tcent Romans:9:1-29 SEEK
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I am speaking the truth in Christ ,
I am not lying ;
my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit ,
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that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart .
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For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren ,
my kinsmen according to the flesh .
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They are Israelites ,
and to them belong the adoption ,
the glory ,
the covenants ,
the giving of the law ,
the worship ,
and the promises .
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Of them are the patriarchs ,
and from them ,
according to the flesh ,
is the Christ ,
who is God over all ,
forever blessed .
Amen .
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But it is not as though the word of God had failed .
For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel ,
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nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants ;
but , »
Through Isaac shall your descendants be named .«
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In other words ,
it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God ,
but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants .
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For this is what the promise said : »
About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son .«
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And not only so ,
but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man ,
our father Isaac ,
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though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad ,
in order that God '
s purpose of election might stand ,
not because of works but because of his call ,
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she was told , »
The older will serve the younger .«
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As it is written ,
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What shall we say then ?
Is there injustice with God ?
Certainly not !
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For he says to Moses ,
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So it depends not upon man '
s will or exertion ,
but upon God '
s mercy .
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For the scripture says to Pharaoh , »
I have raised you up for this very purpose ,
that I may show my power in you ,
and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth .«
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Therefore he has mercy on whom he wills ,
and he hardens the heart of whom he wills .
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You will say to me then , »
Why does he still find fault ?
For who can resist his will ?«
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But who are you ,
O man ,
to answer back to God ?
Will what is formed say to him who formed it , »
Why have you made me like this ?«
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Does not the potter have right over the clay ,
to make out of the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor ?
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What if God ,
choosing to show his wrath and to make his power known ,
endured with much patience the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction ,
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in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy ,
which he has prepared beforehand for glory ,
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even us whom he has called ,
not from the Jews only ,
but also from the Gentiles ?
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As indeed he says in Hosea :
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Romans:9:26 " />
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And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel : »
Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea ,
only the remnant will be saved .
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For the Lord will carry out his sentence on the earth with speed and finality .«
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And as Isaiah said :