A Study of The Book of Romans

Lesson 61 Chapter 9:6 – 7

By Pastor Randy Johnson

1. Verse 6 “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel , which are of Israel :”
1. Here we see Paul go from his sorrow for his beloved nation of Israel to God’s beloved elect.
2. “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect…” – This is the promise to Abraham;

a. God’s promises and Gods word never fails and God never breaks a promise. Just because people misunderstand God does not mean God or His Word have failed.

b. We have two Israel’s here mentioned, Israel as a nation or Israel “Gods chosen son” and Israel Gods chosen people. There is a vas difference between Israel the chosen nation and Israel the chosen people.

c. Israel the chosen nation or Gods chosen son as a nation – God blessed these people above all other nations and the more God did the more they spit in His gracious face. However Verse 4 tells us of the things God blessed Israel with “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;” They were and will be again a blessed people of God.

d. Israel the chosen people are not all Israelites but rather Gentiles also, these Israelites are the chosen of God to eternal life or better known as the elect of God.

e. This is the promise many Israelites thought God had broken because they were not all saved, however it was a misunderstanding on their part.

f. Romans 4:16 “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”

g. Galatians 3:7-9 “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (8.) And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. (9.) So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”

h. The promise of God to Abraham and his seed was to Abraham and his seed, and his seed were the elect of God both Jew and Gentile.

i. This was the great mystery to the Jews, which some Gentiles were also the elect of God. Romans 3:29 “Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:” - Romans 9:24 “Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”

j. This is what Paul meant in verse 6 when he said “…For they are not all Israel , which are of Israel :”

3. This thought totally explains the word “world” in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…” Not just the Israel Jews but rather some of them and some of the Gentile Israelites which is us and they come from all over the world.
1. Verse 7 “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.”
1. Is this sovereign grace or not? Of all the children Abraham had God chose one to extend His promise of faith and that was Isaac, why not the others?
2. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were elected of God to carry this promise of faith, does this make God unjust? No! Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
3. All of this electing was set before the world began. God had before the world began chosen not just Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but rather every single elect child before creation. This is known as choosing the nonexistent Verse 11 “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)”

a. Brother W.E. Best says it this way: “In God’s election, the Father sees the nonexistent elect already in Jesus Christ because He gave them to the eternal Son before the world began (John 17; Eph. 1:4; II Tim. 1:9). There is no time with God; He is the eternal “I Am.”

b. Brother Best went on to say; “Isaac is a type not only of the Father offering up Christ but also of life from the dead (Gen. 22; Heb. 11:17-19). Jesus Christ was literally put to death by the elect. Our sins crucified Him. But He has been raised from the dead, and He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). All spiritual blessings have been provided for the elect in Jesus Christ.

4. The faith and calling went from Abraham - Isaac, - and Jacob and it is through this linage that Christ also came.
5. Let us also remember Isaac was a child promised from God.
2. Verse 8 “That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”
1. That is, just because you are an Israelite by nature doesn’t mean you are an Israelite by election or a spiritual Israelite.
2. “…but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” - The “children of the promise” are the elect of God which are also called the seed of promise. Genesis 17:3 - 5 “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, (4.) As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. (5.) Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”
3. Just because your parents or entire family are Christians does not mean you are going to be saved no more than being a Jew means you are going to be saved.
4. Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” This does not mean all in your house but rather the Gospel is more available to all in the house. Some (like the Israelites) tend this to mean all in the house will be saved if the father and mother are saved however God does not work that way, He only saves those elected before the world began.