Romans chapter 9 must be understood in the context of the whole book of Romans. Many expositors tear Romans chapters 9-11 out of the context of the assurance of the believer in Christ taught in Romans 8, but to do so is not fair to the Scripture. Paul’s thesis in Romans 1:16, is that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation … to the Jew first. Then he goes on to describe what God has done in the flow of human history, from the earliest moments when he began to save our fallen race through the period when He began to work in a special way through the people of Israel, to the coming of Christ, to the rejection of Christ by the Jews, to the offer of the Gospel to the Gentiles, and finally the eventual conversion of a great many Jewish people so that the two great portions of the world may be joined together as one new man in Christ. Romans chapters 9-11 reveals God’s Gospel purpose for the Jew. The ultimate salvation of “all Israel,” in Romans 11:26 provides the bedrock upon which the Christian can be assured of his salvation, because it demonstrates the perseverance of God with His people – as depicted in Israel.
