Romans 9:6-18

Our belief does not obligate God.  The Jews were God’s chosen people and they believed God chose them because they were special.  Their belief did not make it true.  God did not choose them because they were special; they were special because God chose them.  They believed God had chosen them in order to bless them.  Their belief did not make it true.  God had chosen them in order to make them a blessing to the whole world.  They believed because they were God’s chosen people they were automatically righteous.  They were wrong again.  Righteousness is never automatic; it is always the result of right beliefs and right choices coming out of those beliefs. 

Whenever our incorrect beliefs come into confrontation with reality, it is our natural response to believe reality is wrong.  It is not easy for humans to recognize that our beliefs are incorrect.  When faced with reality, it was natural for some of the Jews to believe that God’s word had failed them.  God’s word had not failed; rather the Jewish belief system was a failure.

Because of sin, no one is worthy of God’s forgiveness.  God chooses to forgive out of love, and it is always an action of mercy and grace.  God choose to offer salvation to every person on the same basis as he gave it to Abraham; He offers us righteousness by faith.  God chose Jacob and rejected Esau to be part of the lineage of the Messiah.  That does not mean he rejected Esau or anyone else from salvation.  That was something the Jews did not understand.  They thought by choosing them, God was rejecting everyone else.  That was why they got so upset with Jesus for eating with publicans and sinners.  When Jesus would not reject the gentiles, they in their self-righteousness rejected Jesus.  Their wrong beliefs did not restrict or obligate God.  We do not get to choose whom God will show mercy and compassion.  That is His choice, and He always chooses everyone who has faith in Jesus.