ROMANS 9 AND ROMANS 11 — WHEN SYSTEMS CAMP WHERE PAUL KEEPS WALKING
Romans chapters 9 through 11 were never meant to be separated; they are one long, winding argument—Paul thinking out loud under the inspiration of the Spirit, wrestling with Israel, election, mercy, judgment, and hope. The tragedy is not that Christians read these chapters differently; it is that we often stop reading where our systems feel most at home.
If I were a Calvinist, I would likely stay in Romans chapter 9.
If I were a universalist, I would likely stay in Romans chapter 11.
And Paul would gently ask both of us why we stopped walking with him.
ROMANS 9 — THE GRAVITY OF GOD’S FREEDOM
Romans chapter 9 presses hard upon the reader. God chooses Isaac and not Ishmael; Jacob and not Esau—before they were born, before they had done good or evil (Romans 9:11). Mercy is God’s to give; compassion is not owed but bestowed (Romans 9:15). The potter has rights over the clay (Romans 9:21). These are not soft images. They are meant to humble us.
From this chapter alone, one can build a strong case for unconditional election, divine sovereignty, and God’s freedom to show mercy as He wills. Paul does not apologize for God’s authority; he defends it. And he does so in language that resists being tamed.
But Paul is not writing a systematic theology chapter. He is lamenting—with great sorrow and continual grief—over Israel (Romans 9:2). This is not cold determinism; it is a broken apostle trying to understand why the covenant people have stumbled.
Romans 9, read in isolation, can sound like a closed courtroom—verdicts rendered, destinies sealed. And if one stays there long enough, the entire New Testament will begin to sound like an echo of that one chapter.
ROMANS 11 — THE SHOCK OF GOD’S MERCY
Now walk forward with Paul.
Romans chapter 11 opens with a question that changes the tone: “Has God cast away His people?” (Romans 11:1). Paul’s answer is immediate and emphatic—“Certainly not!” The hardening described earlier is now revealed to be partial and temporary (Romans 11:25).
Then comes language that universalists understandably cling to:
“For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32).
Here, judgment is not the final word—mercy is. Hardening serves a purpose; stumbling is not the end of the story. Israel’s rejection becomes the means of Gentile inclusion, and Gentile inclusion becomes the means of Israel’s restoration (Romans 11:11-12). The entire chapter breathes with hope, reversal, and divine strategy.
Read alone, Romans 11 can sound like a guarantee of universal restoration, a sweeping promise that mercy will finally swallow judgment whole. And if one camps here, every warning passage in the New Testament will slowly lose its edge.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT PAUL — IT IS OUR CAMPSITES
Here is the uncomfortable truth: both Calvinism and universalism can be read into Romans—if we stop reading where we want to stop.
Paul does not write in theological slogans; he writes in tensions.
God is absolutely sovereign—and human responsibility is real.
Judgment is severe—and mercy is wider than we expect.
Some are hardened—and the story is not finished.
Romans 9 without Romans 11 becomes fatalism.
Romans 11 without Romans 9 becomes sentimentality.
Paul refuses both.
That is why he ends this section not with a conclusion, but with worship:
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33).
Doxology is Paul’s way of telling us we have reached the edge of what can be systematized.
READING ROMANS WITH THE REST OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Paul himself refuses to let Romans 9-11 stand alone. The same apostle who speaks of election also pleads with sinners to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). The same writer who speaks of vessels of wrath also insists that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). The same Paul who teaches divine hardening warns believers not to fall through unbelief (Romans 11:20-22).
And beyond Paul, Jesus stands at the center—lamenting over Jerusalem, inviting all who are weary, warning of judgment, and dying for the world. Any reading of Romans that cannot live peacefully with the Gospels has misunderstood Romans.
Paul is not building a fence for theologians to live behind; he is opening a mystery for the Church to stand before—with humility, fear, hope, and love.
CONCLUSION — KEEP WALKING WITH PAUL
Romans 9 humbles us.
Romans 11 comforts us.
Together, they teach us to trust God without pretending we fully understand Him.
When we freeze Paul mid-thought, we turn mystery into ideology. When we walk with him through the whole argument, we are led not to certainty—but to worship.
And perhaps that was always the point.
_________
Lord of mercy and mystery, Save us from shrinking Your Word to fit our systems. Teach us to tremble where You speak of judgment, and to hope where You promise mercy. Give us the humility to keep walking with You until our arguments give way to worship. Amen.
BDD
