Romans 9:22-24 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
Verse 22 reflects the challenges of the Old Testament period up to the time of Paul’s writing. The people of Israel had rejected God over and over again throughout history. They had turned to idols and false promises. They had allowed culture to influence them and pull them away from righteous living. During Paul’s day, many Jews had seen obedience to the law, or at least certain laws, as the way to be considered righteous before God. God was patient through it all. God’s patience makes his mercy shine forth even stronger. God’s plan was for people to come to him in faith, believing in his words and promises. At the center of this plan was Jesus Christ. It is through Christ that God’s mercy is most vividly seen. God had this plan even before “Jews” and Abraham. This plan includes all humanity, Jew and Gentile. The plan is simple and has never changed: believe in God and do as God commands. Paul calls this “the obedience of faith.” Faith leads to the response of commitment and behavior. The Jews thought they could do this on their own, resulting in spiritual pride (see ch. 2). Paul has already shown in this letter that this is useless because no one can overcome sin. Everyone needs to accept God’s gracious gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
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