God’s Sovereign Choice

1 ^sI am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that ^tI have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were ^uaccursed and cut off from Christ ^vfor the sake of my brothers,¹ my kinsmen ^waccording to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the ^xadoption, the ^yglory, ^zthe ^acovenants, ^bthe ^cgiving of the law, the ^dworship, and the ^epromises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and ^ffrom their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God ^gover all, blessed forever. Amen.

6 ^hBut it is not as though the word of God has failed. For ⁱnot all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ^j“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the ^kchildren of the promise are ^lcounted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: ^m“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also ⁿwhen Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s ^opurpose of ^pelection might continue, ^qnot because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, ^r“The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, ^s“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 ^tWhat shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, ^u“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends ^vnot on human will or exertion,² but on God, who has ^wmercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ^x“For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he ^yhardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For ^zwho can resist his will?” 20 But ^awho are you, O man, to answer back to God? ^bWill what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 ^cHas the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump ^done vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much ^epatience vessels of wrath ^fprepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the ^griches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has ^hprepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, ⁱnot from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ^l“Though ^mthe number of the sons of Israel³ be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

Israel’s Unbelief

30 ^oWhat shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a ^prighteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^{4 q}did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the ^rstumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

1 Brothers,^{5 v}my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a ^wzeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the ^xrighteousness of God, and ^yseeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For ^zChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.⁶

The Message of Salvation to All

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that ^athe person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the ^brighteousness based on faith says, ^c“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you ^dconfess with your mouth that ^eJesus is Lord and ^fbelieve in your heart that ^gGod raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, ^h“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is ⁱno distinction between ^jJew and Greek; for the same Lord is ^kLord of all, ^lbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For ^m“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?⁷ And ⁿhow are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^o“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But ^pthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^q“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So ^rfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? ^sIndeed they have, for

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

21 But of Israel he says, ^z“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?