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Romans Commentary Chapters 9-16  /  Romans 9:10-13 the Two Nations from Jacob and Esau Part Two  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 7
Paul’s defense (as Terry frames it) is that Jews were offended God “allowed the Gentiles to come to salvation without embracing the law”; in what ways do Christians today mirror that same offense—perhaps toward certain cultures, political groups, or “messy” sinners—and what does Romans 9 do to our instincts about who is “too undeserving” to be called?
Another way to ask: If Jews were upset that Gentiles could be saved without following the law, how do Christians today show similar anger about who gets mercy? How does Romans 9 challenge our instinct to label some people as “too undeserving” to be called by God?

Direct Answer The transcript’s principle is that God’s call can reach people who look “undeserving” and have no prior religious credentials, and it is not unjust for Him to do so. While Terry doesn’t list modern groups, his argument implies that Christians today mirror the offense whenever we resist God welcoming people who haven’t adopted our “law-like” cultural expectations first.

Support from Transcript:

  • Jews objected that God allowed Gentiles salvation “without embracing the law or even having any prior godly works.”
  • In their eyes, Christianity would mean God was selecting “wicked, idol-worshiping Gentiles over the righteous Jewish heirs of Abraham.”
  • Terry says Paul “silences this argument” by pointing to Jacob: God chose him “before he had done any works… before he was even born.”
  • The analogy: “If it was fair for God to choose Jacob before his birth, why is it not equally fair… to choose the Gentiles before their spiritual birth?”
  • God had long determined: “I will say to those who were not my people, you are my people” (Hosea 2:23).
  • Gentiles are described as once “steeped in wickedness and the worship of demons,” yet God “had chosen them to be included in the Israel of God.”
Discussion Follow-ups What “embracing the law” equivalents exist today (social codes, politics, lifestyle cleanup) that we treat as prerequisites for belonging? How does Romans 9 confront our impulse to rank who is “most worthy” of the call?

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