Chris Katulka: Hi everyone. Thanks so much for joining us for The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher. Hey, let me ask you a question. Have you been to our website yet, foiradio.org? We have over a decade of content on the site, teaching and amazing interview guests. Again, I want you to go to foiradio.org. Check it out because that's where you can find out more information about The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

Well, today we're going to continue our series that we started a few weeks ago. It's called Not So Fast! Has the Church Really Replaced Israel? focusing today on a passage, again, that's often used by Christians to show that God is taking these titles in the Bible like Jewish and Israel and really giving them a new definition. Is that really what God is doing? Well, not so fast. 

Today we're at Romans 9:6, “Not all those from Israel are Israel.” Now, if you missed the previous episodes, you can listen on our website at foiradio.org, and we've really appreciated our listeners' comments. Keep them coming, everybody. But before we get to Romans 9:6, let's see what's happening in the news. Macklemore, the American musician, sparked backlash after using his opening set for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium to call for a free Palestine and in front of 80,000 people accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The Israeli-American council responded with a petition urging Ed Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the rest of the tour, accusing him of spreading antisemitic propaganda.

Well, here's my take. Macklemore should do just a little bit more research. Israel has given Palestinians multiple attempts to establish their own state, going back to 1937, even before Israel existed. See, maybe Israel, Macklemore, isn't the problem. Maybe the problem is Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations that oppress their own people.

Chris Katulka: Welcome everyone. We are in a series called Not So Fast! Does the Church Really Replace Israel? We've been looking at verses, especially from the apostle Paul, that are often construed to reinterpret titles like “Jew” or “Israel” to mean Christians or the church. And we want to ask ourselves though, is that what Paul really meant? Not so fast. That's what I want to get at here. Now, last week we looked at Romans 2, verses 28 and 29 and the claim that Paul redefines Jewish identity around something inward and spiritual. Now, we saw that Paul's contrast may not be between an ethnic Jewish person and a so-called true spiritual Jew, but between the Jewish person who is on display before people and the Jewish person whose hidden faithfulness in secret is known by God. We also saw that circumcision of the heart is not a new Christian concept invented by the apostle Paul, but thoroughly a Jewish covenantal idea rooted and grounded in the book of Deuteronomy and the prophets as well.

So Romans 2 does not require us to conclude that Gentile Christians become Jewish people or that the church becomes the new Israel. Today, though, we're going to turn to a different passage that is often treated as major evidence, major evidence that Paul has redefined Israel, Romans 9:6. Paul writes this, "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel." Or even stated in another way, not all those from Israel are Israel. When we first read this, it sounds like exactly the kind of distinction Replacement Theology needs. There is, we're told, ethnic Israel on one hand and a deeper spiritual Israel on the other. The first is based on physical descent and the second is based on faith. And because Gentiles believe in Christ, Gentile Christians can now be included in this new spiritual Israel. That interpretation, it sounds plausible, but once again, not so fast.

Look, the question we need to ask is not what biblical or theological system can we build from this verse? The first question is actually so much more simple. What problem is Paul actually trying to solve here? And Romans chapter 9 makes that problem very clear. Paul had just spent eight chapters explaining the gospel in Romans. Humanity is sinful. God has revealed His righteousness in Christ Jesus. Jews and Gentiles alike are justified by faith. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The spirit gives life. God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him. And Romans eight ends with one of the strongest declarations of God's faithfulness in all of Scripture. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen and amen.

Then Romans 9 begins and suddenly Paul is grieving. He says that he has great sorrow and continual grief in his heart. He goes as far as to say that he wishes himself accursed from Christ for the sake of his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh. And who are they? Well, Paul tells us they're Israelites. And then he begins listing the enormous privileges that God gave to Israel, “to whom pertained the adoption,” he writes,” the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God and the promises of whom are the fathers and from whom according to the flesh Christ came.” That list is staggering. Israel received the covenants. Israel received the Torah, the Law. Israel received the promises. Israel received the patriarchs, and through Israel came the Messiah.

But see, now there's an enormous problem here. If Jesus is Israel's Messiah, why are so many Israelites not believing in Him? And that is the crisis behind Romans chapter 9. Paul's not having an abstract discussion about how to define Israel. He's defending the faithfulness of God because if God made a promise to Israel and if the majority of Israel is now rejecting the Messiah, someone could raise a devastating question: Has God's Word failed? And that's why in Romans 9:6, it begins the way it does, which is, but it's not that the word of God has taken no effect. That's what Paul says. In other words, Paul knows exactly what the objection is. “You preached that God is faithful. You preach that nothing can separate God's people from His love, but what about Israel?” God gave Israel promises and now many Israelites are rejecting the gospel. Did God's Word fail? And Paul's answer of course is no. And that is when he says, "For they are not all Israel who are Israel."

So what does Paul actually mean here? Now, a common interpretation says that Paul is redefining Israel. There's the physical Israel and now there's the spiritual Israel. Physical Israel consists of ethnic Jews, while spiritual Israel consists of everyone who believes in Jesus, Jew or Gentile. But there's a major problem with that reading. Paul's next examples do not move toward the expansion of Israel, but actually toward narrowing. I want to say that again. When Paul moves from Romans 9:6, he does not move toward the expansion of Israel. He actually moves toward narrowing. And this is the heart of the argument and it's worth remembering in one simple sentence. Paul's logic in Romans 9 and 11 favors the fewer and not the more. Did you hear that? The fewer and not the more. Watch what Paul does immediately after saying, "Not all those from Israel are Israel." He goes back to Abraham. Romans 9:7 says, "Nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham, but in Isaac, your seed shall be called."

Now remember, Abraham had more than one son. He had Ishmael and Isaac. Both were physical descendants of Abraham, but God chose Isaac as the line that the covenant promise would advance. Paul's reasoning is not Abraham's family plus outsiders. It's Abraham's descendants narrow to Isaac. And then Paul goes even one step further than the next generation. Isaac had two sons, remember, twins, Jacob and Esau. Both had the same father, both had the same mother. They were twins. And yet before they were born, before either one had done good or evil, God says, "The older shall serve the younger." Paul even quotes from Malachi where Malachi says, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." Again, notice the direction of the argument. Isaac's descendants are narrowed to Jacob, and remember, Jacob is Israel.

So Paul's pattern is really straightforward here. Abraham had many descendants, but in Romans 9, it focuses on the narrow, Isaac. And then Isaac had descendants, but then it focuses on that covenant line that was narrowed to who? Jacob. And now in Paul's generation, there is a believing remnant of Jewish people within Israel that have placed their trust in Jesus as the Messiah, and that movement is from the larger group to the chosen remnant. Paul reasons to fewer, not more. That is a crucial observation because Romans 9:6 is not saying there's an ethnic Israel and now God is expanding Israel to include Gentiles. Did you ever notice Paul has not even introduced Gentiles into this particular sentence? His argument is about a selection within Abraham's family and within Israel's own ancestral story. The question is not how can Gentiles become Israel? The question is how can God's promises remain faithful when only part of Israel presently believes? And Paul's answer is rooted in something the Hebrew Scriptures have shown from the very beginning.

God often carried His purposes forward through a chosen remnant within a larger group. And Paul returns to that exact story in Romans 11. He asks something, has God cast away His people? That's Israel. And the answer with the strongest possible language is what? Certainly not. May it never be. And then Paul points to himself, “for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Notice Paul doesn't say, “I used to be an Israelite, but now I'm a Christian.” He actually calls himself an Israelite. Then he invokes Elijah and the 7,000 Israelites that did not bow a knee to Ba’al and says in Romans 11:5, again, another story of narrowing and remnant. He says, “Even so then at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

That helps us understand Romans chapter 9 verse 6. See, there is Israel and within Israel there is presently a believing remnant. The remnant does not replace Israel. The remnant is part of Israel. And this is exactly how remnant theology works throughout the entire Old Testament. When only a remnant of Israel is faithful, the rest of the nation does not suddenly stop being Israel. You don't have a true Israel over here and a non-Israel over there. You have Israel, and within Israel, you have a faithful remnant through whom God is presently carrying forward His purposes. Now listen, when we come back, we're going to continue our discussion on Romans 9 and show that just because the apostle Paul invokes Israel's patriarch Abraham, it doesn't mean God is expanding the meaning of Israel because remember, context matters, so stick around.

Steve Conover: If you follow the news these days, you may feel the world seems out of control.

Chris Katulka: It certainly could feel that way because uncertain times leave many people asking where have we come from and why are we here and where are we going? And really, what on Earth is God doing?

Steve Conover: Well, thankfully the Bible has the answers.

Chris Katulka: It certainly does. And actually Dr. Renald Showers' What on Earth is God Doing? is one of our most popular books here at The Friends of Israel. In a compact and easy to read format, it traces God's plan from creation all the way to eternity. You'll learn about the war Satan is waging against God and how that conflict has shaped history and where the world is ultimately heading.

Steve Conover: It's such a great book. If you're looking for answers and want to understand God's plan for the world, order your copy of What on Earth Is God Doing? at foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everyone. We are in the middle of a series called Not So Fast! Has the Church Really Replaced Israel? And we're examining verses often used by Christians to redefine titles like Jewish or Israel to describe Christians or the church. In fact, I just saw a post on Facebook the other day where a person used Romans 2:28 and 29, our verse from last week, to say any Christian can become a Jewish person by faith in Jesus. Not so fast! See, today we're looking at Romans 9:6, "For not all those who are descended from Israel are Israel."

Now, someone might point to Galatians 3 and say, "But Paul calls believers Abraham's seed." And that's true. Galatians 3:29 says, "If you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." But we have to be careful with biblical language

See, Abraham is the father of Israel, but Abraham is also promised to become the father of many nations. So Abrahamic language does not automatically equal Israel language. See, Gentiles can become children of Abraham by faith without becoming Jacob or Israel. And that distinction matters because Israel does not receive its name from Abraham. Remember that. Israel receives its name from Jacob. Follow that pattern there of narrowing that we talked about in Romans chapter 9. In Galatians, Abraham is the father of many nations, but in Romans chapter 9, Abraham is the father of Isaac, the grandfather of Jacob, who is Israel. So when Paul uses Abrahamic categories for Gentiles, we should not automatically conclude that every Abrahamic title becomes an Israelite title. Context has to decide. And in Romans 9:6–13, the context is selection within the ancestral family, Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, and then Paul's own generation, Israel to a believing remnant within Israel. Again, Paul reasons to fewer, not more.

Now, we should make an important qualification here. Romans 9 through 11 absolutely has a great deal to say about Gentiles. Paul is thrilled that Gentiles are coming to faith in Jesus. Gentile inclusion is an enormous part of God's redemptive plan. It goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 12. But by the end of Romans 9, Paul is openly discussing Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness but attained righteousness by faith. And Romans 11 devotes enormous attention to Gentile salvation. So the point is not that Romans 9 through 11 has nothing to say about Gentile inclusion. It obviously does. The point is more precise though. Gentile inclusion has always been connected to the promise God made to Abraham, but it's not the same thing as redefining Israel. That distinction may seem small, but it has enormous biblical and theological consequences. If Paul can include Gentiles in covenant blessing without renaming them Israel, then participation does not require replacement.

And that is exactly what we see in Romans 11. Gentiles do not replace the natural branches of the olive tree. They are grafted in alongside them. Paul actually warns Gentile believers against this arrogance. I think this is actually very apropos for the time that we're living in today with antisemitism on the rise, especially antisemitism that we're seeing within the church. Paul tells Gentile believers in Romans 11, "Do not boast against the branches." Why? Because Gentile salvation should produce humility, not triumphalism. Paul reminds them, "You don't support the root. The root supports you." And who's the root? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is almost the opposite of replacement thinking. The Gentile church is not presented as a brand new tree planted after the old tree was uprooted. Gentile believers have been graciously and mercifully grafted into a story that began long before them.

And Paul insists that God is not finished with the natural branches. He says that God is able to graft them in again. The present unbelief of many Israelites is real, but Paul does not interpret that unbelief as the cancellation of Israel. So when we return to Romans 9:6 and here, not all those from Israel are Israel, we should resist the temptation to immediately read ethnic Israel versus the church. That is not where Paul's argument goes. The issue is God's faithfulness to Israel in the face of widespread Jewish unbelief in Jesus. Paul's answer is that God's purposes have often advanced through election and remnant. Isaac rather than Ishmael, Jacob rather than Esau, and now a believing remnant within Israel.

See, Paul reasons to fewer, not more. And in Romans 11, it tells us that the present situation is not the end of the story. That's what Paul wants us to know. Israel's unbelief is partial. Israel's hardening has a limit. The natural branches can be grafted in again, and Paul looks forward with hope to God's continuing faithfulness to a people He has not rejected. That means Romans 9:6 does not require us to conclude that Israel has been expanded to include Gentiles. It may actually point to us in the opposite direction. Paul distinguishes within Israel rather than redefining who Israel is. So when someone says Romans 9:6 proves that there's now a spiritual Israel made up of believing Jews and Gentiles, perhaps the best response is the response that we've been learning all throughout this series: Not so fast. The remnant remains within Israel. Gentiles are graciously grafted in, and through it all, God's Word has not failed, and it will not fail. That is ultimately Paul's concern in Romans 9 and all the way through to 11, the faithfulness of God. And that may be the most important lesson of all.

Even when human unbelief seems to call God's promises into question, God has not forgotten what He has said. He has not lost control of His plan. He has not abandoned His people, and He has not failed to keep His word.

Steve Conover: Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor Zvi Kalasher.

Mike Kellogg: Israel is constantly being attacked by bloodthirsty people who seek to annihilate us, but no power on Earth can stand against God.

Recently, I was stationed in Samaria in the army, and one day we went to a restaurant in Shechem and inside were several Arabs. When they began to say things against us, I responded in Arabic, "As long as you continue to follow after darkness, you will remain blind. Having Russia on your side will not help you. You are not strong enough to fight the battle." 

Soon more Arabs entered the restaurant, all likewise confident in themselves. I said, "You can see how many people you have and how many people we have. This fact alone should show you how weak you are."

One replied, "That does not make sense. We have so many people and you have so few."

I answered, "We are small in quantity, but we are great in quality. Your past experiences and wars against us should prove that to you."

"What is your secret? " one asked.

I replied, As a soldier, I cannot disclose military secrets, but as a believer, I can tell you the secret is to fear God and follow only Him. Then you will no longer hate Israel.”

"We pray to Allah and to his prophet, Muhammad.”

I said," There is only one God. We do not pray to our prophets. They're no longer alive and they cannot help us. We must open our hearts to God. He is merciful and ready to help us when we pray to Him.”

I opened my Bible and read first in Hebrew to the Israeli soldiers and then in Arabic. The Arabs were surprised, but then they realized I believe in the Lord Jesus as my Savior. When they understood this, our conversation changed and they and the Israeli soldiers wanted to know how I had come to believe in the Lord.

I explained, “I was not born a soldier. I was born as a human being, as all of us were, a creature of God. Today I am a soldier. Tomorrow I will be a private citizen again. But even as soldiers, we are not made of iron. We need His help. Without Him, we can do nothing. This is why I lift up my eyes to the Lord in heaven. He has forgiven my sins, cleansed me through His blood and wrote my name in the Book of Life. Because I have received Him as my Savior, I can speak to you as friends even though you hate me. The Lord has taught us to love our enemies and to pray for them. I serve in the army because I'm an Israeli citizen, and I serve the Lord because I belong to Him.”

After this, we had to leave the restaurant. I can truly say they were sorry to see me leave. I am happy I have the opportunity to tell them what the Lord can do for us and how we can make Arabs and Jewish people friends.

Chris Katulka: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Again, you can order What on Earth Is God Doing? You can find out more at our website, foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You're going to want to come back next week as we conclude our series looking specifically at Galatians 3:28, a very popular verse, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile." Does that mean that God is through with the Jewish people and Gentiles? Well, you're going to have to come back to find out.

As we close, I'd like to thank our radio team, executive director of The Friends of Israel Steve Conover, executive producer Lisa Small, associate producer Sarah Fern, engineer Bob Beebe, program editor Jeremy Strong, Apples of Gold was voiced by the late Mike Kellogg, and I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.