I wonder what your first impression was of studying Romans 9? Why does Paul suddenly go off on one about the nation of Israel, God's choosing people and something about pottery? Each of these issues is worth looking at in its own right but to see the main point that Paul's making we need to ask how they fit together.

As we saw in RML on Tuesday, the thread that connects all of the different ideas in Romans 9 is the issue of whether God's word has failed (9:6). Paul wants to show us with lots of examples from the Old Testament that God's hasn't defaulted on his promises to Israel but has done what he said all along. Some of the key points are:

Once we're clear on what this passage is saying, it's time to ask why Paul feels the need to add this to his letter. And why does it matter to us today whether or not God kept his word to his people in the past?

This is where the link between chapter 8 and chapter 9 comes into play - so often in the Bible the wider context holds the key. Just think of all of God's promises mentioned in chapter 8. Through Jesus' death Christians will not be condemned on judgement day, but will be adopted as God's children and have an eternity in God's new creation to look forward to. Romans 8 ends in triumphant confidence that we will receive the promise of the new creation and nothing can stop us.

But can we really trust that promise? Is God's word solid enough to build your life on? What about the people who did seem to be God's people for about 2000 years but who now seem to be cut off, the people of Israel? Can you see how we, 2000 years after Romans was written, need exactly this kind of reassurance that God does stay true his word even after thousands of years?

If we had a "spiritual-encouragement-o-meter" which could detect the chapters of the Bible that are most often read, most closely cherished, most fervently preached and most frequently turned to in times of need, then we could safely expect that many of the passages that we've looked at so far in Romans would score pretty highly. But I'm not sure we could say the same for Romans 9 and 10 with any great confidence... after all why would Christians today turn to chapters which talk about the history of Israel for our own encouragement in life or to grow in our faith? I wonder whether studying Romans 9 and 10 in RML Romans over the last two weeks has left you any the wiser?

But why do we need chapter 10 as well as chapter 9? Did you notice how the two chapters are addressing the question from opposite angles? Last week showed us that God has not failed to keep his promises but has done what he said all along. This week we saw that Israel did fail in that they failed to trust God's promises, even though they were available to them all along. In chapter 9 we see the question answered from the point of view of God's sovereignty - God chooses to have mercy on some and not others, but in chapter 10 we see it answered from the point of view of human responsibility - alongside God's choosing, people are making real and conscious choices about whether to accept or reject God's word and they are responsible for the consequences. Paul made this point in two big steps:

How does this serve to strengthen us in our faith today? Why not spend some time thinking and praying about that question? Here are some ideas to get you started: