Romans 9:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

NIV: even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

NASB: namely us, whom He also called, not only from among Jews, but also from among Gentiles,

CSB: on us, the ones he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

NLT: And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

KJV: Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

NKJV: even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Paul has been making the point that God, as the sovereign Creator (Romans 9:20–21), can show mercy to whomever He wishes based only on His own purposes. He does not owe us, His creatures, anything at all. We have universally earned His wrath with our sinfulness (Romans 3:10; 3:23). If He chooses to show mercy, it is not unfair of Him to grant that grace only to some of us. Nobody deserves it; not one person has the right to say, "you ought to have been merciful to me, too."

The previous verse described those to whom God will make known the riches of His glory—in Christ—as "vessels of mercy" which He has prepared beforehand for glory. Now Paul begins to bring his point home and to return to the subject with which he began this chapter.

He writes that these vessels of mercy are "us." In this context, that means all those God has called out, in Christ, from both the Jewish people and from the Gentiles. What does it mean that we are "called out?" It means we're one of these whom God prepared for mercy. It means our national identities are not the most important thing God considers about us. When we are saved, regardless of our heritage, we become God's people, as Paul will write in the following verse.

Romans 9:19–29 deals with the issue of whether or not God's sovereign choice to bless some, and not others, is ''fair,'' in the way we often use that term. Paul's essential argument is that God is God, and as the Creator, He has the right to do as He wishes with His own creation. A potter can choose how to use clay, and that clay has no cause to complain that it was chosen for one purpose or another. In the same way, God has the absolute right to choose whom He will save. Quotations from Hosea and Isaiah are used to show that this sovereignty extends to God's plan to include Gentiles in the plan of salvation.

Romans 9 begins with Paul describing his anguish for his people Israel in their rejection of Christ. After describing all the privileges God has given to the Jewish people as a nation, Paul insists that God will keep those promises. However, not every person born to Israel belongs to Israel, he writes. God reserves the right to show mercy to some and not others, as Paul demonstrates from Scripture. God is like a potter who creates some vessels for destruction and others for glory. God has called out His people from both the Gentiles and the Jews to faith in Christ, the stumbling stone.

Romans 8 ended with Paul's grand declaration that nothing can separate those who are in Christ Jesus from the love of God. Romans 9 turns a sharp corner and finds Paul heartbroken that his people, the Jews, have rejected Christ. He insists that God will keep His promises to Israel, but that not everyone born to Israel is truly Israel. God will show mercy to whomever He wishes, calling out His people from both the Jews and the Gentiles to faith in Christ. Romans 10 will find Paul discussing how Jewish people can be saved.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.