Introduction
So, I promise I’m going to stop opening with The Lord of the Rings at some point, but it is not this day. One of the most heartbreaking moments in The Lord of the Rings comes after Boromir falls. Again, you don’t have to be familiar with or even appreciate The Lord of the Rings to appreciate what I’m about to say. Boromir was not an outsider. He was part of the Fellowship that was meant to take the great ring to Mount Doom to destroy it. They were a fellowship of righteousness standing against evil. And again, Boromir was truly part of that. He fought alongside them. He had seen the wisdom of Gandalf, the courage of Aragorn, and the goodness of Frodo. He was near to goodness and truth and beauty. And yet he fell because in his pride he wanted power on his own terms instead of trusting the true king.
Now in his final moments he actually turns back toward the right path, seeking to defend the Fellowship. Which makes it all the more tragic. But in the battle he is struck down by multiple arrows and falls. And part of what makes the scene so powerful is not merely Boromir’s failure, or even what appears to be repentance, but Aragorn’s grief. Aragorn—his king—does not stand over him with smug superiority. He does not mock him or cast him aside. He kneels beside him in love with forgiveness in his heart. And Boromir, with his dying breath, says, “I would have followed you… my brother… my captain… my king.”
As we will see, in many ways Romans 9 begins with that kind of grief. Paul is not talking about pagans far away from God’s covenant mercies. He is grieving over his own brothers—people who possessed the covenants, the promises, the worship, and even the Messiah Himself according to the flesh… and yet rejected Him. And Paul’s response is not bitterness, tribalism, or smug superiority, but tears.
And yet, as Paul is about to show us, Israel’s widespread unbelief does not mean God’s Word has failed. Jesus Christ is the true and faithful Israelite—the fulfillment of every covenant promise God ever made. And therefore, while covenant privilege is real and glorious, outward covenant membership alone cannot save. Only those who belong to Christ by grace through faith belong to the true Israel of God. But because Christ Himself was accursed and cut off for sinners like us, all who belong to Him are called to respond with humble faith, persevering covenant faithfulness, and Christlike love for others. And that’s exactly what we’re going to see in God’s Word today. So look with me at Romans 9:1-6.
1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel…
Context
Last week in Romans 8 we stood on the mountain top of gospel assurance. Paul declared that because we are united to Christ in His covenant love—secured by His death, resurrection, ascension, and ongoing intercession—nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. No suffering, persecution, spiritual power, ruler, tribulation, or even death itself can overthrow God’s saving purpose for, and in and through His people. Christ reigns, and therefore His people stand secure.
But that triumphant declaration naturally raises another question—one that every first century Jew and Gentile Christian would have immediately felt. If God’s covenant promises are truly this secure… if nothing can separate God’s people from His love… then what about Israel? How could so many Israelites reject their Messiah and now stand under judgment? Had God’s Word failed? Had His covenant promises come to nothing? If nothing can separate God’s elect from His love in Christ Jesus, then why did the Jews by and large reject their Messiah? Why are so many now separated from God’s love in Christ Jesus? Romans 9–11 is Paul’s answer to that question.
Body
So as Paul begins to answer the “What about Israel?” question, he first opens his heart and makes his love for Israel beautifully clear. In verses 1-3 he says, “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
Here Paul takes a kind of covenant oath. He ties the truthfulness of his testimony to who he is and his covenantal calling in Christ, to the evidence of the truth, the clarity of his own conscience, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. Paul wants us to understand that what he is about to say is not detached ivory-tower theology. This is not cold theological speculation. This is like a brokenhearted cry of a shepherd who loves his people—it’s a pastoral plea.
And notice carefully who these people are. They are his “kinsmen according to the flesh”—his nation and covenantal family by birth and circumcision. Paul isn’t displaying blind allegiance to ethnic Israel. He’s not some kind of modern political Zionist, or even a dispensationalist. He simply loves his people. Like Moses pleading for Israel after the golden calf, or Jeremiah weeping over Jerusalem before judgment fell, Paul laments over covenant breakers who stand under the threat of covenant judgment.
Indeed, Paul speaks so strongly here that he says he could wish himself accursed for their sake. If he could swap places with the Jews, and take their curse upon himself so that they could be saved, he would. But of course he knows it doesn’t work that way. He’s just said at the end of Romans 8 that nothing and no one can separate God’s people from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And he has just testified that he himself is “in Christ.” Therefore, God will not allow Paul to become accursed and separated from Christ. Indeed, Christ was accursed for Paul, and for all whom God loved and chose to predestine, justify and glorify before the foundation of the world—all whom God would save by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Christ alone is the curse-bearing substitute. Christ alone was cut off so that His people might be brought near. And Christ alone could do this because He alone is the perfect God-man. And though Paul is a sinful man who could never do something like this… sinful though he may be, he is displaying a heart full of Christlike love.
Notice the beauty of Paul’s heart here. Even though Paul knows salvation doesn’t work this way… even though Paul is about to take us into the depths of God’s sovereignty, predestination, and election… and even though these are the very people who largely rejected Christ and cried out for His crucifixion… Paul still loves them deeply. He still longs for their salvation. He does not respond with bitterness, resentment, tribalism, or smug superiority. True Calvinism does not produce arrogance. True understanding of God’s sovereignty does not make a man cold. Nor does it make us passive, acting as though God’s sovereignty renders our actions pointless. The more Paul understands God’s sovereign grace, the more compassionate and active he becomes.
And beloved, this is the kind of heart every Christian ought to cultivate. This is especially true of pastors and elders. They must plead with God for the souls of their flock. They must lead, love, and care for their people in such a way that they long to see them know Jesus, love Jesus, live for Jesus, and one day dwell with Jesus forevermore. Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” Pastors and elders are covenant shepherds, and they will one day stand before Christ and give an account for the souls entrusted to their care. That is a terrifying and glorious reality.
I think about that often when I see churches doing anything and everything to grow in numbers. It reminds me of a quote from an old Scottish pastor writing to a new young pastor. John Brown said, “I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small, in comparison with those of your brethren around you; but assure yourself on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ, at His judgment-seat, you will think you have had enough.” Church members and attenders are not numbers. They are people, living souls created in the image of God, meant to live for God’s glory. And an account will be given for such people.
But this principle extends beyond pastors and elders. Husbands and fathers bear covenant responsibility for their households. Mothers nurture and disciple covenant children. Employers, magistrates, teachers, and all who hold authority will answer to God for how they exercised that authority. And even the individual Christian is called to shepherd his own soul under Christ. Despite what our government and the woke world around us would like us to believe, none of us are merely autonomous individuals. Every one of us lives within covenant realities where we are called to love, lead, disciple, pray, sacrifice, and labor for the glory of God and the good of others.
So we must ask ourselves: Do we love this way? Do we grieve over sin and unbelief this way? Do we plead for the souls of and work for the good of our children, our spouses, our church, and our neighbors this way? Or have we become cold, prideful, and indifferent? It would have been easy for Paul to sit in judgment over the Jews who rejected Christ—many of whom had Him crucified. But Paul never forgot who he himself once was. He never forgot that he too was a blasphemer, persecutor, and enemy of Christ.
I’m reminded of the words of John Newton. Near the end of his life he said, “Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” That was Paul’s heart as well. Remember what he said in 1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Paul never lost sight of the fact that he was a great sinner—even the foremost, the chief… And praise God, he never lost sight of the fact that Christ was an even greater Savior. It would have been easy for Paul to sit in judgment over his kinsmen who crucified their Messiah, except for Paul himself had once persecuted the church of Christ—which is the very body of Christ. Remember what Jesus said to him when He called him out on the road to Damascus, “Why are you persecuting Me” (Acts 9:4)? Just as the Romans and the Jews were responsible for the nails driven through Christ’s body, so too had Paul brought great harm to the body of Christ, because that’s what the church is…
And so, as a sinner saved by grace, Paul knew that his best day was not outside the need of God’s grace, and that his worst day was not outside the reach of God’s grace… And Paul longed for that same grace to overflow to others—even to the worst of sinners. In other words, because Paul had been forgiven much, he loved much. And the same should be true of us. In one way or another we have all sinned against God and the very body of Christ. And yet Christ was accursed and cutoff for us us. Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. And now we are called to love others, and even ourselves with a Christlike love.
Again, all of us, in one way or another, are under and in charge of some sort of covenantal reality… Politicians and elected officials will give an account for the people and the areas of service they are responsible for. Employers and business owners will give an account for the people and the areas of service they are responsible for. And even if it is just you and your self-rule under Christ, or whether it is you and your family… Every single one of us have covenant realities that we are responsible for, including the care of souls, even if it’s just our own. So I wonder, do you care like Paul cares? Do you love your church, your family, or even your own soul the way that Paul loves his kinsman according to the flesh? Do you love others this way, even great sinners? Paul was willing to give up his salvation for the very people who had our Lord and Savior crucified? What are you giving up for the good of those around you? What are you giving up for the good of your own soul?
Now look at verses 4 and 5. Paul says, “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
Here Paul makes clear that he is not merely mourning over pagans who never knew the covenant mercies of God. His grief is intensified precisely because Israel’s covenant privileges were genuine privileges. Israel truly possessed covenant adoption as God’s son. Israel truly possessed the glory of God’s presence, the covenants, the temple worship, the sacrificial system, the Law of God, and the covenant promises that culminated in Christ. The visible covenant community is therefore real. Scripture never treats covenant membership as an empty fiction. Israel was genuinely holy unto the Lord—separated unto God from among the nations.
And this started all the way back with the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were the covenant fathers through whom God unfolded His redemptive plan in history. So there truly were great privileges to being an Israelite. What Paul says here ties back to Romans 3:1-2 where he asked, “What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?” And his answer was, “Much in every way.” Even though Paul is speaking of Jews that are accursed and cutoff from Christ, he says those same Israelites were entrusted with the oracles of God, the promises of God, and the worship of God. It was theirs. Yet covenant privilege without persevering faith only increases accountability.
This was true for the Israel of old, and it’s true for us today. After speaking of how many Israelites were unfaithful and set aside the Law of Moses, the author of Hebrews says, “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29)? Indeed, that was the point of what we read earlier from Hebrews 3—don’t be like the unfaithful Israelites of old. Covenant privilege without persevering faith only increases accountability.
And tragically, many in Israel missed what all these covenant blessings were ultimately about. The adoption pointed to Christ. The sacrifices pointed to Christ. The temple pointed to Christ. The covenants pointed to Christ. The Law pointed to Christ. The patriarchs pointed to Christ. Indeed, Israel itself pointed to Christ. Everything was moving toward Jesus—the true and faithful Israelite, the true Son, the true Seed of Abraham, the true Temple, the true Passover Lamb, the true King, and the true covenant head of His people. Indeed, He is the true Israel.
That is why Paul climaxes this section by declaring that Jesus Christ—born from Israel according to the flesh—is “God over all, blessed forever.” This is one of the clearest declarations of Christ’s deity in the entire New Testament. Jesus is not merely another prophet, teacher, or reformer. He is the eternal Son of God in human flesh. He is the fulfillment of every covenant promise. He is the faithful covenant head His people always needed. Everything in Israel’s history was moving toward Him.
And yet when Christ came, many rejected Him. Which naturally raises the great question Paul now answers in verse 6: “But it is not as though the word of God has failed.” In other words, has God’s covenant promise collapsed? Did God’s plan somehow fail because so many Israelites rejected their Messiah? Has God abandoned His Word? Paul’s answer is immediate and emphatic: Absolutely not.
And this is where we must follow Paul carefully. Paul does not solve the problem by denying Israel’s covenant privileges. He does not say Israel was never really God’s covenant people in any meaningful sense. No, their covenant standing was real. Their privileges were real. Their accountability was real. Their tragedy was real. Rather, Paul explains that from the very beginning there has always been an Israel within Israel.
As Paul says, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel…” There is a kind of two-tier membership within Israel. There are those who belong to Israel outwardly in history and covenant administration, and there are those who belong to the true Israel eternally according to God’s gracious decree. There are those who are covenantally elect into the visible covenant community, and there are those who are eternally elect unto salvation in Christ. God is sovereign and man is responsible. We are all called to repent and believe, and to persevere in obedient faith… But it’s only by God’s grace that we can, and so only the eternally elect of God will. But all covenant members are covenantally set apart in one way or another, but only those who belong to the True Israel—Jesus Christ Himself—are faithful covenant members in the fullest and final sense.
And that faithfulness is not because they are perfect or righteous in and of themselves. It is because they are united by faith to the perfectly faithful One. Jesus is the true Israelite. Jesus is the faithful Son. Jesus is the One who perfectly obeyed where Adam failed, where Israel failed, and where we fail. And all who are united to Him by grace through faith become heirs of the promises in Him—and thus a part of true Israel.
This is why the gospel is such good news for sinners like us. Our hope is not in our pedigree, our morality, our church attendance, our theological precision, or our outward covenant status. Our hope is Christ. Christ crucified. Christ risen. Christ reigning. Christ the faithful covenant head who cannot fail. The Word of God stands secure because Christ stands secure.
And beloved, that means there is both a warning and a comfort here. The warning is that covenant privilege must never lead to presumption. It is possible to sit near the things of God while your heart remains far from Him. It is possible to possess outward signs while lacking true faith. Israel stands before us as a sober reminder that external privilege alone cannot save. Yet all the covenant privileges are privileges with real value. They are the means of grace Christ uses to form, grow, and keep His people. He ministers to us in and through them. The problem of the Jews wasn’t the covenant privileges, but that they missed Christ in and through their covenant privileges. So that doesn’t warrant neglecting such things. We need them all, for that is where Christ meets us.
But the comfort is infinitely greater than the warning here. God’s saving purpose has not failed and cannot fail because it rests entirely upon Christ. And all who belong to Christ by faith will never be cast out. The same sovereign grace that preserved the faithful remnant in Israel is the grace that preserves Christ’s church today. God’s covenant promises are not fragile. They do not rise and fall with man’s faithfulness. They stand secure in the crucified and risen Christ who is “God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
Paul examples all this beautifully—God’s sovereignty, man’s responsibility, and the perfect faithfulness of Christ—in 2 Timothy 10:10-13, when he says, “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”
Speaking of faithfulness, there is much discussion in our day about whether Christians must support Israel, and often passages like Psalm 122:6 are cited as though Christians are morally obligated to support a modern geopolitical nation-state simply because it bears the name Israel. But we must remember that Jesus Himself is the true and faithful Israelite. He is the true Son called out of Egypt. He is the true Seed of Abraham. He is the true Temple, the true Vine, the true Passover Lamb, and the true King of God’s people. Ancient Israel, with all its covenants, sacrifices, promises, priesthood, temple worship, and kingdom glory, was always pointing beyond itself to Christ. And now all who are united to Christ by grace through faith—Jew and Gentile alike—belong to the true Israel of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the one new covenant people of God in Christ.
This is not replacement theology; it is fulfillment theology. It is Christ-centered theology, not man-centered theology. The promises of God have not been discarded or replaced—they have reached their fulfillment in the crucified, risen, ascended, and reigning Christ. As Paul says elsewhere, “all the promises of God find their Yes and Amen in Him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the substance to which all the shadows pointed. To cling to the shadows while rejecting the substance is to miss the entire point of redemptive history.
And just as there was great privilege in belonging outwardly to ancient Israel, so there is great privilege in belonging outwardly to Christ’s visible church today. To us belong the covenant promises, the preaching of God’s Word, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, covenant renewal worship, the communion of the saints, the ministry of grace, and the ordinary means through which Christ nourishes and strengthens His people. These are not empty rituals or meaningless symbols. They are covenant blessings given by Christ to His church.
But just as it was with ancient Israel, so it is with us: covenant privilege without faithfulness only increases accountability. If we possess all these blessings yet fail to see and savor Christ in them, we miss their beauty entirely. Jesus is the point of it all. The Word points to Him. Baptism points to Him. The Supper points to Him. Worship points to Him. The covenant points to Him. The church itself points to Him. Everything is from Him, through Him, and unto Him. Christ is not merely one piece of the covenant story—He is the center, the substance, the fulfillment, and the glory of the whole thing.
Conclusion
Beloved, Romans 9 begins with heartbreak, but it does not end in despair. It begins with covenant tragedy, but it leads us to covenant glory. Paul has shown us that covenant privilege is real, glorious, and weighty. Israel truly possessed the promises, the worship, the covenants, and the Messiah Himself according to the flesh. And yet many still missed Christ standing in the midst of all those blessings. Which means the warning lands squarely upon us today.
It is possible to grow up around the things of God and still miss the God of those things. It is possible to know the language of Christianity, attend worship, receive baptism, partake of the Supper, hear the preaching of the Word, and yet never truly cling to Christ Himself by faith. It is possible to love the blessings of the covenant while neglecting the Christ of the covenant. And beloved, if that is you, hear the warning of Romans 9: outward privilege alone cannot save you. Church attendance cannot save you. Covenant status cannot save you. Your parents’ faith cannot save you. Your theology cannot save you. Only Christ can save you.
But thanks be to God, Christ is a mighty and merciful Savior.
The good news of the gospel is not that faithful people climb their way up to God. The good news is that God Himself came down to sinners in the person of Jesus Christ. The true Israelite came for covenant breakers. The faithful Son came for prodigals. The spotless Lamb came for guilty sinners. The King came for rebels. Jesus Christ was accursed and cut off so that sinners like us might be brought near, forgiven, adopted, cleansed, and made heirs of the promises of God forever.
And beloved, that means your hope cannot rest in yourself. Not in your performance. Not in your pedigree. Not in your morality. Not in your outward covenant standing. Your hope must rest entirely upon Christ—the crucified Christ, the risen Christ, the reigning Christ, the faithful Christ who cannot fail. The Word of God stands secure because Christ stands secure.
So fathers and mothers, stand on Christ as you lead your homes. Young men and young women, stand on Christ as you battle sin and seek faithfulness in a compromised age. Saints weary from suffering, stand on Christ. Guilty sinners crushed beneath the weight of your sin, stand on Christ. Those grieving over wandering children or unbelieving loved ones, stand on Christ. Those fearful about the future, stand on Christ. Because kingdoms rise and fall. Nations come and go. Men fail. Churches stumble. Our hearts waver. But Christ remains.
He is the true Israel. He is the faithful covenant head. He is the cornerstone the builders rejected who has become the cornerstone of salvation for all who believe. He is the One who cannot be shaken. He is the One who cannot fail. He is the One in whom every promise of God is Yes and Amen.
And so as we prepare to sing in just a moment, let us sing not merely with our lips but with believing hearts: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness… On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Beloved, cling to Christ. Rest in Christ. Build your life upon Christ. Treasure Christ above every earthly privilege and every passing thing. Because all other ground—every earthly identity, every worldly hope, every human work, every outward privilege apart from Him—is sinking sand.
But Christ stands forever. And all who belong to Him by faith will stand forever too. For His Word cannot fail.