---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Romans 9"
description: "CHAPTER 9   :-. THE BEARING
OF THE FOREGOING
TRUTHS UPON THE CONDITION
AND DESTINY OF THE
CHOSEN PEOPLE—ELECTION—THE
CALLING OF THE GENTILES. Too well awa"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9"
---

CHAPTER 9

. THE BEARING
OF THE FOREGOING
TRUTHS UPON THE CONDITION
AND DESTINY OF THE
CHOSEN PEOPLE—ELECTION—THE
CALLING OF THE GENTILES.
Too well aware that he was
regarded as a traitor to the dearest interests of his people ([Acts 21:33](../../../kjv/acts/21/33);
[Acts 22:22](../../../kjv/acts/22/22); [Acts 25:24](../../../kjv/acts/25/24)),
the apostle opens this division of his subject by giving vent to his
real feelings with extraordinary vehemence of protestation.

**1, 2. I say the truth in Christ**—as
if steeped in the spirit of Him who wept over impenitent and doomed
Jerusalem (compare [Romans 1:9](../../../kjv/romans/1/9);
[2 Corinthians 12:19](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/12/19); [Philippians 1:8](../../../kjv/philippians/1/8)).
**my conscience bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost**—"my conscience as quickened,
illuminated, and even now under the direct operation of the Holy
Ghost."

**2. That I have,** &c.—"That
I have great grief (or, sorrow) and unceasing anguish in my
heart"—the bitter hostility of his nation to the glorious
Gospel, and the awful consequences of their unbelief, weighing
heavily and incessantly upon his spirit.

**3. For I could wish that myself were
accursed from Christ for**—"in behalf of"
**my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh**—In proportion as he felt himself severed
from his nation, he seems to have realized all the more vividly their
natural relationship. To explain away the wish here expressed, as too
strong for any Christian to utter or conceive, some have rendered the
opening words, "I *did* wish," referring it to his
former unenlightened state; a sense of the words too tame to be
endured: others unwarrantably soften the sense of the word
"accursed." But our version gives the true import of the
original; and if it be understood as the language rather of "strong
and indistinct emotions than of definite ideas" [HODGE],
expressing passionately how he felt his whole being swallowed up in
the salvation of his people, the difficulty will vanish, and we shall
be reminded of the similar idea so nobly expressed by Moses ().

**4. Who are Israelites**—See
[Romans 11:1](../../../kjv/romans/11/1); [2 Corinthians 11:22](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/11/22);
[Philippians 3:5](../../../kjv/philippians/3/5).
**to whom pertaineth**—"whose
is"
**the adoption**—It is true
that, compared with the new economy, the old was a state of minority
and pupilage, and so far that of a bond-servant ([Philippians 3:5](../../../kjv/philippians/3/5)); yet, compared with the state of the surrounding heathen,
the choice of Abraham and his seed was a real separation of them to
be a *Family of God* ([Exodus 4:22](../../../kjv/exodus/4/22);
[Deuteronomy 32:6](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/32/6); [Isaiah 1:2](../../../kjv/isaiah/1/2);
[Jeremiah 31:9](../../../kjv/jeremiah/31/9); [Hosea 11:1](../../../kjv/hosea/11/1);
[Malachi 1:6](../../../kjv/malachi/1/6)).
**and the glory**—that
"glory of the Lord," or "visible token of the Divine
Presence in the midst of them," which rested on the ark and
filled the tabernacle during all their wanderings in the wilderness;
which in Jerusalem continued to be seen in the tabernacle and temple,
and only disappeared when, at the Captivity, the temple was
demolished, and the sun of the ancient economy began to go down. This
was what the Jews called the "*Shekinah.*"
**and the covenants**—"the
covenants of promise" to which the Gentiles before Christ were
"strangers" ([Ephesians 2:12](../../../kjv/ephesians/2/12));
meaning the *one covenant* with Abraham in its successive
*renewals* (see [Galatians 3:16](../../../kjv/galatians/3/16);
[Galatians 3:17](../../../kjv/galatians/3/17)).
**and the giving of the
law**—from Mount Sinai, and the possession of it thereafter,
which the Jews justly deemed their peculiar honor ([Deuteronomy 26:18](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/26/18);
[Deuteronomy 26:19](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/26/19); [Psalms 147:19](../../../kjv/psalms/147/19);
[Psalms 147:20](../../../kjv/psalms/147/20); [Romans 2:17](../../../kjv/romans/2/17)).
**and the service of God**—or,
of the sanctuary, meaning the whole divinely instituted religious
service, in the celebration of which they were brought so nigh unto
God.
**and the promises**—the
great Abrahamic promises, successively unfolded, and which had their
fulfilment only in Christ; (see [Hebrews 7:6](../../../kjv/hebrews/7/6);
[Galatians 3:16](../../../kjv/galatians/3/16); [Galatians 3:21](../../../kjv/galatians/3/21);
[Acts 26:6](../../../kjv/acts/26/6); [Acts 26:7](../../../kjv/acts/26/7)).

**5. Whose are the fathers**—here,
probably, the three great fathers of the covenant—Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob—by whom God condescended to name Himself ([Exodus 8:6](../../../kjv/exodus/8/6);
[Exodus 8:13](../../../kjv/exodus/8/13); [Luke 20:37](../../../kjv/luke/20/37)).
**and**—most exalted
privilege of all, and as such, reserved to the last.
**of whom as concerning the
flesh**—(See on [Romans 1:3](../../../kjv/romans/1/3)).
**Christ came**—or, "is
Christ"
**who is over all, God**—rather,
"God over all."
**blessed for ever. Amen**—To
get rid of the bright testimony here borne to the supreme divinity of
Christ, various expedients have been adopted: (1) To place a period,
either after the words "concerning the flesh Christ came,"
rendering the next clause as a doxology to the Father—"God who
is over all be blessed for ever"; or after the word "all"—thus,
"Christ came, who is over all: God be blessed.", c.
[ERASMUS, LOCKE,
FRITZSCHE, MEYER,
JOWETT, &c.]. But it
is fatal to this view, as even *Socinus* admits, that in other
Scripture doxologies the word "Blessed" *precedes* the
name of God on whom the blessing is invoked (thus: "Blessed be
God," [Psalms 68:35](../../../kjv/psalms/68/35) "Blessed
be the Lord God, the God of Israel," [Psalms 68:35](../../../kjv/psalms/68/35)). Besides, any such doxology here would be "unmeaning
and frigid in the extreme"; the sad subject on which he was
entering suggesting anything but a doxology, even in connection with
Christ's Incarnation [ALFORD].
(2) To transpose the words rendered "who is"; in which case
the rendering would be, "whose (that is, the fathers') is Christ
according to the flesh" [CRELLIUS,
WHISTON, TAYLOR,
WHITBY]. But this is a
desperate expedient, in the face of all manuscript authority; as is
also the conjecture of GROTIUS
and others, that the word "God" should be omitted from the
text. It remains then, that we have here no doxology at all, but a
naked statement of fact, that while Christ is "of" the
Israelitish nation "*as concerning the flesh,*" He is,
*in another respect,* "God over all, blessed for ever."
(In [2 Corinthians 11:31](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/11/31) the very *Greek*
phrase which is here rendered "who is," is used in the same
sense; and compare [Romans 1:25](../../../kjv/romans/1/25),
*Greek*). In this view of the passage, as a testimony to the
supreme divinity of Christ, besides all the orthodox fathers, some of
the ablest modern critics concur [BENGEL,
THOLUCK, STUART,
OLSHAUSEN, PHILIPPI,
ALFORD, &c.]

**6. Not as though the word of God had
taken none effect**—"hath fallen to the ground," that
is, failed: compare [Luke 16:17](../../../kjv/luke/16/17),
*Greek.*
**for they are not all Israel
which are of Israel**—better, "for not all they which are of
Israel are Israel." *Here the apostle enters upon the profound
subject of* ELECTION,
the treatment of which extends to the end of the eleventh
chapter—"Think not that I mourn over the total loss of Israel;
for that would involve the failure of God's word to Abraham; but not
all that belong to the natural seed, and go under the name of
'Israel,' are *the* Israel of God's irrevocable choice."
The difficulties which encompass this subject lie not in the
apostle's teaching, which is plain enough, but in the truths
themselves, the evidence for which, taken by themselves, is
overwhelming, but whose perfect harmony is beyond human comprehension
in the present state. The great source of error here lies in hastily
inferring (as THOLUCK and
others), from the apostle's taking tip, at the close of this chapter,
the calling of the Gentiles in connection with the rejection of
Israel, and continuing this subject through the two next chapters,
that the Election treated of in the body of this chapter is *national,*
not *personal* Election, and consequently is Election merely to
*religious advantages,* not to *eternal salvation.* In that
case, the argument of [Romans 9:6](../../../kjv/romans/9/6),
with which the subject of Election opens, would be this: "The
choice of Abraham and his seed has not failed; because though Israel
has been rejected, *the Gentiles* have taken their place; and
God has a right to choose what nation He will to the privileges of
His visible kingdom." But so far from this, the Gentiles are not
so much as mentioned at all till towards the close of the chapter;
and the argument of this verse is, that "all Israel *is not*
rejected, but only a portion of it, the remainder being *the*
'Israel' whom God has chosen in the exercise of His sovereign right."
And that this is a choice not to mere external privileges, but to
eternal salvation, will abundantly appear from what follows.

**7-9. Neither, because they are the
seed of Abraham, are they all children**—"Not in the line of
mere fleshly descent from Abraham does the election run; else
Ishmael, Hagar's child, and even Keturah's children, would be
included, which they were not."
**but**—the true election
are such of Abraham's seed as God unconditionally chooses, as
exemplified in that promise.
**in Isaac shall thy seed be
called**— ([Genesis 21:12](../../../kjv/genesis/21/12)).

**10-13. And not only*****this;*****but when Rebecca,** c.—It might be thought that there was a
natural reason for preferring the child of Sarah, as being Abraham's
true and first wife, both to the child of Hagar, Sarah's maid, and to
the children of Keturah, his second wife. But there could be no such
reason in the case of Rebecca, Isaac's only wife for the choice of
her son Jacob was the choice of one of two sons by the same mother
and of the younger in preference to the elder, and before either of
them was born, and consequently before either had done good or evil
to be a ground of preference: and all to show that the sole ground of
distinction lay in the unconditional choice of God—"*not of
works, but of Him that calleth.*"

**14. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid**—This is the first of two
objections to the foregoing doctrine, that God chooses one and
rejects another, not on account of their works, but purely in the
exercise of His own good pleasure: "*This doctrine is
inconsistent with the justice of God.*" The answer to this
objection extends to [Romans 9:19](../../../kjv/romans/9/19),
where we have the second objection.

**15. For he saith to Moses**— ().
**I will have mercy on whom I
will have**—"on whom I have"
**mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have**—"on whom I have"
**compassion**—"There
can be no unrighteousness in God's choosing whom He will, for to
Moses He expressly claims the right to do so." Yet it is worthy
of notice that this is expressed in the positive rather than the
negative form: not, "I will have mercy on *none but* whom I
will"; but, "I will have mercy on *whomsoever* I
will."

**16. So then it is not of him that
willeth**—hath the inward *desire*
**nor of him that
runneth**—maketh active *effort* (compare [1 Corinthians 9:24](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/9/24);
[1 Corinthians 9:26](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/9/26); [Philippians 2:16](../../../kjv/philippians/2/16);
[Philippians 3:14](../../../kjv/philippians/3/14)). Both these are
indispensable to salvation, yet salvation is owing to neither, but is
purely "of God that showeth mercy." See on [Philippians 3:14](../../../kjv/philippians/3/14), "Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling: for it is God which, *out of His own good pleasure,*
worketh in you both to *will* and to *do.*"

**17. For the scripture saith to
Pharaoh**—observe here the light in which the Scripture is viewed
by the apostle.
**Even for this same**—"this
very"
**purpose have I raised**—"raised
I"
**thee up,** c.—The apostle
had shown that God claims the right to choose whom He will: here he
shows by an example that God punishes whom He will. But "God did
not make Pharaoh wicked He only forbore to make him good, by the
exercise of special and altogether unmerited grace" [HODGE].
**that I might**—"may"
**show my power in thee**—It
was not that Pharaoh was worse than others that he was so dealt with,
but "in order that he might become a monument of the penal
justice of God, and it was with a view to this that God provided that
the evil which was in him should be manifested in this definite form"
[OLSHAUSEN].
**and that my name might**—"may"
**be declared**—"proclaimed"
**in all the earth**—"This
is the principle on which all punishment is inflicted, that the true
character of the Divine Lawgiver should be known. This is of all
objects, where God is concerned, the highest and most important; in
itself the most worthy, and in its results the most beneficent"
[HODGE].

**18. Therefore hath he**—"So
then he hath." The result then is that He hath
**mercy on whom he will have
mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth**—by judicially abandoning
them to the hardening influence of sin itself ([Psalms 81:11](../../../kjv/psalms/81/11);
[Psalms 81:12](../../../kjv/psalms/81/12); [Romans 1:24](../../../kjv/romans/1/24);
[Romans 1:26](../../../kjv/romans/1/26); [Romans 1:28](../../../kjv/romans/1/28);
[Hebrews 3:8](../../../kjv/hebrews/3/8); [Hebrews 3:13](../../../kjv/hebrews/3/13)),
and of the surrounding incentives to it ([Matthew 24:12](../../../kjv/matthew/24/12);
[1 Corinthians 15:38](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/15/38); [2 Thessalonians 2:17](../../../kjv/2-thessalonians/2/17)).
*Second objection* to the
doctrine of Divine Sovereignty:

**19. Thou shalt say then unto me,
Why**—"Why then" is the true reading.
**doth he yet find fault? for
who hath resisted**—"Who resisteth"
**his will?**—that is,
"*This doctrine is incompatible with human responsibility*";
If God chooses and rejects, pardons and punishes, whom He pleases,
why are those blamed who, if rejected by Him, cannot help sinning and
perishing? This objection shows quite as conclusively as the former
the real nature of the doctrine objected to—that it is Election and
Non-election to eternal salvation prior to any difference of personal
character; this is the only doctrine that could suggest the objection
here stated, and to this doctrine the objection *is* plausible.
What now is the apostle's answer? It is twofold. *First:* "It
is irreverence and presumption in the creature to arraign the
Creator."

**20, 21. Nay but, O man, who art thou
that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed it, Why hast thou made**—"didst thou make"
**me thus?**— ().

**21. Hath not the potter power over
the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and
another to dishonour?**—"The objection is founded on
ignorance or misapprehension of the relation between God and His
sinful creatures; supposing that He is under obligation to extend His
grace to all, whereas He is under obligation to none. All are
sinners, and have forfeited every claim to His mercy; it is therefore
perfectly competent to God to spare one and not another, to make one
vessel to honor and another to dishonor. But it is to be borne in
mind that Paul does not here speak of God's right over His creatures
*as creatures,* but *as sinful creatures:* as he himself
clearly intimates in the next verses. It is the cavil of a sinful
creature against his Creator that he is answering, and be does so by
showing that God is under no obligation to give His grace to any, but
is as sovereign as in fashioning the clay" [HODGE].
But, *Second:* "There is nothing unjust in such
sovereignty."

**22, 23. What if God, willing to
show**—"designing to manifest"
**his wrath**—His holy
displeasure against sin.
**and to make his power**—to
punish it
**known endured with much
long-suffering the vessels of wrath**—that is, "destined to
wrath"; just as "vessels of mercy," in , mean "vessels destined to mercy"; compare , "children of wrath."
**fitted for destruction**—It
is well remarked by STUART
that the "difficulties which such statements involve are not to
be got rid of by softening the language of one text, while so many
others meet us which are of the same tenor; and even if we give up
the Bible itself, so long as we acknowledge an omnipotent and
omniscient God we cannot abate in the least degree from any of the
difficulties which such texts make." Be it observed, however,
that if God, as the apostle teaches, expressly "designed to
manifest His wrath, and to make His power (in the way of wrath)
known," it could only be by punishing some, while He pardons
others; and if the choice between the two classes was not to be
founded, as our apostle also teaches, on their own doings but on
God's good pleasure, the decision behooved ultimately to rest with
God. Yet, even in the necessary punishment of the wicked, as HODGE
observes, so far from proceeding with undue severity, the apostle
would have it remarked that God "endures with much
long-suffering" those objects of His righteous displeasure.

**23. And that he might make known the
riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy**—that "glorious
exuberance of Divine mercy" which "was manifested in
choosing and eternally arranging for the salvation of sinners."

**24. even us, whom he hath called,**
c.—rather, "Whom he hath also called, even us," &c.,
in not only "*afore preparing,*" but in due time
effectually "*calling* us."
**not of the Jews,**
&c.—better, "not from among Jews only, but also from among
Gentiles." *Here for the first title in this chapter the
calling of the Gentiles is introduced* all before having respect,
not to the substitution of the called Gentiles for the rejected Jews,
but to the choice of one portion and the rejection of another of the
same Israel. Had Israel's rejection been total, God's promise to
Abraham would *not* have been fulfilled by the substitution of
the Gentiles in their room; but Israel's rejection being only
partial, the preservation of a "remnant," in which the
promise was made good, was but "according to the election of
grace." And now, for the first time, the apostle tells us that
along with this elect remnant of *Israel,* it is God's purpose
to "take out of the *Gentiles* a people for His name"
([Acts 28:14](../../../kjv/acts/28/14)); and that subject,
thus introduced, is now continued to the end of the eleventh chapter.

**25. As he saith also in
Osee**—"Hosea."
**I will call them my people,
which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not
beloved**—quoted, though not quite to the letter, from , a passage relating immediately, not to the heathen, but to
the kingdom of the ten tribes; but since they had sunk to the level
of the heathen, who were "not God's people," and in that
sense "not beloved," the apostle legitimately applies it to
the heathen, as "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and
strangers to the covenants of promise" (so ).

**26. And**—another quotation from
[Hosea 1:10](../../../kjv/hosea/1/10).
**it shall come to pass, that
in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there
shall they be called the children**—"called sons"
**of the living God**—The
expression, "in the place where . . . there," seems
designed only to give greater emphasis to the gracious change here
announced, from divine exclusion to divine admission to the
privileges of the people of God.

**27-29. Esaias also crieth**—"But
Isaiah crieth"—an expression denoting a solemn testimony
openly borne ([John 1:15](../../../kjv/john/1/15); [John 7:28](../../../kjv/john/7/28);
[John 7:37](../../../kjv/john/7/37); [John 12:44](../../../kjv/john/12/44);
[Acts 23:6](../../../kjv/acts/23/6); [Acts 24:21](../../../kjv/acts/24/21)).
**concerning Israel, Though the
number of the children**—"sons"
**of Israel be as the sand of
the sea, a**—"the"
**remnant**—that is, the
elect remnant *only* shall be saved.

**28. For he will finish the work, and
cut**—"is finishing the reckoning, and cutting it"
**it short in righteousness;
because a short work**—"reckoning"
**will the Lord make upon the
earth**— ([Isaiah 10:22](../../../kjv/isaiah/10/22); [Isaiah 10:23](../../../kjv/isaiah/10/23)),
as in the *Septuagint.* The sense given to these words by the
apostle may seem to differ from that intended by the prophet. But the
sameness of sentiment in both places will at once appear, if we
understand those words of the prophet, "the consumption decreed
shall overflow with righteousness," to mean that while a remnant
of Israel should be graciously spared to return from captivity, "the
decreed consumption" of the impenitent majority should be
"replete with righteousness," or illustriously display
God's righteous vengeance against sin. The "short reckoning"
seems to mean the speedy completing of His word, both in cutting off
the one portion and saving the other.

**29. And as Esaias said**—"hath
said"
**before**—that is,
probably in an earlier part of his book, namely, .
**Except the Lord of
Sabaoth**—that is, "The Lord of Hosts": the word is
*Hebrew,* but occurs so in the Epistle of James (), and has thence become naturalized in our Christian
phraseology.
**had left us a seed**—meaning
a "remnant"; small at first, but in due time to be a seed
of plenty (compare [Psalms 22:30](../../../kjv/psalms/22/30);
[Psalms 22:31](../../../kjv/psalms/22/31); [Isaiah 6:12](../../../kjv/isaiah/6/12);
[Isaiah 6:13](../../../kjv/isaiah/6/13)).
**we had been**—"become"
**as Sodom,** &c.—But
for this precious seed, the chosen people would have resembled the
cities of the plain, both in degeneracy of character and in merited
doom.

**30, 31. What shall we say
then?**—"What now is the result of the whole?" The
result is this—very different from what one would have expected.
**That the Gentiles, which
followed not after righteousness, have attained**—"attained"
**to righteousness, even the
righteousness of faith**—As we have seen that "the
righteousness of faith" is the righteousness which *justifies*
(see on [Romans 3:22](../../../kjv/romans/3/22), &c.), this
verse must mean that "the Gentiles, who while strangers to
Christ were quite indifferent about acceptance with God, having
embraced the Gospel as soon as it was preached to them, experienced
the blessedness of a justified state."

**31. But Israel, which
followed**—"following"
**after the law of
righteousness, hath not attained**—"attained not"
**unto the law of
righteousness**—The word "law" is used here, we think,
in the same sense as in [Romans 7:23](../../../kjv/romans/7/23),
to denote "a principle of action"; that is, "Israel,
though sincerely and steadily aiming at acceptance with God,
nevertheless missed it."

**32, 33. Wherefore? Because they
sought*****it*****not by faith, but as it were**—rather
simply, "as"
**by the works of the law**—as
if it were thus attainable, which justification is not: Since,
therefore, it is attainable only by faith, they missed it.
**for**—it is doubtful if
this particle was originally in the text.
**they stumbled at that
stumbling-stone**—better, "against the stone of stumbling,"
meaning *Christ.* But in this they only did.

**33. As it is written**— ([Isaiah 8:14](../../../kjv/isaiah/8/14);
[Isaiah 28:16](../../../kjv/isaiah/28/16)).
**Behold,** c.—Two
Messianic predictions are here combined, as is not unusual in
quotations from the Old Testament. Thus combined, the prediction
brings together both the classes of whom the apostle is treating:
those to whom Messiah should be only a stone of stumbling, and those
who were to regard Him as the Cornerstone of all their hopes. Thus
expounded, this chapter presents no serious difficulties, none which
do not arise out of the subject itself, whose depths are unfathomable
whereas on every other view of it the difficulty of giving it any
consistent and worthy interpretation is in our judgment insuperable.
*Note,* (1) To speak and act
"in Christ," with a conscience not only illuminated, but
under the present operation of the Holy Ghost, is not peculiar to the
supernaturally inspired, but is the privilege, and ought to be the
aim, of every believer ([Romans 9:1](../../../kjv/romans/9/1)).
(2) Grace does not destroy, but only intensify and elevate, the
feelings of nature; and Christians should study to show this ([Romans 9:2](../../../kjv/romans/9/2);
[Romans 9:3](../../../kjv/romans/9/3)). (3) To belong to the
visible Church of God, and enjoy its high and holy distinctions, is
of the sovereign mercy of God, and should be regarded with devout
thankfulness ([Romans 9:4](../../../kjv/romans/9/4); [Romans 9:5](../../../kjv/romans/9/5)).
(4) Yet the most sacred external distinctions and privileges will
avail nothing to salvation without the heart's submission to the
righteousness of God ([Romans 9:5](../../../kjv/romans/9/5)). (5) What manner of persons ought "God's elect"
to be—in *humility,* when they remember that He hath saved
them and called them, not according to their works, but according to
His own purpose and grace, given them in Christ Jesus before the
world began ([2 Timothy 1:9](../../../kjv/2-timothy/1/9)); in
*thankfulness,* for "Who maketh thee to differ, and what
hast thou that thou didst not receive?" ([2 Timothy 1:9](../../../kjv/2-timothy/1/9)); in *godly jealousy* over themselves; remembering that
"God is not mocked," but "whatsoever a man soweth that
shall he also reap" ([Galatians 6:7](../../../kjv/galatians/6/7));
in *diligence* "to make our calling and election sure"
([2 Peter 1:10](../../../kjv/2-peter/1/10)); and yet in calm
*confidence* that "whom God predestinates, and calls, and
justifies, them (in due time) He also glorifies" ([2 Peter 1:10](../../../kjv/2-peter/1/10)). (6) On all subjects which from their very nature lie
beyond human comprehension, it will be our wisdom to set down what
God says in His word, and has actually done in His procedure towards
men, as indisputable, even though it contradict the results at which
in the best exercise of our limited judgment we may have arrived ([2 Peter 1:10](../../../kjv/2-peter/1/10)). (7) Sincerity in religion, or a general desire to be
saved, with assiduous efforts to do right, will prove fatal as a
ground of confidence before God, if unaccompanied by implicit
submission to His revealed method of salvation ([2 Peter 1:10](../../../kjv/2-peter/1/10)). (8) In the rejection of the great mass of the chosen
people, and the inbringing of multitudes of estranged Gentiles, God
would have men to see a law of His procedure, which the judgment of
the great day will more vividly reveal that "the last shall be
first and the first last" ([2 Peter 1:10](../../../kjv/2-peter/1/10)).

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Romans 9"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Romans 9","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"CHAPTER 9   :-. THE BEARING\nOF THE FOREGOING\nTRUTHS UPON THE CONDITION\nAND DESTINY OF THE\nCHOSEN PEOPLE—ELECTION—THE\nCALLING OF THE GENTILES. Too well awa","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans","name":"Romans"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/romans/9","name":"9"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```