Romans 9–11: God’s Covenant Integrity on Trial
If God broke His promises to Israel, what makes you think He won’t break His promises to you?
Romans 9–11 is Paul’s master defense of God’s covenant faithfulness. Yet throughout history, the Church has often misread these chapters through lenses that distort Israel’s place in God’s plan.
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1. Supersessionist Lens (Replacement Theology)
•Augustine (354–430) lived after the destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD) and the crushing of Bar Kokhba’s revolt (135 AD). By his day, Jews were scattered and powerless across the Roman Empire.
•Seeing Israel’s utter ruin, Augustine concluded that a literal regathering was impossible and illogical. He spiritualized Israel into the Church, writing in City of God that prophecy must be read allegorically.
•The Catholic Church adopted this view. By the Middle Ages, Jews were labeled the “witness people”—kept alive only as proof of unbelief. The Council of Florence (1442) reinforced: the Church = New Israel, Israel’s covenant role ended.
Reading of Romans 9–11:
•Romans 9 – “True Israel” = spiritual Israel (the Church).
•Romans 10 – Israel forfeited God’s favor.
•Romans 11 – “All Israel” = all believers in the Church.
•Paul opens with: “Has God rejected His people? By no means!” (Romans 11:1). Supersessionism answers: “Yes, He has.”
•If “all Israel” = “the Church,” Paul’s warning that Gentiles must not boast over Israel (Romans 11:18) is nonsense. Why would the Church be warned not to boast against itself?
•If God’s “irrevocable” gifts (Romans 11:29) are revoked, then God’s very character is undermined.
Jeremiah 31:35–36 — as long as sun, moon, and stars endure, Israel will never cease as a nation.
Romans 11:25–26 — Israel’s hardening is partial and temporary, “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.”
If Israel is erased, then Paul’s olive tree metaphor collapses. Branches can only be grafted back into the same tree if that tree still exists.
2. Calvinistic Lens (Election Focus)
•The Reformers rejected Rome’s authority but retained Augustine’s hermeneutic.
•Calvin read Romans 9 as teaching unconditional election: Jacob = elect, Esau = reprobate.
•Israel’s national destiny was muted; focus shifted to predestination of individuals.
Reading of Romans 9–11:
•Romans 9 – Predestination of individuals to salvation/damnation.
•Romans 10 – Human responsibility still stands.
•Romans 11 – Israel’s role reduced to a remnant.
Romans 9:4–5 — “Theirs is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises… from their race is the Christ.” This is about Israel’s covenant identity.
Romans 11:28 — Israel is both presently unbelieving and yet still chosen for the sake of the forefathers.
Paul’s grief for his kinsmen (Romans 9:3) makes no sense if this is abstract predestination. He is lamenting Israel’s corporate unbelief.
3. Biblical Prophetic Lens
•The early Church expected a literal kingdom (Papias, Irenaeus).
•Origen and Augustine turned prophecy into allegory. Rome codified it.
•In the modern era, prophecy was reexamined, and in 1948 Israel was reborn—proving Augustine wrong. What seemed “illogical” was always promised.
Reading of Romans 9–11:
•Romans 9 – Israel’s chosen past.
•Romans 10 – Israel’s present unbelief.
•Romans 11 – Israel’s future restoration.
Romans 11:26–27 — “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
Only this view preserves the integrity of God’s promises. If God forsakes Israel, His Word fails. If He restores Israel, His covenant faithfulness is vindicated.
If God keeps His word to Israel after centuries of scattering, He will surely keep His promises to you. Israel’s survival and regathering are living proof that the God of Abraham is a covenant-keeping God.