God’s People

In this section Paul returns to the objection he addressed in verse 6. Some were arguing that if Jews needed faith in Christ to be saved that meant God had not kept His promise to Israel. The major point of this chapter has been to show that election was never apart from faith. Paul proves his point by quoting from two Old Testament prophets, Isaiah and Hosea.

v. 25-26 First he quotes from Hosea 2:23. He paraphrases the verse.

“those who were not my people”. One of Hosea’s children was named this because the child symbolized an apostatized generation of Jewish people. They were not in covenant with God. God did not consider them His children.

God would call them His people once again. The Assyrians would take the Northen kingdom into captivity. Eventually God would restore the Jewish people

Paul extends the meaning of the Hosea passage to the Gentiles. Look at verse 24 and you can clearly see the context is the Gentiles. Peter does the same thing in 1 Peter 2:10.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

We have an OT passage that had an initial application to Israel but also included the Gentiles. Scripture interprets Scripture.

Because this relates to the salvation of the Gentiles, let’s look closely at it:

We were not always God’s people. None of us were. Those who believe we are born into this world in a saving covenant with God are mistaken.

Salvation is of the Lord. “I will call” my people. Notice the word “called”: v. 24, v. 25, v. 26

Romans 4:17- If anyone tells you that “calls into existence” means that we have the power to create through our words they are wrong. The phrase refers to God saving us. Calling the dead back to life.

We are the beloved of God. There is no greater joy than this.

We were in a bad place when God saved us. “the very place” could, in Hosea, refer to Israel when they were in Assyrian captivity. There they were prisoners/slaves. It was a horrible pagan land.

The “place” we were in- spiritual darkness.

God doesn’t wait until we arrive at a spiritual plane to save us.

Listen to Eph 2:11-13:

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

We were called by the living God. Idols cannot call people. They have no voice. Allah never called anyone to himself. Baal never called anyone to himself. If there is a call to come to these gods, it is:

1) From a point of human rebellion.

2) From a point of human effort to attain salvation.

3) From a demonic influence.

Paul’s point in quoting Hosea is to show that God has created a people for Himself from the Gentiles. These people are legitimate children of God by faith in Christ.

v. 27-28 Paul quotes from Isaiah 10:22-23. Isaiah prophesied that the Assyrian nation would overthrow the Northern Kingdom. He himself said not all Israel would be saved.

“Though the number of Israel be as the sand of the sea”

Many Jews.

“Only a remnant of them will be saved”

What Paul is saying is nothing new. The OT prophets said that many Jews were unsaved.

v. 29 He quotes Isa. 1:9. If the Lord treated Israel like He treated Sodom & Gomorrah none of them would have been saved. He would have been just in doing so.

While many were saying all Israel should be saved, Paul says they are blessed that any of them are! It is the same for us!

v. 30 “What shall we say then” What is the conclusion of this?

“The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness” The Gentiles were not looking for God. They were looking for religion. This is why they created so many idols.

The point is they were not pursuing the God of Israel. Yet they attained Him. They attained righteousness. They did not attain it by works or lineage. They attained it by faith through the preaching of the gospel.

v. 31 In contrast, Israel:

Pursued a law in hopes of being made righteous. They failed. They were not made righteous.

v. 32 The reason they failed is given here:

They did not pursue righteousness by faith. They pursued it by works.

They stumbled over the stumbling stone. The means of their salvation was a stumbling block to them. They could not accept that salvation was apart from works.

v. 33 Paul combines two passages from Isaiah here (Isa. 8:14; 28:16). Jesus is the stone laid in Zion (1 Peter 2:8). Salvation comes by faith in Christ. Isaiah prophesied that Israel would reject their Savior. For the most part, they did and continue to do so.

10:1 “Brothers” term of endearment

“my heart’s desire” He is passionate about this

“prayer to God” He has put action to his words

“that they may be saved” Paul wants them to be saved.

Paul loves the Jewish people. you can sense his frustration at their rejection of Christ.

v. 2 “for I bear them witness” He has seen with his own eyes how passionate they are about the Law. He had been just like them!

“zeal for God” they were passionate. Their passion was void of knowledge. They didn’t understand the Scripture. If they had they would have stopped trying to be righteous from the Law and bowed to Jesus.

v. 3 A willing ignorance. The gospels clearly show that Jesus has fulfilled the Law.

“seeking to establish their own” What they possessed was their own righteousness. It fell short of the righteousness of God.

“they did not submit to God’s righteousness” They would have to abandon their own to do this. Listen to what Paul said in Phil. 3:8

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

“everything as loss” was all Paul accomplished by devotion to the Law. He traded all of that for Jesus.

v. 4 “Christ is the end of the Law”

When we come to Christ we leave the Law. We are no longer under its power or punishment. When we come to Jesus we are immediately and eternally made righteous.

“to everyone who believes” I you want to try and be righteous from some sort of law that is your choice. But whatever law you pursue will not make you righteous in God’s eyes.

There is a great lesson for us to learn. We cannot be saved if we are trusting in our own righteousness. If Israel, God’s chosen nation, could not be saved by trusting in their own righteousness, surely no one can be.

The Muslim. Raised, taught, threatened if he leaves. Establishes his own righteousness and cannot be saved.

The atheist. Moral, sincere, establishes his own righteousness and cannot be saved.

The church member. Moral, kind, believes he is a good person and trusts that for salvation. He cannot be saved.

We underestimate how offensive it is to God to try and attain our own righteousness.

God has given the moral law to show us our sin.

God has given us Christ to show us our sin.

Those who believe they are made righteous through a set of moral standards do not see their sin. They see their accomplishments. Those who submit to Christ see their sin and Christ’s righteousness. This is what brings about the humility God is looking for in His creation.