Romans 9:1-18 ~ Jacob I Loved, Esau . . . No So Much + PDF Teaching Notes

In a quiet moment have you ever wondered why it is you believe in Jesus but your neighbor doesn’t? Is it because you are smarter than he is? Wiser? More thoughtful? Inherently more sensitive to spiritual things? An intrinsically better person? Today we are going to find out the reason why!

The issue in Romans 9 seems to be God’s trustworthiness. The Jews had been God’s chosen Old Testament people, yet most of them had rejected their own Messiah. Had God’s plan failed? If so, what sort of basis for Christian hope is there? Has God now rejected the Jews? Might God reject the church later? If God was not faithful to Israel, could we trust him to be faithful to us? The answer to Israel’s rejection of the Messiah lies with the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in salvation (predestination).