Why Many Jews Were Rejected and the Gentiles Called: Faith and Unbelief (Romans 9:29–31)

Rom. 9:29. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we should be as Sodoma, and should be made like to Gomorrha. Isa. 1:9.

This is a second passage from Esaias the Prophet. “Said before,” προείρηκεν, spoke before this, at the beginning of his prophetic utterances. “As,” καθώς, even as. It will be: even as that same Esaias said before this. Holy Paul adduces this passage to clarify the words: “a remnant shall be saved.” Wish you to understand what “remnant” means, read in that same Esaias before: “except the Lord had left us a seed.” Isa. 1:9. “The Prophet, whom he will afterwards call a remnant, the same here he has named ‘seed’” (Blessed Theodoret). What then is this seed? The prophet Esaias, in the place whence these words are taken, calling heaven and earth to witness, convicts the people of Israel of impiety, then depicts the wretched state to which they were brought for such impiety: “Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your country strangers devour in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” Isa. 1:7; only Jerusalem remained, like a hut in a vineyard. (This is very much like what happened under Hezekiah, when God marvellously saved Jerusalem from the Assyrians.) After this the Prophet adds that if God had not left a seed in us, we would have been wholly destroyed, as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. This seed left in us saved us; for its sake the Lord spared also the rest of us. Consequently, not all the remaining alive are the saving seed. The seed is among them, and for its sake all who escaped utter destruction were spared. What then is this seed? The aggregate of persons opposite to those who drew down heavenly punishment. These rejected God, but those, it turns out, remained faithful to Him; these are full of sins, while those, that is, fulfill God’s commandments and make progress in all virtues; these thus provoked the Holy One of Israel, while those are plainly pleasing to Him Isa. 1:2-4. For this God kept them safe, and for their sake many others. Thus the seed in the Prophet are people who believe in God, fear Him, and live holily according to His commandments. Bringing this notion into what was said before, that a remnant shall be saved, we get the thought that the prophet Esaias foresaw that from the great multitude of Jews living then, only very few would be saved, namely those who fear God and love to keep His commandments, such as are all who abandon Judaism and become Christians. They are the remnant, of whom it was foretold that it shall be saved.

It seems the Apostle, in adducing this place about the seed that was left, had in view nothing else than to clarify what this “remnant” is, which “shall be saved,” as was said before. But its significance can be somewhat expanded. For this “remnant” that is saved, for this seed that is preserved, all other Jews have been left to live, to live until now—from the beginning until now. The Jews, for their war against God, impiety, and lawlessness, ought long ago to have been all destroyed, like the Sodomites and Gomorrans. Other peoples also were impious and lawless; but they knew not the true God and heard not of His law. But these knew the true God, many times He made Himself known to them in the most palpable manner, and from His own mouth they heard the law. Therefore they are inexcusably guilty when they were impious and lawless. For this they ought long ago to have been destroyed. If they were not destroyed, it is only because God always preserved among them a seed worthy of His mercy. For its sake He spared the whole mass of the people. This very seed should properly be reckoned as seed of Abraham, to which alone the promise belongs. Dear is this seed in God’s eyes, especially because from it was to come that one Seed alone, through which all nations shall be blessed, and which was remembered even in paradise before the expulsion from it, and then was constantly recalled. That seed, always preserved by God, foreseeing that one Seed which it was to produce from it, was one with Him in spirit and, nourishing through this union its godliness and righteousness, always stood in God’s favour. That Seed was finally born, accomplished Its work in Its person, and sent Its servants to gather to Itself all who lived in expectation of It. This is being done now, the Apostle could say. The Apostolic preaching gathers them. That it takes not all is because not all are of this race. The Lord through us takes to Himself His own to Him. And those who were formerly His own, He Himself took, having descended into Hades. Therefore, O Jews, there is nothing strange or perplexing for you to see that not all are coming to faith. Nothing special is being done here, but only that is being fulfilled which long ago the Prophets foretold about the remnant that is saved and the seed that is preserved.

Here the Apostle ends his proof that the promise has not failed, although not all Jews come into the fold of faith, and thereby into the inheritance of spiritual blessings promised to the fathers, and although, while Jews remain outside the inheritance, the Gentiles enter into the inheritance in their place. Throughout his proof the Apostle only hinted that if it is so, it is because some appear worthy and others unworthy. Now he states this clearly, showing wherein consists the worthiness of some and the unworthiness of others.

c) How then did it come about that many Jews were rejected and in their place Gentiles were called? What is the cause thereof? Faith in some and unbelief in others, answers the Apostle (Rom. 9:30–10:21).

Rom. 9:30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

“What shall we say then?” What shall we say to this? How did those not God’s people become God’s people, and the unbeloved become beloved? How did the Gentiles enter the spiritual inheritance in Christ, not seeking it, while the Jews are excluded from this inheritance, though they hoped for it? What is the cause thereof? Behold, and you shall see, answers the Apostle; you shall see only this, that the Gentiles believed in Christ and entered into the inheritance, while the Jews, stumbling at this stone through unbelief, are deprived of the inheritance. From prophetic predictions in the distant past the Apostle now turns the thought to what is before the eyes, and explains one by the other.

“The Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness.” The Gentiles lived for their own pleasure; all their care was to arrange their earthly well-being. They remembered God, but incidentally; they knew also of the future life, but it was to them a secondary matter; and they did not despise righteousness, but did not count it a law, but rather a matter of propriety and profit, and were not ashamed to trample it when it came in the way of their main road to earthly well-being. They did not strive, they had no zeal, that, remembering God and being filled with the fear of Him, they should arrange their life according to His will righteously and thus prepare for themselves a blessed future. All this is the righteousness of human life, indicated by God in the constitution of human nature. It hovered dimly in the minds of the Gentiles that thus it should be; but they had no time to occupy themselves strictly therewith: the arrangement of an earthly pleasure-loving life absorbed all their attention and labour. But when the Apostolic preaching began to spread among them, then the righteousness, driven back and suppressed, came forth, and stood before the eyes of reason and conscience, and convicted those who had not heeded it. They had nothing on which to rely to justify themselves, and the conviction acted upon them with all its force. In consequence, they repented, clung to Christ the Lord in faith, received grace, and began to live righteously, making righteousness the chief aim of their life. Thus those not following after righteousness attained “to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.” By righteousness here must be understood all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus: remission of sins, receiving of grace, gracious disposition of heart thereby, and all virtues—through all which was restored the righteousness inscribed in human nature at its creation and trampled underfoot till then. “Know,” says the Apostle, “that faith for the Gentiles is the cause of blessings, for it made worthy of righteousness those who were formerly astray, had not righteousness, and would not seek it, by grace” (Blessed Theodoret).

Rom. 9:31-32. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone.

The law of righteousness, inscribed in human nature, is—as was said before, remembering God and keeping the fear of God, to live according to His will, as informed by conscience, in hope of blessed future. This law of righteousness was even understood by the Gentiles, but dimly, and was confused with falsehood in conceptions both of God, of what is due, and of the future life. Israel had true knowledge of God, had a law exactly and in detail determining all that is due, and understood the future life more wisely and clearly. Wherefore he could run the true course, or pursue after the law of righteousness, so as to attain it. And certainly he attained. For all his institutions were of God’s ordaining, which cannot be in vain. All saints and the righteous, shining forth in the Law, are all those who have attained to the law of righteousness. The God-fearing, who kept God’s commandments and cleansed their sins by the order established by God, all are in Abraham’s bosom. They were that seed guarded by God, for the sake of which the whole mass of the Israeli people was guarded, and which now by Apostolic preaching is called and led into the inheritance of Christ and constitutes the “remnant” that is saved. When the Apostle says that “Israel has not attained to the law of righteousness,” he means that Israel which was before the eyes: the mass of people with the ruling powers, spiritual and civil, and with all the arrangements of the life under the Law, in Jerusalem and in all cities and villages, in Palestine and in the dispersion. Everywhere there were believers in the Lord; but they were few everywhere, they were despised, persecuted, and excluded from the company of the sons of Israel, so that in general it was just to say: Israel believed not in their Lord and Deliverer. This prevailing mass is what the Apostle meant when he said: “Israel has not attained to the law of righteousness.” How then did it come about that this mass “has not attained” when among them the preserved seed, though few, “has attained,” and this “remnant shall be saved?” “Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” And this Israel pursued after the law of righteousness, but attained not; because they pursued not in the spirit of faith, but only by the works of the Law. Yet the few who have now attained to the law of righteousness were not without works of the Law—they faithfully fulfilled every righteous work of the Law, as the Saviour Himself did. Wherein then is there so great a difference, that some, of the same kind, attained, while others did not?

The Apostle characterizes this difference by the words: “because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” In these many, there are works of the Law alone, but in those few, not works alone, but faith also, which had lived before in their hearts as a shadow, and now has materialized and taken its true, firm form.

In works one must distinguish properly the works themselves, visibly, in their place and at their time performed, then the dispositions with which they are performed, and still deeper—the spirit with which they are performed. Take an example: alms have been given, good alms, to someone, somewhere, then. This is the visible work. The disposition underlying it is invisible: it could have been from a natural feeling of compassion, from a sense of duty and commandment, from vainglory, or to recommend oneself temporarily to men for some need. The first two are right, the latter two are wrong; in them there is no charity at all, and the alms appear without a charitable soul. The spirit with which works are done usually embraces a multitude of dispositions and works, and sometimes, or usually, all—this is what moves the agent: self, the world, God, and moreover—from fear, or for reward, or from love. These movers, now singly, now in pairs, now accompanying each other, now crossing with each other, constitute the spirit of life of each. The spirit required by natural righteousness is to do all for God and according to God. In whatever strength this is done, all is right. The latter two are wrong.

Works never exist without hidden disposition and spirit beneath and within them. But it happens—and is this not the greater part?—that the latter (disposition and spirit) belong to quite another kind than the former (works); and then works remain alone, belonging to their own kind. In the example given, alms given from selfish motives, without charity of heart and without thought of God, remain alone as a visible work, belonging to the kind of good works, while the disposition and spirit are not good, belong to another kind. Yet the one who gave them may rely on them for assessing himself, and others may also assess him by this work. Only God’s eye will assess him differently; and moreover: if any trial meets him, then from others also will not be hidden what was within him. Let us generalize this case and assume that all works of the Law are done so that in them only the visible side conforms to the Law, while the disposition and spirit do not conform. Then it will be just to say that a certain circle of persons has only works of the Law, and nothing more; what is within the works is alien to the Law. Meanwhile, they themselves may, relying on these works, consider themselves correct, and others may also. Only God sees how correct they are; and this appears if one subjects them to some trial that might call forth and reveal what lies hidden within them. Let us apply this to the words of Apostle Paul. Why did the Jews, meaning by them the mass of the people, not attain to the law of righteousness, even though they acted according to the Law, and were assured they were correct and nothing more was required of them? Because, answers the Apostle, they had only works of the Law, and everything else (spirit and disposition) required therein was not right, not in accord with the law of righteousness. This lacking element the Apostle concentrated in the word: “because not by faith.” What is required by this? In another place the Apostle writes: “Without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” Heb. 11:6. This is the universal faith inscribed in human nature. There is God, on whom we depend in every way and whom we must please in all things, acting before His face sincerely, according to the suggestions of the law He gave in conscience, in hope of blessed futurity. This is that natural righteousness mentioned before. And it is the spirit which must penetrate all works and produce all good dispositions (virtues) realized through works. This was lacking in the people under discussion—they did not attain to the law of righteousness.

But surely this also was lacking in the Gentiles: how then is it said that they attained? They attained because when the Gospel preaching revealed to them wherein the matter consists, they at once supplied this lacking element, for they had nothing on which to rely. And the Jews heard of this lacking element, but were deceptively assured they had it, because they had works of the Law. They relied on works of the Law and, thinking nothing more was required of them, rested on these works, considering unnecessary any other measure, and consequently that which the Gospel preaching offered. But their spirit was altogether different, a spirit of self-interest and love of the world, whose aim is to arrange and secure earthly well-being or happiness, turning everything into a means thereto, not excluding even the Divine. In this sense they stood on the same line as the Gentiles. On their tongue they had God, but not in their heart, nor His glory. The Saviour often convicted them of this. Take the example of the Pharisee who said: “God, I thank you” Lk 18:11. But further what? On what did he rely? On the fact that plainly he committed no wrong, did not steal, did not defraud, did not commit adultery; and what did he do? He fasted twice a week and gave tithes. All this, of course, is not bad. But if there is no fear of God in it, no zeal for His glory, no desire to do all for Him, no love for the brethren and desire to do them good with self-denial; then all is worthless. Yet it is quite possible for all this to be absent in what is said; it is even possible that there is that which not only takes away all value from such works but places the doer in the very opposite class of people. And the Saviour pointed to this: “I,” said one, “have given to the temple what should have been given to a father, a helpless old man. What then? And let him die of hunger?” Is it not evident that such a one stands in the opposite category to the Lawkeepers? At another time the Lord reproved them, saying they sought not God’s glory, but only human glory. It turns out that the general spirit then was such that God was not in their hearts and there was no concern for the brethren, only that they should be well; and they relied on all their own strength and methods and on external relations, while God they did not need. He was only on their tongue. Certainly, not all Jews were such. There were among them many whose hearts still lived the faith pointed out by the Apostle (namely, that there is God and that He is a rewarder), which constitutes the essence of the natural law of righteousness. They too performed all works of the Law alongside others, but did not rely on them and did them not for themselves, but for God, for His glory and to please Him. Wherefore they also had nothing on which to rely. Therefore, when they heard the Gospel preaching, they at once received it, like the Gentiles, with only this difference from them, that they as Jews met in it what they expected, while the Gentiles received what they did not expect.

Such is the Apostle’s thought if by the word “faith” one understand only the law of righteousness inscribed in our nature. But in this word is contained much more. The Old Testament, both in explicit word and in the arrangement of all its ordinances, presented an indication of the Coming One, in whom salvation was not for Jews only, but for all nations. Those who lived in this covenant or under the Law all had faith in this and all expected that the Great and Wonderful One would come, yet not all believed and hoped in the true spirit. That part which lived only for arranging its earthly well-being, as it did not attain to the law of righteousness, so much the less could it rightly believe and hope in the Coming One. But the other part, hidden among them, like seed and “remnant,” both attained to the law of righteousness and in the true spirit believed and hoped in the Coming One. That part hoped that when He came He would make them the happiest on earth—rich, glorious, rulers of all peoples; but this hoped that when He came, all that they could not succeed in acquiring despite all desire and all efforts to attain to the law of righteousness would be fulfilled in them; in other words, it hoped that He would fully satisfy their spiritual needs and wants and make them perfect in spirit, cleanse them from sins, and make them holy and pleasing before God. Wherefore, when Jesus, called Christ, appeared, He declared that He is the Coming One and the Promised of whom they hoped, and offered satisfaction of all spiritual needs to those who would believe in Him and cleave to Him. These latter, yearning for satisfaction of spiritual needs, at once believed in Him and cleaved to Him. Those who for some reason did not succeed in believing in the Lord while He was among them were gathered afterwards by Apostolic preaching. But the former, by neither word nor deed of His did they believe that He was the Promised One, the Coming One, because He promised them nothing of what they hoped for from the Coming One according to their spirit. Their spirit was different; wherefore they not only did not believe, but pressed and persecuted Him, and not only persecuted, but afterwards even delivered Him to death. Then as they bore themselves toward Him, so they bore themselves toward all who believed in Him. A sharp division occurred: it became evident whose spirit was whose. Apostolic preaching was a test of who was of the true spirit and who of a false spirit. And it was revealed that the mass of people was only in appearance Israel and seed of Abraham, but in inward disposition was quite other; wherefore it did not receive Him who came according to the promise to the fathers: it stumbled at Him. “They stumbled at that stumblingstone.”

One stumbles at a stone who is blind and sees not the stone, or, seeing it, thinks he will not stumble and walks recklessly. So also the Jews did not see that before their eyes was a stone at which they might stumble, and, rushing to trample it, stumbled and broke themselves, as the Stone Himself—Christ—foretold them Lk 20:18. “One stumbles who is fascinated by something else and does not pay attention to what is under his feet. So the Jews, fascinated by the Law, stumbled at Christ, that is, did not believe” (Blessed Theophylact).

The Gentiles did not receive the promise, and therefore did not expect the Coming One. But those among them who strived to attain to the law of natural righteousness were no less tormented by the dissatisfaction of their spiritual needs: they were weighed down by sins and knew not how to escape them, they hungered for aid to the good and knew not where or how to obtain it, they made vows to be corrected and always again fell and fell. Wherefore, when the Gospel preaching reached their ears, and they saw in whom they could obtain satisfaction of such needs, they at once approached Him with faith and, quenching their spiritual thirst in Him, clung to Him inseparably with all their being. And only then did they rightly attain to the law of righteousness: for there is no other path to this. What they had before was only a beginning; now it all came to perfection, as also in those who under the guidance of the Law strove to attain to the law of righteousness. Of course, not all Gentiles were such; if not all Jews, much less all Gentiles. And among them also was their own seed, their own “remnant”—the saved. The Gospel preaching gathered from both the true heirs of the promise, the true seed of Abraham, the true Israel.

So this is how it came about that some were received into the inheritance of the promise and others not! “Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” “They thought that for them the acquisition of righteousness was sufficient to live according to the Law, and they neglected faith. And therefore they did not become partakers of the gifts of faith and did not acquire the righteousness of that life” (Blessed Theodoret).