^aI am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me enlightened and prompted by the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For if it were possible ^aI would wish that I myself were ^baccursed, separated, banished from Christ for the sake of the salvation of my brothers, my ^cnatural kinsmen, Ex 32:32 4 who are ^aIsraelites, to whom belongs ^bthe adoption as sons, ^cthe glory (¹Shekinah) , ^dthe special covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David, ^ethe giving of the Law, ^fthe system of temple worship, and ^gthe original promises. Ex 4:22; Hos 11:1 5 To them belong ^athe patriarchs, and ^bfrom them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) , He ^cwho is exalted and supreme over all, ^dGod ^eblessed forever. Amen.

6 However, it is not as though ^aGod’s word has failed coming to nothing. ^bFor not all who are descended from Israel (Jacob) are the true Israel; 7 and they are not all the children of Abraham ^abecause they are his descendants by blood, but the promise was: “^bYOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED THROUGH ISAAC” though Abraham had other sons. Gen 21:9-12 8 That is, it is not the children of the body Abraham’s natural descendants who are ^aGod’s children, but it is the ^bchildren of the promise who are counted as Abraham’s true descendants. 9 For this is what the promise said: “^aABOUT THIS TIME next year I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” Gen 18:10 10 ^aAnd not only that, but this too: ^bRebekah conceived twin sons by one man under the same circumstances, by our father Isaac; 11 and though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad, so that ^aGod’s purpose His choice, His election would stand, not because of works done by either child, but because of the plan of Him who calls them, 12 it was said to her, “^aTHE ¹OLDER (Esau) WILL SERVE THE ²YOUNGER (Jacob) .” Gen 25:21-23 13 As it is written and forever remains written, “^1aJACOB I LOVED (chose, protected, blessed) , BUT ²ESAU I HATED (held in disregard compared to Jacob) .” Mal 1:2, 3

14 ^aWhat shall we say then? ^bIs there injustice with God? ^cCertainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “^aI WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOMEVER I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOMEVER I HAVE COMPASSION.” Ex 33:19 16 So then God’s choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human ^aeffort the totality of human striving, but on ^bGod who shows mercy to whomever He chooses—it is His sovereign gift. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “^aI RAISED YOU UP FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE, TO DISPLAY MY POWER IN dealing with YOU, AND SO THAT MY NAME WOULD BE PROCLAIMED IN ALL THE EARTH.” Ex 9:16 18 So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses) , and He ^ahardens the heart of whom He wills.

19 ^aYou will say to me then, “^bWhy does He still blame me for sinning? For ^cwho including myself has ever resisted His will and purpose?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, ^aO man, who ^banswers arrogantly back to God and dares to defy Him? ^cWill the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Is 29:16; 45:9 21 Does the potter not have the right over the clay, to make from the same lump of clay one object for honorable use something beautiful or distinctive and another for common use something ordinary or menial? 22 What if God, although willing to show His terrible wrath and to make His power known, has tolerated with great ^apatience the objects of His wrath which are ^bprepared for destruction? Prov 16:4 23 And what if He has done so to make known ^athe riches of His glory to the ^bobjects of His mercy, which He has ^cprepared beforehand for glory, 24 including us, whom He also ^acalled, ^bnot only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles? 25 Just as He says in the writings of the prophet Hosea:“^aI WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’AND I will call HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’” Hos 2:23

27 And Isaiah calls out concerning Israel: “^aTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE ^bLIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS ONLY ^cTHE REMNANT a small believing minority THAT WILL BE SAVED from God’s judgment; 28 ^aFOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE HIS WORD UPON THE EARTH He will conclude His dealings with mankind COMPLETELY AND WITHOUT DELAY.” Is 10:22, 23 29 It is as Isaiah foretold,“^aIF ^bTHE LORD OF HOSTS HAD NOT LEFT US SEED future generations from which a believing remnant of Israelites came,^cWE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH totally rejected and destroyed!” Is 1:9

30 ^aWhat shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness who did not seek salvation and a right relationship with God, nevertheless obtained righteousness, that is, ^bthe righteousness which is produced by faith; 31 whereas Israel, though always ^apursuing the law of righteousness, did not ^bsucceed in fulfilling the law. Is 51:1 32 And why not? Because it was not by faith that they pursued it, but as though it were by works relying on the merit of their works instead of their faith. They stumbled over ^athe stumbling Stone Jesus Christ. Is 8:14; 28:16 33 As it is written and forever remains written,“^aBEHOLD I AM LAYING IN ZION ^bA STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE;^cAND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him ^dWILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED in his expectations.” Is 28:16