Romans 9:1-9 | God’s Word Cannot Fail

SERMON TITLE: God’s Word Cannot Fail

TEXT: Romans 9:1-9 (ESV)

SPEAKER: Josh Hanson

DATE: 9-29-24

TURN MIC ON / WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend. We’ll be in chapter nine and — if you were here with us last weekend — you’ll recognize that our verses for today were our verses for last week’s sermon. However — last week — we focused primarily on the first three verses and — today — we’ll focus on the verses we didn’t have time for in our last sermon. I also mentioned last week how Paul — back in chapter three — started a thought that he seems to have gotten distracted from and — it’s not until our chapter — chapter nine — that he returns to his thought. And today we’re going to look at the content of his thought which he’s picked back up again.

So — with that in mind — let’s turn to our verses for today. We’ll be in Romans chapter nine — looking at verses one through nine. So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter nine — we’ll begin in verse one.

Romans 9:1–9 (ESV)

1 I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit — 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “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 children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”

ISRAEL’S BLESSINGS

Last week we looked at Paul’s love for his fellow Israelites which compelled him to — not only make such a bold statement — “I wish I could be cut off from Christ if it would save them” — but to live differently because of his love for them. And we considered what it might mean for us to have a similar love for those who are lost — those who don’t yet believe in Jesus. Now — in verse four — Paul goes in a direction that — at least for me — is somewhat unexpected. For — in thinking of his fellow countrymen — whom he deeply loves — he says…

Romans 9:4–5 (ESV)

4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

These two verses are the continuation of Paul’s thought from back in chapter three when he says…

Romans 3:1–2 (ESV)

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

So — if we put together this singular thought of Paul’s — he says that his people — the Jews — are…

Those who were entrusted with the oracles of God — meaning the Word of God — what we call the Old Testament — was given to the Jewish people to be recorded.

Additionally, they were adopted into God’s family.

And God chose to reveal his glory to them.

They were given the covenants.

They were also given the law.

He chose them to be his worshipers.

God gave the Jewish people wonderful promises.

The patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — are their ancestors.

And — from the Jews — came Jesus — God’s Messiah — the Savior of the world.

What wonderful, immeasurable, and undeserved blessings God bestowed upon the Jewish people. Think about the blessings that I just rattled off. For instance — they — the Jewish people — were given the privilege and holy responsibility of recording the Word of God. Again — Paul would’ve been thinking about what we call the Old Testament — yet nearly all of the New Testament was also recorded by those who were Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. This privilege — of recording God’s Word — wasn’t given to us Americans — it was given to the Jews. It wasn’t given to the Germans, or the South Koreans, or the Australians with their wonderful accents — it was given to the Jews. What an honor — what a privilege God called them to in being the people tasked with writing down the Word of God.

Paul also reminds us that the Jews were God’s original adopted family. Of all the nations in the world — Paul tells us — that God chose the Jews to be his special possession. We find this in the book of beginnings — Genesis — when God calls out to Abraham — one of their other blessings — for he is one of the patriarchs Paul was surely referring to. We’re first introduced to Abraham — when his name was Abram — in Genesis chapter eleven.

Genesis 11:27–32 (NLT)

27 This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. 29 Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30 But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. 31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Now the next verse in Abram’s story should floor us. You see — something we know about Terah — Abram’s father — and his entire family — is that they were not worshiper of Yahweh. In Joshua chapter twenty-four we read…

Joshua 24:2–3 (ESV)

2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.

Joshua is recounting their Jewish history — and he reminds the Jewish people — that Abraham didn’t start out as a follower of Yahweh — Yahweh is an Old Testament name referring to God. Instead — Joshua tells us that God called out to Abraham — while he was serving — another word for worshiping — other gods. This tells us that Abraham wasn’t seeking God — he wasn’t searching for God — he was a worshiper of false gods. Thus — it should be totally unexpected to us when the account in Genesis continues with…

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abraham wasn’t a worshiper of God and — yet — God shows up in his life and says, “Abram, I choose to bless you. I know you don’t know me — I know that you’ve been worshiping false gods — but I choose you — and your offspring — to be my special people — to be my spiritual family — to be the nation who I have a unique relationship with. For your future generations will be a nation that I will make into a blessing to all other nations.

This is the very definition of grace. This is all unearned — it’s unexpected — and it’s favor. Abraham doesn’t deserve this blessing — which means his offspring don’t deserve it either — and yet — God — because he is gracious and kind and generous — calls Abraham out of spiritual darkness of worshiping false gods and into a relationship with the One true God.

Paul goes on to mention the covenants that the Jewish people were given. One definition of covenant is a “relationship God establishes with people on the basis of his promises.” (Lexham Survey of Theology)

God made a covenant with Abraham when he promised that he would be the father of many nations. A covenant is what God made with the Israelites after he rescued them out of their slavery in Egypt. God made a covenant to David that — from his line — will come a King who’s reign and rule will never come to an end. Paul even alludes to this covenant with David in some of his first words in the letter when he writes…

Romans 1:1–4 (NLT)

1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

And — maybe the most familiar covenant of all — is what is called the new covenant.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NLT)

31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

With the Mosaic covenant — the covenant God made with the people after he rescued them out of Egypt through the leadership of Moses — came the giving of the law — another blessing the Jews were recipients of. The law — here — most likely refers to the Ten Commandments. If you weren’t here with us — back in 2023 I preached a series on the Ten Commandments which you can find on our church website — gatewayepc.org.

It was also during this time that the Jewish people experienced the glory of God in their presence. After being given the details for the building of the Tabernacle — the tent of worship — in the book of Exodus we read…

Exodus 40:34 (ESV)

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

God’s glory was in their midst — another blessing for the people of Israel. It was at this time that God also gave them detailed instructions on how to faithfully worship him. For the faithful worship of the One true God — who first rescued his people before he gave them commandments to obey — the faithful worship of God is what he expects of those whom he has rescued.

Now — we could go on — and in much more detail — exploring how God’s grace and kindness played out specifically in the many covenants he established with the Israelites, or in his giving them the law — again — which came after he had rescued them out of slavery in Egypt — so much could be explored in their history which is full of God’s favor — undeserved favor — upon them as a nation.

HAS GOD’S WORD FAILED?

Yet — there’s one blessing — and it’s the blessing Paul ends with — that creates the tension he’s trying to resolve. Jesus — God’s promised Messiah — was a Jew. This was meant to be a blessing for the Israelites — God’s Savior came from their people. And — yet — the vast majority of the Jewish people rejected Jesus. It was they who resisted his ministry the most while he walked the earth. And — it was they — who had him crucified on a cross.

Which leads Paul — his readers — and us — to quite the question: Can God’s promises be trusted? If — at the end — when the Messiah came — God’s special people rejected and crucified him — if the Messiah wasn’t received by the Israelites — then what happened to God’s promises to his people? Here’s how Paul states it.

Romans 9:6–9 (ESV)

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “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 children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”

What Paul’s words remind me of is my own story of faith. I grew up in a home where I went to church all the time. But — it wasn’t until I was in my teens that I realized I didn’t really believe in Jesus. I knew facts about him and Christianity — but I didn’t know him. If you would’ve asked me prior I would’ve said I’m a Christian and said a bunch of things that would’ve convinced you that I was — but it wasn’t my faith that I would’ve been expressing — it was the faith of people around me. That’s what Paul is communicating in his words, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” Israel — as a nation — was God’s chosen people. But not every individual Israelite followed in the faith footsteps of Abraham.

It doesn’t take one long — when reading the Old Testament — to see this. Just because someone was born a Jew doesn’t mean they had faith in Yahweh. For there are many who are Jews by birth — who are also worshipers of the false gods of other nations. There are many who are Jews by birth — who dismissed their covenant responsibilities. Many who ignored God’s law, and his instructions on worship, and presumed on the promises he had made. And — as you know — there were many Jews — who rejected Jesus — a fellow Jew — for they did not believe he was God’s promised Messiah. And — yet — simply because of their ethnicity — they believed that they were right with God. That God accepted them regardless of their worship of false gods, and their dismissal of their covenant responsibilities, and their ignoring his commands, and so on. They had so deceived themselves that they thought there was nothing they could do that would cause God to reject them — and they couldn’t have been more wrong.

In what ways might we be like those Israelites?

Ethnicity meant — and means — nothing. Being a child of the promise is what matters. And who are the children of the promise? As Paul has previously told us.

Romans 4:16–25 (NET)

16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants — not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed — the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. 18 Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations according to the pronouncement, “so will your descendants be.” 19 Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. 22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness. 23 But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, 24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification.

All who believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation are descendants of Abraham — the many nations he was promised — his spiritual children. God’s promise to him didn’t mean all of his physical offspring would be the true Israel — even if they were ethnically Israelites — only those who followed in his footsteps of faith would be children of the promise.

Paul is quoting from the book of Genesis — showing us that the children of the promise have always been a group that would cross ethnicities. Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, the people of Nineveh, and others we come across in the Old Testament — much less all of the Gentiles in the New Testament who demonstrate true faith in God.

We’ll see this again — at the end of our chapter and also when we get to chapter eleven — but here we catch a glimpse of God’s promise to always keep a remnant for himself. Yet — God’s Word did not fail — even though Israel — as a nation — failed. Though God’s sovereignty and our free will usually get the attention — when one reads through Romans chapter nine — really — the point Paul is making is whether or not God’s Word had failed. If — when his promised Messiah came — he was rejected by the people of Israel — what does that mean for God’s Word? Can it be trusted? Is it reliable? Can it be thwarted by our rebellion? Our God’s promises — at best — uncertain hopes that may or may not come true? I mean — if the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah was rejected by God’s chosen people — what does this mean for all of the promises that are for us — his people — today? Is there any guarantee? Any certainty? Is God’s Word reliable or is it not?

Know that this is the thrust of Paul’s argument as we continue in Romans chapter nine. When — as we look at predestination and God choosing one individual and not choosing another — and all sorts of other controversial topics — know that what Paul is wanting to prove is that God’s Word is reliable — that it did not and has not failed — even though the Jewish people rejected Jesus — God’s promised Messiah — and had him crucified on a cross — leading their being accursed — or cut off — from Christ. So — what about all of those promises to them — that we looked at earlier?

Well — Paul says — those promises were never really to them — the Israelites as a nation — the promises were to the children of the promise. The true Israel — or remnant — within the nation of Israel. That’s why God’s Word has not failed — according to Paul. God’s Word has done exactly what it had promised it would do.

CONCLUSION

And this truth — that God’s Word always does what it says it will do — is meant to give us — God’s people today — great hope, and confidence, and encouragement — especially when it comes to the point that we looked at last week: Our love for those who are lost.

For — dear Christians — God has made some wonderful promises to us — in his Word — about his love for the lost — which compels us to love them. I don’t think I need to remind you — for I did so last week — that God’s love for the lost is like a father waiting for his wayward child to return. His love for the lost is like a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep behind — to go find the one who wandered away. His love for those who are lost as more breadth, and depth, and height, and width than we dare to believe.

Yet — we know where Paul is headed — or if you don’t know — here’s where Paul’s headed. After articulating his love for the lost — which is a reflection of God’s love for the lost — and having demonstrated God’s undeserved favor and blessing about the Jewish people — he chose them before they chose him — and having now defended that — even though the Jewish people — overall — rejected Jesus as God’s promised Messiah — God’s Word has not failed — Paul’s going to explain why some receive Jesus as their Savior and why others don’t.

And — I’m not going to make a promise I can’t fulfill — so no, “After our time in Romans nine predestination, God’s sovereignty, man’s responsibility, and humanity’s freedom of will are all going to be cleared up for us and we’re all going to have one hundred percent agreement on how all this works” — none of that. But let’s all — as we step into some sacred theological waters — over the next few weeks and months — remember where Paul begins. He declares God’s love for the lost — which we’re to mirror — which we’re to have — which we’re to act on. And he has told us that God’s Word cannot fail. So — as we move forward — let’s do so with these two truths in mind. But that’s for next time. For now — let’s pray together.

PRAYER

Father, when we take what we learned last week — a truth to behold — that you so loved the world that you gave your only Son — Jesus Christ — so that whoever believes in him will not perish — but have eternal life — and now combine it with what we’ve learned today — we realize that this is a word that cannot fail. And that — in heaven — there is rejoicing over one lost sinner who repents. Another word that cannot fail. Or that — like a father running to his prodigal son — you run towards your lost children whom you love. A word that cannot fail.

Holy Spirit, increase our faith in you — the One who inspired the human authors of Scripture — so that our trust in the Word of God is rooted in our trust in you. Increase our trust in the reliability of your Word — for it cannot fail. All of your promises — those of blessing and — yes — even your promises of cursing — will come to pass — for your Word cannot fail.

And — Jesus — you are the Word of God who came to fulfill all the promises God made to his people: The Messiah to come — the great Rescuer — the One who would come to save his people from their sin. You came and demonstrated the truth we’ve been looking at today — that God’s Word cannot fail. Those whom you died for will be saved. Those whom you have called to be adopted into your family will be adopted into your family. Those who believe in you shall not perish — but are guaranteed eternal life. For you cannot fail.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we thank you that your Word cannot fail. For in you — and your Word to us — have we put our hope. And we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go with great comfort, hope, and peace i knowing that God’s Word cannot fail. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.