The Stone That Made People Stumble
October 15, 2020
Commentary
Paul quotes Hosea 2:23, which declares that God would turn from the Jews and would call the Gentiles (v. 25). He quotes Isaiah 10:22 and 23 to show us that only a remnant of Israel would be saved, and that the greater number would suffer judgment (vv. 27-28). Today only a remnant of Jews are believing, and they, along with the Gentiles, are “called of God” (vv. 24-26). Isaiah 1:9 is quoted to show us the grace of God in God sparing the believing remnant (v. 29). These prophecies show to us that only God’s grace has made possible the salvation of the Gentiles.
God doesn’t save people based on birth or behavior, but by their trusting Him and receiving by faith His righteousness. God is faithful, righteous, just, and gracious, and we can depend on Him to keep His promise and accomplish His purpose. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:12-13). We find a paradox, where the Jews sought for righteousness but did not find it, while the Gentiles, who were not searching for it, found it (vv. 30-33). The reason for this was that Israel tried to be saved by works and not by faith. They thought that the Gentiles had to come up to their level to be saved when the Jews needed to go down to the level of the Gentiles to be saved.
The Jewish idea was that a man by strict obedience to the law, could pile up a credit balance in the bank of heaven. The result was that a Jew sought to make God a debtor to him, while the Gentile was content to be in God’s debt. The Jew believed he could win salvation by doing things for God; the Gentile was lost in amazement at what God had done for him. The Jew sought to find the way to Heaven by works; the Gentile came by trust.
Application
God is so good, and He has included all of us in “whosoever.” He wants the best for me. The question is: Am I yielding my all to Him?
Romans 9:25– 33 (NET)
25 As he also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, ‘My beloved.’”
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.” 29 Just as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”
30 What shall we say then?—that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 31 but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble and a rock that will make them fall, yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Illustration: God’s unmerited favor
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award—yet receives such a gift anyway—that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God. (Clip-Art Features for Newsletters, G.W. Knight, p. 53).