrating the churches attempting to bring believers back under their Jewish Law:
Did not 'salvation through faith' give a licence to sin? they objected.
But Paul answered: No - God's grace actually empowered believers 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 always therefore going to be a controversial message - one that would attract persecution and hardship to the believers. But Paul reassured the faithful of a good eternal outcome of their faith despite their hardships - seeing they were, after all, complying with a plan which had genuinely been foreseen, foretold and enacted by God Himself (chap.8).
So that's the context of Romans 9: Salvation is through faith not through Jewishness nor through having the Law - salvation is even for the 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 promised salvation given to the forefathers was never all-encompassing of the natural descendants but from the beginning a chosen segment of the natural descendants were the custodians of that promise. The custodianship was given first of all to Isaac's line, and then to Jacob's line - but the promised seed who was to save all nations was actually a singular descendant of Abraham, who is Christ (see Galatians 3:16).
Paul's premise - that salvation is through faith - meant that many Jews were missing out on God's promised salvation. Paul's objective in Romans 9 was to defend this scenario against the objection that it represented a breach of God's promise or even unfairness on God's part.
God was not unjust to have elected or preordained that 'faith' would be His criteria for honoring a 'vessel' (that is, for saving a person). Even though some vessels had been marked for destruction (due to their failure to meet the chosen criterion - which was faith) God had every right to delay the destruction of those vessels (He endured their unbelief, He had allowed their nation to continue up until then), for His own time and purpose - namely, to eventually demonstrate His wrath on those vessels (on Jewish unbelievers, and on the polity of the Jews) and to demonstrate His mercy on the vessels which met His elected criteria (that is, on all those who believe, whether Jew or Gentile).
Having successfully defended his premise against the above objection of the Judaizers (chap.9) Paul then talks more about the pivotal role of an individual's faith in salvation (chap.10).
Paul then proceeded to address another opposite extreme misconception amongst Gentile believers: the misconception that God had become utterly disinterested in Jewish people. That couldn't be further from the truth. Although a Jew may currently be missing out on the promised salvation, Paul explained, he can still be grafted in again if he believes. Therefore Gentile believers should feel warned against conceit: because it is still possible even for them to miss out on God's salvation if they too similarly fail to comply with God's elected criteria - that is, it is only by faith that they themselves stand.
Thus Paul presented the same message (of salvation through faith) to both Jew and Gentile, and successfully defended his message against the objections and misconceptions of both Jews and Gentiles (Rom.1-11).
Finally Paul urged a practical response upon his readers, with final personal remarks (Rom.12-16). And there you have the book of Romans.
So in context, Rom.9 was not presented by Paul as an assertion of five-point Calvinism - rather, it was intended as Paul's defense against a specific objection of the premise he'd already presented in chaps 1-8 - that salvation is indeed through faith.
Paul showed that it had indeed always been God's intention, choice and promise to one day grant His mercy, compassion and salvation exclusively on the basis of faith in Jesus even to believing Gentiles. And he said it was God's prerogative to carry out this plan in the affairs of Israel and the Church despite its ramifications for unbelievers, even for unbelieving Jews.
That's how I understand Romans 9 in the flow of the design of Paul's argument in his epistle to the Romans. To say Romans 9 is about the Five-Point Calvinist view of 'predestination' comes right out of left field - it's about as relevant as throwing a tennis ball onto the field of play of a football match - midplay. The assertions made by Five-Point Calvinists have nothing at all to do with Paul's argument in the book of Romans and cut cross-grain across it.
Salvation through faith - and its ramifications for unbelievers, whether Jew or Gentile - is a premise that was both Scriptural and just. That's all Paul was trying to say in Romans 9.
And this of course complies with, and eliminates conflict with, the overall tenure of Scripture. Jesus saves all who believe.
"You took Romans 9 out of context both with the rest of the chapter and with the rest of the Bible. Pharaoh was pre-ordained to be a child of God's wrath. God turned him and his will to do His bidding like a rider does a horse...Salvation is NOT by the will of men but by the will of God. God determines who is quickened in spirit (born again) and who is not..."
He went on to say:
"Stop making doctrinal statements without backing them up whith scripture in context John, it is very dangerous."
Okay - let's consider Romans 9 in context.
The context of Romans chapter 9 is of course Romans 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 this premise by the life of Abraham (chap.4); and explained more about this salvation that was receivable by faith (chap.5).
Paul then addressed an objection to this premise - an objection which had been raised by the Judaizers who were infiltrating the churches attempting to bring believers back under their Jewish Law:
Did not 'salvation through faith' give a licence to sin? they objected.
But Paul answered: No - God's grace actually empowered believers 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 always therefore going to be a controversial message - one that would attract persecution and hardship to the believers. But Paul reassured the faithful of a good eternal outcome of their faith despite their hardships - seeing they were, after all, complying with a plan which had genuinely been foreseen, foretold and enacted by God Himself (chap.8).
So that's the context of Romans 9: Salvation is through faith not through Jewishness nor through having the Law - salvation is even for the 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 promised salvation given to the forefathers was never all-encompassing of the natural descendants but from the beginning a chosen segment of the natural descendants were the custodians of that promise. The custodianship was given first of all to Isaac's line, and then to Jacob's line - but the promised seed who was to save all nations was actually a singular descendant of Abraham, who is Christ (see Galatians 3:16).
Paul's premise - that salvation is through faith - meant that many Jews were missing out on God's promised salvation. Paul's objective in Romans 9 was to defend this scenario against the objection that it represented a breach of God's promise or even unfairness on God's part.
God was not unjust to have elected or preordained that 'faith' would be His criteria for honoring a 'vessel' (that is, for saving a person). Even though some vessels had been marked for destruction (due to their failure to meet the chosen criterion - which was faith) God had every right to delay the destruction of those vessels (He endured their unbelief, He had allowed their nation to continue up until then), for His own time and purpose - namely, to eventually demonstrate His wrath on those vessels (on Jewish unbelievers, and on the polity of the Jews) and to demonstrate His mercy on the vessels which met His elected criteria (that is, on all those who believe, whether Jew or Gentile).
Having successfully defended his premise against the above objection of the Judaizers (chap.9) Paul then talks more about the pivotal role of an individual's faith in salvation (chap.10).
Paul then proceeded to address another opposite extreme misconception amongst Gentile believers: the misconception that God had become utterly disinterested in Jewish people. That couldn't be further from the truth. Although a Jew may currently be missing out on the promised salvation, Paul explained, he can still be grafted in again if he believes. Therefore Gentile believers should feel warned against conceit: because it is still possible even for them to miss out on God's salvation if they too similarly fail to comply with God's elected criteria - that is, it is only by faith that they themselves stand.
Thus Paul presented the same message (of salvation through faith) to both Jew and Gentile, and successfully defended his message against the objections and misconceptions of both Jews and Gentiles (Rom.1-11).
Finally Paul urged a practical response upon his readers, with final personal remarks (Rom.12-16). And there you have the book of Romans.
So in context, Rom.9 was not presented by Paul as an assertion of five-point Calvinism - rather, it was intended as Paul's defense against a specific objection of the premise he'd already presented in chaps 1-8 - that salvation is indeed through faith.
Paul showed that it had indeed always been God's intention, choice and promise to one day grant His mercy, compassion and salvation exclusively on the basis of faith in Jesus even to believing Gentiles. And he said it was God's prerogative to carry out this plan in the affairs of Israel and the Church despite its ramifications for unbelievers, even for unbelieving Jews.
That's how I understand Romans 9 in the flow of the design of Paul's argument in his epistle to the Romans. To say Romans 9 is about the Five-Point Calvinist view of 'predestination' comes right out of left field - it's about as relevant as throwing a tennis ball onto the field of play of a football match - midplay. The assertions made by Five-Point Calvinists have nothing at all to do with Paul's argument in the book of Romans and cut cross-grain across it.
Salvation through faith - and its ramifications for unbelievers, whether Jew or Gentile - is a premise that was both Scriptural and just. That's all Paul was trying to say in Romans 9.
And this of course complies with, and eliminates conflict with, the overall tenure of Scripture. Jesus saves all who believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment