Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 9
Paul cared deeply about the Jewish people - the people who, like Paul himself, come from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God had chosen them to be his holy nation, and he had made wonderful promises to them (for example, Genesis 22:15-18).
However, the reaction of the Jewish people to Christ was much like the reaction of any other group of people (John 1:10-12). Some of them accepted Christ, and some of them opposed him. However, most of them did neither of these things. They simply acted as if God’s message to them had no effect on their lives. They were behaving as if God’s promises to their nation had failed.
Paul explained that it is impossible for God’s word to fail. It always achieves God’s purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11). However, people can and do fail to receive the benefit of God’s promises. That happens whenever people do not come to God in faith (in other words, with active belief and trust in him) - Hebrews 11:6. Perhaps they refuse to believe God or his word. Perhaps they will not accept God’s kindness, but try to earn the benefit of his promises by their own efforts (4:1-8). Perhaps they will not come to God by his method, but only in their own way (9:32-33). When people do such things, God’s promise has no effect on their lives (compare Mark 4:15-20).
Nobody can depend on his family relations or the religion of his country to give him a right relationship with God. That is even true about the Jewish people, to whom God gave such wonderful promises. Each person needs to trust God for himself; each person must allow God to work in his life. Only then will they receive the benefit of God’s promises to them.
Next part: God chose Isaac's family to receive the benefit of his promises to Abraham (Romans 9:7)
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