Living in the USA: March 2007

A dear Christian brother of mine made me aware that some believe passages such as Rom. 8:30 and Rom. 9:11,16 support the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election. Unconditional Election I understand as being the doctrine that "God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation based on Romans 9:15,21." (source and more at: http://reformed.org/calvinism/index.html). I always thought the good news was simpler than that. I had never heard of this idea.

In contrast, I believe that salvation is offered to everyone who believes in Christ "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)

Before diving into Romans 9, I chose to look at chapters 1-8 to understand Paul's train of thought.

Chapter 1

Paul is the Apostle to "all the Gentiles" (Rom 1:5)
"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake"

Paul starts his letters by saying that Salvation is available to everyone who believes - Greeks, barbarians, wise and foolish (Rom. 1:14) and continues to say "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Rom. 1:16). The gospel is God's plan of salvation in Christ. That is each person must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and believe in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection in order to be saved.

Righteousness is through faith in Christ as these verses point out:

"and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Philippians 3:9)

"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)

"Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'" (Galatians 3:11)

"BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM." (Hebrews 10:38)

Man, despite his sinfulness, knows that God exists. Paul says that "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them." However "although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him" and "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator." Human beings made in the image of God are free creatures and chose to reject God.

Paul tells how God can be known through the moral law that all men have within their hearts (Rom. 1:19; Rom. 2:15) and visible to all men through creation, so that all men are without excuse (Rom. 1:20), however, because they did not acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind. (Rom. 1:28).

In summary, men are able to know right from wrong (Rom. 1:32), yet many choose to do wrong by willfully turning from the truth.

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

From reading the first part of Paul's letter, we see that man chooses to reject God first and it is not God who is doing the rejecting.

Chapter 2

Stubbornness and an unrepentant heart keep us from eternal life. (Rom 2:5-7). Selfish Ambition and not obeying the truth separate us from God (Rom. 2:8). "God 'will give to each person according to what he has done.' To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."

There is a continuing contrast between those who reject and those who follow God, because human beings are free creatures.

Paul tells how men have the moral law written on their hearts in Rom. 2:15, just as he did in Rom. 1:19. "since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them."

In Rom. 2:17-29, Paul warns of being a hypocrite and that simply knowing the Law or being circumcised is not good enough.

The Israelites were chosen to be teachers of the truth, but instead they seemed more interested in boasting than in their assignment.

In this chapter Paul makes clear that Knowledge of God or being a descendant of Abraham is not sufficient to receive God's Grace.

God looks deep into the hearts of man. Abraham's children are by faith. It is the heart that must be circumcised, as these other verses attest:

"So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer." (Deuteronomy 10:16)

"Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live." (Deuteronomy 30:6)

"Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart." (Jeremiah 9:26)

"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." (1 Chronicles 28:9)

"I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." (Jeremiah 17:10)

"I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds." (Revelation 2:23)

Chapter 3

Here Paul reinforces the point that all men are sinners, even himself and the believers of the day (Rom. 3:9). All are accountable to God. In that sense, there is no disctinction between believers and unbelievers for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

Paul continues by saying that "salvation is available to all those who believe; for there is no distinction." The meaning of the word "all" is everyone, the whole world and salvation is available, meaning within the grasp of all who believe. But will all believe? No, and therefore not all will be regenerated. Again believing is not enough - Paul already covered that in the first part of his letter. God looks at the heart and knows our thoughts.

Paul explains how God is "just and is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26) so that no one may boast. In verse 27 Paul says "Where then is boasting? It is excluded By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith." Paul contrasts works (which would allow a man to boast if salvation was obtained that way) with faith (which is a state of the heart and mind and not a work).

Justification is available to those who sincerely believe.

No one can boast because of their work (Rom. 3: 27-28) as a law of faith exists between God and men. God is Lord over all, Jews and Gentiles and all men are equally justified by faith. Are all men justified by God then? No, only those who have faith, only those who believe. Faith is not to be confused with works. Much like desires, thoughts or intentions are not works. They are states of heart and mind and they matter to God who searches the heart. We willfully choose to trust in God and he offers his grace freely to those who believe, those who place their faith in him.

A new law is established through Faith. "Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." The Jews are rejected because of their unfaithfulness. The promise of God is always conditional on faithfulness.

Chapter 4

Paul establishes that Abraham believed God and that it was his faith that was credited to him as righteousness, not his works.

Paul says "Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised." (Rom. 4:9-11)

It was his "faith, which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them." (Rom. 4:12)

Paul says that the promise is guaranteed to all the descendants who are of the faith of Abraham (Rom. 4:16).

"In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, 'SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.' Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God."

The Gospel is rather simple "God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead."

If a sinner believes in Jesus Christ he is justified, that is he is made righteous by Christ's redeeming blood and his sins are blotted out.

Abraham had a unwavering faith despite his old age and he was ready to act upon it.

"Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."

God expects the same kind of faith from us.

"Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead."

Chapter 5

Paul says that we have "been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God." Our faith in Jesus Christ must come from the heart and it must be real, before grace can be extended. God can look into a sinner's heart and know whether their faith is sincere. Not only that, we must be ready to act upon our faith.

"Christ died for the ungodly." He died for all sinners. The word "All" encompasses every single human being.

"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8). All humans are sinners. Paul is not talking about chosen ones, he's talking about all sinners. He just said how Christ died for the ungodly.

"God's grace and the gift of Jesus Christ is for the many" (Rom. 5:15)

Jesus died and all men have the opportunity to either believe or reject him. "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Rom. 5:18-19)

All men may accept the gospel and enjoy the gift of God and secure eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ. The salvation plan is not incapable of reaching all men. It is intended for all. This does not of course mean that all men are saved, or that all men will accept him. For those of us who turn from our rebellion and place our faith in Christ and not in ourselves and our sinful desires, God pardons us and extend his Grace which reconciles us to himself.

However those who do not come to Christ remain unsaved.

Chapter 6

Paul says that we are buried with Christ and raised to a new life. He warns that although our eternal life is secure, we should not continue to sin as the wages of sin is death, but instead that we should offer ourselves to God. Those who turn away from sin receive God's free gift, which is eternal life. Those who do not turn away from sin receive their due wages, which is death.

Our sinful nature was crucified with Christ and we died to sin. We are no longer slave to sin.

"knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin." (Rom. 6:6)

"that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit" (Ephesians 4:22)

"Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices" (Colossians 3:9)

We will still struggle with sin but as believers (followers of Christ) it does not have dominion over us any longer.

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Rom. 6:12-14)

We willingly become obedient from our own heart. "But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed"

And we reap the benefit of God's free gift, whom we obey. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 6:23)

Chapter 7

The Law was not the cause of death, but sin was. We are dead to the Law "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound."

The natural man is slave to sin and Christ delivers us spiritually from that bondage. Paul warns of the desires of the flesh.

"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:24-25)

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." (Galatians 5:16-18)

Our righteousness is from God and is through faith in Christ and by faith.
"Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (Philippians 3:9)

We are freed from our servitude to sin although its presence is still very much felt.

Chapter 8

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."

"For the mind set on the flesh is death" Romans 8:6 does not mean that the lost cannot set their mind on the Spirit. It is saying that "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:8)

Once we've placed our faith in God through Christ, we must remain in Him. The blessing of God is conditional on our faithful walk with Him. The verse below illustrates that we must remain in Christ:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.'" (John 15:1-7)

Paul warns us against living by the sinful nature of the flesh (Rom. 8:12). He is telling followers of Christ that if they "live according to the sinful nature, [they] will die. (Rom. 8:13). We are instead co-heirs with Christ of his kingdom and should live our earthly lives by the Spirit.

Then those who choose not to walk by the flesh but instead live by the Spirit: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

In verse 28, it is "those who love him" who have been called. Love is an act of free will. Adam and Eve demonstrated that by choosing to disobey God's command. And were they not God's perfect creation, made in his image? God must create us with free will to love and follow him, otherwise we would be puppets. He does not force us to love him.

Those who love him, God foreknew. In his knowledge of all truths, past present and future, God knows the people who will accept him. Knowing the people who will believe and accept his free gift, does not mean that somehow humans are not involved in the process. God's plan always was to conform all those who love him to the likeness of his son Jesus Christ. His plan for them, their destiny, was to be made like Christ. If people reject God's calling to be part of his greater plan, then they are left to their sinful desires. He foreknows those who love him in his omniscience.

He did not predestine them to love or believe him, but they are predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. And they are called by the Gospel as best said in this passage "He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:14)

There is no doubt that God chose people throughout history to carry out his work, but there seem to be a couple of things happening. 1 Samuel 16:5-10 points out, "the Lord looks at the heart."

God is not impressed by our outward appearance, he looks at the heart. The heart throughout scriptures is the seat of our emotions, our desires, our thoughts and our will. Salvation is God's gift only. No one can save their own selves. It is clear that God alone does the rescuing. It's a 100% his. But that does not mean the person is not involved in the process. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 says "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth." One must concurrently believe in the truth. James 1:18 points out that one must respond to the word of God "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."

He can look into our hearts and see whether we believe in the message. "The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 13:3)

2 Kings 22:19 says "Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord."

No one can boast that they saved themselves and once saved God's purpose is to make us like Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work in us to do just that as 1 Peter: 1-2 says: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood."

God has an overall plan and certainly a desire not to loose one person. Therefore, if a person acknowledges God's will for their life, they will be blessed. But if they choose to follow their sinful nature instead, they will die. God uses his word to draw us to himself, we must respond in faith and the Spirit then sanctifies us.

Once God sanctifies the believer, no one can take that away, "nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:39), however as seen above in John 15:1-7 "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

God's love is demonstrated through Christ, and those who believe in him with all their hearts and minds enjoy God's salvation.

Chapter 9

To understand Romans 9, one should spend some time studying what Paul has been saying up to this point. He starts the beginning of his letter (Rom. 1:16-17) by saying that the gospel is God's power of salvation to the Jew, then for the Gentile: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

The Jewish Pharisees kept falling back on the fact that they were descendants of Abraham. Paul grieves for his kinsmen, however the nature of the promise made was not of the flesh but a spiritual one. The Jews were chosen by God to carry out his work but they rejected Christ. God then rejected them.

Because Paul brings up Abraham here, it is important to look at what the spiritual promise is.

Personal election is not what Paul discusses here. Paul talks about the election of the Jews as the chosen people, their rejection, and the choice the Gentiles have to make.

Being Abraham's seed, a blood descendant, does not make the Jews all children of God by default. (Genesis 21:12).

"It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." (Rom. 9:6-7)

God can choose whomever he pleases and being a Jew by natural birth is no guarantee. It's not the fleshly descendant of Abraham who are God's children, but the children of the spiritual promise through Isaac. He is the child of promise (Genesis 18:10-14) and those who place their faith in Christ and believe in him are children of the promise. "Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him." (Gen. 18:18).

"And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)

"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis 22:18)

"'It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.'" (Acts 3:25)

"The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.'" (Galatians 3:8)

In Gen. 22 Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son, Isaac "But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." The ram is then provided as the true sacrifice, a direct representation of things to come, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God's only son. Jesus in John 8:56 says: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

One of the most insightful statements regarding God's relationship with human free will is found here when God says "Now I know that you fear God." In his omniscience, the Lord must have known the outcome. Can anything surprise God? But ultimately human beings have free choice over their actions and the Lord is pleased with Abraham's decision.

Faith is key to gaining favor with God as Hebrews 11 clearly points out. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval." (Hebrews 11:1) This is not God giving us our faith. We are made in God's image with the ability to make decisions. We can either have faith that Christ is who he says he is, the creator of the universe, the one who died for the sins of the world and is alive today, or we can reject him. The choice is simple. We gain approval from God by our faith.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval." (Hebrews 11:1)

"By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE." (Hebrews 11:11-12)

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son" (Hebrews 11:17)

"And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:39-40)

The descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky are the believers who will place their faith in Christ as Abraham was faithful to God with the birth of his son Isaac and the sacrifice he was ready to make for God.

Rom. 9:10-18 shows that God can elect whomever he pleases. The election is not about eternal salvation, but to become the head of a people. The people God chooses "does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." God of his own will chooses Jacob over Esau to become the head of the chosen race. Esau didn't serve Jacob, however the Edomites served the Israelites. The election is that of a people and does not refer to personal salvation or damnation.

So Paul first makes the argument that the promise is spiritual rather than of the flesh. Then Paul tells how God may reject or choose whatever race he pleases, and Jews are not exempt. God of his own will, freely chose Jacob as the chosen nation, instead of Esau to become the head of a people. Paul is not talking about personal eternal salvation.

The Lord said to Isaac's wife Rebekah "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." (Genesis 25:23)

"'I have loved you,' says the LORD. But you say, 'How have You loved us?' '{Was} not Esau Jacob's brother?' declares the LORD. 'Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and {appointed} his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.'" (Malachi 1:2-3)

"And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went. David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people." (2 Samuel 8:13-15)

In Romans 9:16 "So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." Even though Isaac willed to give his blessing to Esau, God chose to bless Jacob instead. This again has nothing to do with personal salvation or damnation. It simply says that God willfully favors whomever he chooses to carry out his purpose.

Paul is saying that if the Jews, or anyone for that matter, follow in Pharaoh's footsteps, they may end up just like him. Harden yourself against God and no matter what race you are from, God will harden whom he wills.

God's purpose was that a Savior for the world would come through the Jewish nation and so he patiently delays rejecting them.

"What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:22-24)

In Matthew 23:37-39, Jesus shows his frustration with the Jewish people: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, You who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Note that they were not willing.

The rest of chapter 9 shows that the word of God in the old testament is true as it predicts the just rejection of the Jews by God, except for a remnant.

Paul's conclusion is that the Gentiles, though they have no knowledge of the law, attain righteousness by accepting Christ, through faith in the Savior. The Jews are rejected because of their unbelief, not because of foreordination.

They stumbled on the stumbling stone because of their unbelief in Christ. They stumbled "Because they did not pursue it by faith". This was predicted in the old testament.

"Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, {And} a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Isaiah 8:14)

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone {for} the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes {in it} will not be disturbed." (Isaiah 28:16)

Chapter 10

This chapter says much more and does not seem to need as much interpretation, so I listed it in its entirety. The scriptures are clear throughout - The gift of salvation, God's grace, is God's alone "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8) however it is conditional on our faith "through faith" and belief in Christ. "Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (John 6:28-29)

Romans 10

1 Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

3 For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.

6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down),

7 or 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)."

8 But what does it say?" THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?"

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

18 But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have;
"THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH,
AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD."

19 But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,
"I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION,
BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU."

20 And Isaiah is very bold and says,
"I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME,
I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME."

21 But as for Israel He says, "ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE."