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Romans 9:6–7a
But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel (Rom. 9:6).
Dr. James M. Boice, writing in his commentary on Romans, notes that the earliest Christian evangelists were Jews who preached to Jews. But their success was limited; Israel as a whole did not believe their message. Eventually, God forced the Jewish Christians to cross the cultural divide between themselves and gentiles, and the gospel then began to reap a much greater harvest. Boice tells us that Israel’s rejection of the gospel likely was most disappointing for the Jewish believers (Rom. 9:2), but it also raised a theological issue. “The promises of God were to Israel,” he writes, “and yet Israel as a whole was unresponsive. Did this mean that God’s promises to Israel had failed, that is, that God had Himself failed? That God was impotent in the face of unbelief? Or did it mean that the promises of God could not be trusted? That in the matter of salvation God was simply free to change His mind?” This is the problem Paul is addressing in Romans 9–11. Here, in 9:6, he begins to present the first of seven arguments designed to show that God’s redemptive plan has not failed, that His promises were and are trustworthy, and that Christians can indeed rest in full assurance of their eternal security.
The “word of God” to Israel (the promises) has not failed, Paul affirms, despite appearances to the contrary. How can this be? The answer is simple: There is a distinction between “natural Israel” and “spiritual Israel,” to use Boice’s terms. Natural Israel is composed of all the Jews, the physical descendants of Abraham. But spiritual Israel, Boice writes, is composed of “those whom God had elected to salvation and in whom He had therefore implanted or was implanting life.” And God’s promises, specifically those to Abraham (Gen. 17:7–8), were to spiritual Israel, not natural Israel.
This distinction is not a new idea. The Old Testament is replete with references to “the remnant,” the few who retained faith in God amid times of general apostasy in the nation. And Paul already has made the distinction between natural and spiritual Jews in Romans (2:28–29). It is those who have faith, as did Abraham, who are true Israelites (Rom. 4:11). God’s promises were given solely to them and fulfilled solely in them. In the passage we will examine tomorrow, Paul will begin to prove this truth from Scripture.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The distinction Paul makes in these verses continues today. There are true Christians (those who trust Christ for salvation) and those who claim His name but lack saving faith in Him. Where do you stand? Examine your heart—are you truly trusting Christ? If you can say yes, you have reason to believe you are among the remnant.
For Further Study
- 1 Kings 19:18
- Isaiah 10:21
- Isaiah 55:10–11
- Jeremiah 23:3
- John 1:47