You can hear someone answering a question - but if you didn't hear what the question was, you might not understand and apply the answer properly.
When you hear someone speaking on the phone, without hearing what he is responding to from the other side of the line, you might misapply what you hear him say. You might not even be in the same ballpark with what he's really talking about.
In the same way, many read Paul's statements in Romans 9, and seek to find answers in it to the question that was debated by Calvin and Armenius - but there's one problem with that: Paul was never, in Romans 9, addressing the specific question that Calvin and Armenius debated - Paul was addressing another issue not related to their question at all!
Take another look at the text. Observe the issue which the text states Paul was addressing. The meaning of the rest of the chapter will then fall into place nicely, as a defence of his premise that salvation is by faith.
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