Children (Romans 9-11)

• Romans 9:1-5 – It became apparent that the Jews were refusing Christ, which caused great sadness to Paul. Paul refers to their “adoption as sons,” which was through the lineage of Abraham in their case. In verse 5, “the fathers” refers to the patriarchs, through whom which Christ had an earthly lineage (Genesis 22:18).
• Romans 9:6-8 - The fact that many Jews did not accept Jesus did not mean God failed. All people who are descended from physical Israel are not part of spiritual Israel. The promise of God’s blessing is available to more people than just the physical descendants of Israel. See Galatians 3:28-29. Note the quote in verse 7 – “through Isaac your descendants will be named” (compare Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:18). It took more than just descendancy through Abraham to be a child of God. God was choosing a particular branch of the family tree. The Jews would not want to think of the Ishmaelites as children of God! In a spiritual sense, God was choosing those who were of the promise, which was more than just physical lineage.
• Romans 9:9-13 – God chose which branch of the family tree He would bring Jesus through. Calvinists sometimes misuse this passage, interpreting it to mean unconditional election on God’s part. The quote in Romans 9:13 is from Malachi 1:2.
• Romans 9:14-16 – Paul quotes Exodus 33:19 to illustrate that God has the authority to make these decisions.
• Romans 9:17-18 – God demanded things of Pharaoh that He knew Pharaoh did not want to do. See Exodus 9:11-17, 34-35; 10:1. God could have annihilated Pharaoh but did not because He had His own purposes. The same message from God can harden some people and cause others to repent. See also Romans 10:11-12. It was God’s choice on how to setup the plan of salvation. Thankfully, it is available to all!
• Romans 9:19-21 – God can do what He wants. Who are we to question His ways?
• Romans 9:22-26 – God can decide the criteria for salvation versus destruction. Lest the Jews counter that they were God’s chosen people, the writer quotes Hosea 2:23 and Hosea 1:10, indicating that salvation for Gentiles was always part of God’s plan.
• Romans 9:27-29 – The writer is quoting from Isaiah 10:22-23; 1:9. He is reminding the Jews that God could have also wiped them out just like Sodom and Gomorrah.
• Romans 9:30-33 – The Jews generally rejected Jesus, believing that they could be righteous according to the law. They failed to attain righteousness through the law, though, because they were trying to be saved by good works rather than by faith. In verse 33, the writer quotes from Isaiah 28:16. We must be careful to not make the same mistake, thinking that we can be saved by some way other than submission to God. We can’t invent our own way to be saved.

Why should I read the Bible?

• Exodus 24:3, 7
• Joshua 1:8
• Judges 2:7-10, 20-21 – They had stopped reading and didn’t know the Lord.
• II Kings 17:13-14; 22:8-11; 23:1-3
• Ezra 7:6, 10 – Ezra had set his heart to study and teach others.
• Nehemiah 8:1-8, 13-18; 9:3 – The people stood up to hear the word of God! They understood what they were hearing and realized they should be observing the feast of booths, so they did.
• Luke 4:16
• I Timothy 4:13

How do I form a habit?

• Engineer your environment.
  • Psalms 119:14-16
• Attach it to an existing habit.
  • Mark 6:17-20
• Short and small is okay.
  • Matthew 7:28

How do I involve the kids?

• Joshua 8:30-35 – The scriptures were read before everyone, including the children.
  • You might be surprised what children pick up on!
• Read aloud.
• Audio Bibles:
  • Word of Promise
  • Dwell
• Bible storybooks as you see fit
• II Timothy 3:15

How do I get the most out of it?

• Summarize as you read.
• Keep a journal.
• Listen to a sermon or class about that book online
• Start early!

Let’s read

Define anthropomorphism

• From the Greek anthropos (“human”) and morphe (“form”).
• The attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.
• Humanization.

Examples of anthropomorphism

God is spirit and does not dwell in temples made of hands but there are humanized descriptions of God. Why?

• John 4:24; Acts 17:24
• The command to leave Sinai
  • Exodus 33:1, 18-23
• The glory of the Lord
  • Ezekiel 1:26-28
• Heaven
  • Revelation 21:15-23
• Have not heard, seen, or even imagine
  • I Corinthians 2:9

Characteristics of God

• His face
  • Numbers 6:24-26; Matthew 18:10; Psalms 51:7-13
• His heart
  • II Chronicles 7:14-16; Genesis 6:5-8; 8:20-22; I Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22
• His hands
  • Exodus 15:1-6; Deuteronomy 33:3; Isaiah 14:24-27; I Chronicles 28:19; 19:14; Acts 11:21; 2:33-34; I Peter 5:6-7; Isaiah 40:12
• His eyes
  • Psalms 34:15; Proverbs 15:3; II Chronicles 16:8-9; Deuteronomy 11:11; Amos 9:8; I Peter 3:12
• His feet
  • Ezekiel 34:7; II Samuel 22:10; Ephesians 1:22-23
• His arm
  • Jeremiah 32:21; Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 5:15; Job 40:9; Isaiah 52:10; 53:1; Luke 1:51; John 12:38

Introduction

• Romans 2:5-8
• Doesn’t all willful sin come from selfishness?

Do I look down on others?

• Luke 18:9-14 – The selfishness and condescension of the Pharisee.
• When we fail to admit our own faults, we fall into selfishness.
• Matthew 7:3 – Fix yourself first!

Do I think revenge is sweet?

• Romans 12:17-21
• II Timothy 2:22-26 – We should be patient when wronged.

Do I think more about helping others or how they can help me?

• Mark 9:30-35 – To be great, serve others!
• Mark 10:32-37 – How could James and John be so selfish?
• Mark 10:43-45
• Let us discover the joy of serving others!

Do I neglect God?

• I Kings 12:26-30
• Hebrews 10:25, 23-24 – People were neglecting service to God.

Conclusion

• Romans 2:9-11 – God will judge our deeds.

The glory that is to be revealed (Romans 8:18-25)

• Romans 8:18 – This is quite a contrast from the first three chapters of Romans. Before there was condemnation, but now we see hope.
• Romans 8:19 - Compare Psalm 148. How do the sun or moon praise God? When things do what God created Him, they praise Him in a figurative sense.
• Romans 8:20-21 – “Subjected to futility” could be the curse upon Adam and Eve, but that doesn’t seem to match up with later verses. See II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15. Is “creation” used the same way here? It could mean Christians as the new creation waiting for the end.
• Romans 8:22-25 – See Philippians 3:20-21; I Corinthians 15:42-44. Christians eagerly await the end. The word “hope” here is used in the sense of confident expectations. It’s not just an idle wish.
• Romans 8:26-27 – When we pray, God gets the message! We know that Jesus is the one who intercedes for us. See Hebrews 7:25; I Timothy 2:1-2; Numbers 21:7; I Timothy 2:5-6. People can also pray for other people, though, not at the same level that Jesus can. God is also called our savior. See I Timothy 1:1; 2:3; Titus 3:4-6. The Spirit here could be referring to the Holy Spirit. See I Corinthians 2:11.
• Romans 8:28 – God has provided for us a path to redemption. We can be His children. He has given us all the blessings in this context. These blessings work together for the best for us. If we try to take this to mean that absolutely all things work together for good, we get illogical results, such as trying to make good come from sin.
• Romans 8:29-30 – See II Thessalonians 2:14. God knew that those who loved Him would conform themselves to the image of Jesus. This is not teaching the Calvinistic idea of predestination, in which God selects individual people to be saved, regardless of their actions.
• Romans 8:31-32 – God has done everything for us.
• Romans 8:35-39 – Nothing external can take us away from God. Only we can turn ourselves from God.