Romans, Part 14

Children (Romans 9-11), continued

Romans 11:25 – The “partial hardening” here could mean the Jews partially rejected Jesus.
Romans 11:26-27 – “all Israel” here could be referring to spiritual Israel (see Romans 2:28-29). All Israel can be saved if they have faith in Christ. The quote is from Isaiah 59:20. Some people take this passage to mean that there will be some mass event at the end of time and that’s how all Jews will be saved, but that’s not what Paul is talking about here. Compare: Zionism
Romans 11:28-29 – Unfaithful Jews are enemies to Christians from the perspective of the gospel, but they are still beloved by God.
Romans 11:30-32 – The Gentiles had a sinful history, but mercy from God was available. God’s mercy was now available to all!
Romans 11:33-36 – Paul praises God for His grace and mercy.

Romans 12:1-2 – We all end up conforming to the world to a certain degree (local customs, habits, etc.), but the emphasis here is on transforming ourselves to be what God wants us to be. We must renew our minds – it must be from the inside out! Christians will put God’s word into practice and show how good it is in real life.
Romans 12:3-5 – Verse 3 is a not-put construction, emphasizing the need for humility and sound judgment. This measure of faith is roughly synonymous to each person’s function in verse 5 and gifts in verse 6. See Ephesians 4:7, 11; I Peter 4:10 for a similar construction.
Romans 12:6-8 – Whatever your talents are, serve the best you can. It takes concerted effort to do these things well! The abilities are gifts from God. We should rejoice that we have them!
Romans 12:9 – Don’t be hypocritical in loving others. Genuinely do the best for others. Love and hate go together in the Bible. We should work on attitudes so that we hate what God hates. We should cling to what God says is good.