Sermon Notes | Sunday, 10 October 2026
Has God's Word Failed?
Thoughts & Take-Aways from Romans 9:1–29
Romans 9:1-29 (NLT)
1 With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it.
2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief
3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.
5 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
6 Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!
7 Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too.
8 This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.
9 For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
10 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.
11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes;
12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”
13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”
14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not!
15 For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”
16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”
18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.
23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, “Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before."
26 And, “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,
“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.”
29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: “If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.”
1 With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it.
2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief
3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.
5 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
6 Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!
7 Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too.
8 This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.
9 For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
10 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.
11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes;
12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”
13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”
14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not!
15 For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”
16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”
18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.
23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, “Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before."
26 And, “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,
“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.”
29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: “If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.”
Main Idea: God has not failed His promises!
KEY THOUGHTS:
Thought #1 - The text teaches that God has not failed in His promises to Israel, nor is He unjust because not all Jews are saved.
Thought #2 - When Paul speaks of God's mercy, hardening, and the potter's authority over the clay, we understand these passages in light of God's sovereign purposes and the Old Testament's broader teaching.
Thought #3 - The central point is that physical ancestry and religious privilege do not guarantee salvation.
Thought #4 - Paul is challenging the assumption that Israel's national election guarantees the salvation of every Israelite.
TAKE-AWAYS FROM ROMANS 9
1. Religious heritage cannot save you.
Romans 9:6b (NKJV) “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.”
2. God has not failed His promises.
Romans 9:6a (NKJV) “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect.”
Joshua 21:45 (NKJV) “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”
Joshua 23:14 (NKJV) “Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you.”
Romans 11:29 (NKJV) “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV) “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
Joshua 21:45 (NKJV) “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”
Joshua 23:14 (NKJV) “Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you.”
Romans 11:29 (NKJV) “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV) “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
3. Election does not automatically mean individual salvation.
Romans 9:7 (NKJV) “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”
4. God's mercy is never something we can demand.
Romans 9:16 (NKJV) “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
5. God's sovereignty does not make Him unjust.
Romans 9:14 (NKJV) What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
Deuteronomy 32:4 (NKJV) He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
Deuteronomy 32:4 (NKJV) He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
6. Hardening is not necessarily final condemnation.
Romans 11:23 (NKJV) “And if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”
7. God is patient with sinners
Romans 9:22–23; 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV) “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise ... but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
8. God's saving purpose includes Jews and Gentiles.
Romans 9:24–26 (NKJV) even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Romans 10:12–13 (NKJV) “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.”
Romans 10:12–13 (NKJV) “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.”
9. God's Word must interpret God's Word.
Romans 9:25–29; Acts 17:11 (NKJV) “They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
10. We should have Paul's heart for the lost.
Romans 9:1–3; Romans 10:1 (NKJV) “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.”
SUMMARY
These ten truths can be condensed into three central lessons:
1. God is faithful.
2. God is sovereign and merciful.
3. People need Jesus Christ.
1. God is faithful.
2. God is sovereign and merciful.
3. People need Jesus Christ.
CLOSING SCRIPTURE:
Romans 10:13 (NKJV) “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’”
Don't let the difficult questions of Romans 9 distract you from Paul's burden in Romans 10.
People need to hear the gospel, and we have a responsibility to share it.
JESUS DIED.
JESUS ROSE.
JESUS SAVES!
Will you accept God's grace and free gift of faith in Jesus today?
Pray this prayer to receive Jesus as your Savior:
“Lord Jesus, today I receive Your grace. I admit that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose again to give me new life. Today, I turn from my old ways and invite You into my heart. Be my Lord, be my Savior, and help me follow You all the days of my life. Right now, I trust you as my Savior and will follow you as my Lord. Thank You for loving me. Amen.”
Assurance of Salvation
If you prayed that prayer and meant it in your heart, you can be sure that you are saved.
Romans 10:13 (NLT) “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
John 10:28 (NLT) “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.”
Romans 10:13 (NLT) “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
John 10:28 (NLT) “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.”
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