Romans 9:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,

NIV: It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

NASB: But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;

CSB: Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

NLT: Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!

KJV: Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

NKJV: But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

Paul has expressed his broken heart over the fact that the majority of Jewish people had rejected Christ as the Messiah and the way to salvation. He has listed many of the privileges God has given to Israel as His chosen people.

Paul now begins to deal with an enormous question, one that will dominate the next three chapters of Romans. If God gave to Israel all of those covenants and promises and privileges, what happens to His relationship with Israel now that they have rejected His Son?

Paul's first answer here is to defend the character of God. His Word has not failed. He will still keep His promises to Israel. God does not go back on His word. Then Paul begins to make a distinction between the physical descendants of Israel and what we might call "true Israel." He says something similar to what he wrote at the beginning of this letter in Romans 2:28–29: "For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter…"

Here Paul puts it more simply in saying that not everyone who is descended from Israel, ethnically, belongs to "true Israel." This matches similar statements made by Jesus during His earthly ministry (John 8:36–39).

Romans 9:1–18 finds Paul heartbroken over the rejection of Christ by his people the Jews. They have been given so much as God's chosen people, and Paul insists that God will keep His promises to Israel. Not everyone born to Israel is truly Israel, though, Paul writes. Specific examples are given to show that God does, in fact, choose those who will receive His blessings. The following passage tackles whether this choice, by God, is fair.

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.