01/21/2026
Mid-Week Reflections • Romans 9:1-13
God saves His elect according to His sovereign will, not because of the good works one does.
In this week’s sermon passage, we first saw Paul’s sorrow and anguish over his fellow kinsman, the Israelites. To them belonged the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, and the patriarchs, and from their lineage came Jesus Christ Himself (v. 5-6). Yet, despite the chosen people’s abundant privileges, those who lacked faith in Jesus Christ could not and would never be part of God’s elect.
So then one may naturally ask, if many of the Israelites who distinctly possessed God’s special favor, could not receive salvation, has God’s Word failed?
As Paul has said in previous chapters and will also say in the following passage, “by no means!” All the physical children of Abraham will not be saved, but all the spiritual children of Abraham (those who are granted faith in Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of God’s promise) will surely be saved. One is not saved by the works they have done but purely out of God’s mercy and good pleasure. God’s perfect will may not be easy for us to understand, but He is sovereign in our election and salvation. Rather than questioning in our hearts why He has not saved some, may we marvel at the mystery that He saves sinners at all. Sola fide & soli Deo gloria!
