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Romans 9 in Context: God’s Just Prerogative in Confounding All Confidence in the Law of Works

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Introduction

Romans 9 is one of the most controversial and often-misinterpreted passages of scripture among evangelicals. Controversy, however, should not make us timid when it comes to the things of God. This inspired chapter is valuable for teaching doctrine, and should not be ignored or glossed over. At the same time, it should not be treated as a comprehensive statement of Christian soteriology by itself, for the chapter is not written in isolation, but is strongly rooted in the context of both Testaments, touching on concepts present in the other Pauline epistles and the gospels, and quoting from the Old Testament frequently. The goal of this writing is a sound, objective exegesis of Romans 9 to explain the principles therein, expound upon its themes, and to show where and how its teachings fit into the contexts of the rest of the book of Romans, and scripture as a whole. All quotes are from the NKJV unless otherwise specified.

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Dr. Brian Abasciano Introduces His New Book on Romans 9:10-18

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Dr. Brian Abasciano has done a guest post in the blog of his publisher, T&T Clark/Continuum, introducing his new book on Romans 9:10-18. We have reproduced the post below, which was taken from http://tandtclark.typepad.com/ttc/2011/04/a-guest-post-from-brian-j-abasciano.html :

<a href="http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=125352&SearchType=Basic

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Two Important Books Coming Out This Year

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Here are two books to be on the lookout for this year: Roger Olson, Against Calvinism is scheduled to come out in October of this year (2011). There is no information available yet at the…

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Arminius on the Sovereignty and Providence of God concerning the Problem of Evil

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Arminius comments:

    We have already said that in sin the act, or the cessation from action, and ‘the transgression of the law’ come under consideration: But the Efficiency of God about evil concerns both the act itself and its viciousness, and it does this whether we have regard to the beginning of sin, to its progress, or to its end and consummation.1

What Arminius is trying to avoid is the constructing of his exegetical theology which is free from charging or making God the author of sin. What does it mean to make God the author of sin? First, let us define sin. The Larger Catechism states that sin is “any want [lack] of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.”2 This definition works as well as any other.

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Brian P. Irwin, “Yahweh’s Suspension of Free Will in the Old Testament: Divine Immorality or Sign-Act?”

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Please click on the attachment to view Brian P. Irwin, “Yahweh’s Suspension of Free Will in the Old Testament: Divine Immorality or Sign-Act?” Tyndale Bulletin 54.2 (2003) 55-62.

The author’s summary:

Several passages in the Old Testament portray Yahweh as behaving in
ways that seem unfair or immoral. Two such narratives are the
episodes describing the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and the spirit
dispatched to deceive Ahab. In each of these two cases, careful
attention to the literary context and the final form of the MT shows that
Yahweh’s behaviour is best understood as a sign-act directed toward a
specific end.

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Friday Files: Beet’s Commentary on Romans 9

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In Joseph Agar Beet’s commentary on Romans 9 (pages 255 -288 in his A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans) he explains that Paul is teaching that God’s plan was to save through the Gospel not the Law. Beet is a good author – he asks good questions and gets right to the point. I love the way he explains why the word ‘faith’ doesn’t appear in the first part of the text. “Paul puts, not faith, but Him that calls, in contrast to works. For God’s purpose is no more a result of faith than of works.” The objection in verse 14 is that “we are working so hard and God is letting in believers who hadn’t been previously working”. Paul responds by explaining God is being merciful, so merit doesn’t come into play. Beet sees hardening as a punishment for prior sins that makes obedience more difficult, but not impossible.

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Friday Files: Goodwin on Romans 9

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John Goodwin’s 531 page commentary on Romans 9 is the longest and most detailed account of Romans 9 I have read. I loved it. I will try to give a brief overview and highlight what I found to be some of his most insightful points. The structure of his work is as follows: a brief overview of the chapter to show how his view flows with the contours of the text, a detailed exposition of the text, a table of scriptures mentioned with some commentary on them, some general comments on interpretation, and some questions on answers on the broader implications of the text. The work also includes the “Banner of Justification”, which explains justification in detail and it includes “Agreement and Distance of Brethren” which highlights the differences between Calvinists and Arminians.

Overview

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Romans 9: Conclusion

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So, to sum up, according to the Augustinian/Calvinist interpretation, which assumes faith in Christ for salvation and arises in opposition to Pelagianism and later the medieval Catholic church: Paul begins by agonizing over the failure…

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Adam Clarke, Commentary on Romans 9

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The following commentary by Adam Clarke was taken from http://revivaltheology.gharvest.com/1_cal_arm/romans9.html Adam Clarke’s Commentary Paul’s Letter to the Romans Chapter 9 ——————————————————————————– Paul expresses his great sorrow for the unbelief and obstinacy of the Jews, 1-3.…

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