God Will Never Reject Those He Has Chosen

Israel, as a nation, is cursed and cut-off from Christ (Romans 9:3). “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,” (Romans 9:6, ESV).   

The promises of God have never failed, for those promises can only be embraced by "true" Israel, i.e., Israel according to promise, PLUS, an elect remnant also from the Gentiles.  These comprise true Israel.  As he wrote to the Galatians: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise . . . “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” (Galatians 3:29; 6:15–16, ESV).

In Romans 10, Paul elaborates on the sad reality that Israel failed to submit to God’s righteousness (10:3), and refused to believe the good news (10:16). Israel is, in short, “a disobedient and obstinate people” (10:21).  So Paul asks the question we ask, ". . . has God rejected his people?"^[1] To this Paul adds his infamous: "God forbid."  "May it not be!"  In the Greek: μὴ γίνομαι, me ginomai means not to come into being; i.e., "may it never come into being."  The idea that God would reject His people is unthinkable.  The majority of Israel refused to obey the Gospel.  Has God rejected them?

Some expositors frame this question by inserting a commonly-held anticipation of a revived Israeli state. For example: "Paul now emphatically insists that while Israel may have rejected God (in the form of Jesus Christ), God has not rejected them in return. Despite present appearances, Israel still plays a role in God’s plan of salvation, and His promises to Israel have not been invalidated."^[2]  One cannot assume that last sentence at this point.  The question is simply has God rejected Israel?  Paul answers to the emphatic negative.  And then he explains giving 3 pieces of evidence to prove that God has not rejected Israel:

• Proof #1. Paul. “. . .  For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.” (Romans 11:1, ESV).
• Proof #2. God's Foreknowledge[3]. "God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew ["whom he chose from the very beginning. – (NLT)"^[4]
• Proof #3. An Example from Elijah. "Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."^[5]

One would have to be willfully blind not to see Paul's answer.  God has cast off the nation of Israel, but He has not cast off true Israel, the people within Israel that He has kept for Himself.  These are the people He has chosen from the beginning.  These are the people of promise.  The existence of the remnant is proof positive that God has not rejected His people.

Robert Haldane offers this great summary: "The people of God, whom He foreknew, were those whom He chose from all eternity, according to His sovereign pleasure; and in this sense the expression is clearly explained, when they are declared, in Romans 11:5, to be a “remnant according to the election of grace,” and when it is said, in verse 4, that God had “reserved” to Himself His true worshippers in the time of Elijah."^[6]

So Paul is turning the question on its head.  Did God reject His people?  No, not if your definition of "His People" are those whom are chosen from eternity!  But there is another side to this coin.  There is the distinct probability that God has indeed rejected those who are not part of His foreknown plan.  Paul's answer to his question in verse 1 is answered in Romans 11:5 (ESV), "⁵So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace."

Now here Paul makes an astounding comparison.  Paul uses the word "grace" to be synonymous with the notion of election. "God’s grace means that those who become his people owe nothing to their own accomplishments or works and everything to God."^[7]  This profound comparison by Paul essentially obliterates any notion that God might foresee believing faith and then decide to choose that person to be saved.  Not a chance!  “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6, ESV).  The ESV Study Bible is correct: "Election and grace are inseparable, for both show that salvation is God’s work alone."^[8]

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Previous Blogs on this topic:

1	God Will Never Reject Those He Has Chosen	Romans 11:1-6
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^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 11:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

^[2] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 11:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[3] "Foreknew reaches back to the OT, where the word “know” emphasizes God’s special choice of, or covenantal affection for, his people (e.g., Gen. 18:19; Jer. 1:5; Amos 3:2). See Rom. 11:2, where “foreknew” functions as the contrast to “rejected,” showing that it emphasizes God’s choosing his people (see also 1 Pet. 1:2, 20)" - Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 2171–2172). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 11:2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 11:2–4). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

^[6] Haldane, R. (1996). An exposition of Romans (electronic ed., p. 532). Simpsonville, SC: Christian Classics Foundation.

^[7] Moo, D. J. (2002). Encountering the book of Romans : a theological survey (p. 166). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

^[8] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2176). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.