Romans 9:1-5 – Privilege must be appreciated

Romans chapters 9 through 11 have baffled many students of the Bible for a long time. For many years, many have insisted that these chapters form a parenthetical section. And what Paul wrote in Chapter 8 did not help this misunderstanding. He was talking about the triumphant life a believer can experience through a Holy Spirit guided and directed life. And it seems unnatural that he should suddenly bring Israel into the discussion. A closer examination clearly shows that this is a continuation of his discussion on justification by faith. He introduced the nation of Israel in his discussion to highlight God’s Sovereignty and substantiate what he had been saying.

In the earlier chapters, Paul dealt with the issue of justification by faith at length. He insisted that God’s plan of salvation for mankind was in Christ and not in the Law. Some hearers seemed to have concluded wrongly that God had rejected Israel and reneged on His promises to them. So Paul had to explain and correct their misgivings as well as assure them that God had not rejected His people.

In all the three chapters, Paul began by expressing deep concern as he identified with the people of Israel. He spoke of the sorrow and anguish he had over the Israelites (Romans 9), then continued to express his prayerful longing for their salvation (Romans 10), before he talked about his conviction that God had not rejected them (Romans 11). In Romans 9, the failure of Israel becomes clearly evident. As a nation, she was chosen to be God’s unique vessel. However, despite the privileges she received as a nation, their blessings were forfeited and Paul tells us why.

Paul began in verses 1-5 by confessing that the unbelief of the Israelites had brought him much sorrow and anguish. He was even prepared to be damned for the sake of his people’s salvation. While expressing anguish, he was at the same time puzzled that they should reject the Messiah despite the privileges God had showered on them. He listed the privileges in verses 4-5 - they were adopted as son and shared God’s glory; they were given the covenant, the Law and temple worship; they were the recipients of the promises of God; they had the patriarchs and the privilege of being Christ’s human ancestry. But despite all these privileges, Israel did not experience blessings because of widespread unbelief.

A lesson for us is this: privilege is never earned. It’s not an entitlement but an honor. However, it can be spurned as clearly illustrated by the nation Israel. Let’s not forget that in Christ, we too have received many privileges. And all privileges come with responsibilities. We owe it to God and ourselves to live rightly in response to God’s goodness and grace toward us. So let’s gratefully love and serve God with honor!