Are We on the Losing Side? (Romans 9: 6–13)

Welcome to The Bible Project Daily Podcast

In today’s episode, we dive deep into a sobering and important question: Is God losing the war for the world? With Christians making up only a minority of the global population, it’s easy to wonder if God’s promises are faltering. But Paul’s words in Romans 9:6–13 offer a bold and beautiful answer: “It is not as though the Word of God has failed.”

Join us as we explore what it means to trust in God’s faithfulness, even when appearances suggest otherwise. We’ll unpack Paul’s use of Old Testament examples—from Isaac to Jacob—to show that God's promises are never dependent on human effort, ancestry, or advantage, but rest entirely on His sovereign grace.

✍️ Episode Notes: Are We on the Losing Side? (Romans 9:6–13)

Intro:
 In a world where Christians seem increasingly marginalized, Paul tackles the question of whether God’s promises have fallen short—especially in light of Israel’s rejection of Jesus. Through three powerful illustrations from Israel’s own history, Paul affirms that God's promises have not failed. Instead, they were always meant to be fulfilled not by physical descent, but by faith and sovereign election.

Key Points:

• Not all Israel is true Israel: God's promises were never intended for every biological descendant, but for the faithful remnant.
• From Ishmael to Isaac: Salvation is not about ancestry or human effort, but divine promise.
• Jacob and Esau: Even before birth, God’s election was at work—not by works, but by Him who calls.

Why it matters:
This passage reassures us that God's purposes never fail. Though we may feel like a minority in the world today, God’s Word stands firm. His promises to those in Christ are secure—and rooted not in our strength or background, but in His unchanging grace.

Reflection Questions:

• What does it mean to be a “child of the promise” today?
• In what ways can we trust God's faithfulness when the world seems to oppose Him?
• How does this passage shape your understanding of grace and election?

The Balance of Gray
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Chapters

• 26:21 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 27:09 (Cont.) Are We on the Losing Side? (Romans 9: 6–13)

Transcript

Are We on the Losing Side? (Romans 9:6–13)

Transcript: 

The global population today sits just under 8 billion. And of that number, only about 32% even remotely claim the name “Christian.” 

So that means if we gather together every person who loosely identifies as a Christian—across denominations, across cultures—we are still the minority.

So, let me ask then: Is God losing the war for the world?

It’s a sobering question. Because if you take a step back and look at the big picture, some might say it seems like the people of God are on the back foot, particularly in recent years. Not prevailing. One of many in a sea of competing beliefs, ideologies, and powers.

And if that’s true—what does that say about God’s purposes in the world? Has His plan stalled? Has His power failed? Is He limited in some way? And more importantly—what does that say about the promises He’s made to you?

If you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, God has made some weighty promises to you—about your forgiveness, your future, and your place in His eternal kingdom. Therefore, the real question that lies behind all this is: Can God keep His word, and can He really do what He says He will do?

This isn’t just a theological puzzle. It’s important, because if God can’t keep His promises to His people in the past… why should we think He can keep His promises to us now?

At the end of Romans chapter 8, Paul make an incredible declaration of God’s faithfulness: that those whom God justifies, He will also glorify. That nothing—not trouble, not persecution, not even death—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Another huge question hanging in the air is also where does Israel fit in with all this?

We have seen God has also made some huge, unconditional promises to Israel. And yet, when God sent His Son into the world, the nation as a whole rejected Him. The very people to whom the promises were made… turned their backs on the Messiah.

Does that mean God failed? That His promises fell short?...

And Paul knows how serious this is. That’s why, beginning in Romans 9:6, he begins to answer the question. And he does so head-on.

“It is not as though the Word of God’s word has failed.”

That’s Paul’s opening statement. His summary. His thesis for everything that follows in verses 6 through 13. The phrase “Word of God” here refers specifically to the promises God made to Israel. And Paul’s point is simple and bold:

God’s promises have not failed.

That word “of no effect or failed” comes from a Greek term that means “to fall”—like a flower withering on the ground, or a dream that never comes true. But Paul says that hasn’t happened. God’s promises haven’t faded. They haven’t failed. They haven’t fallen away.

But how can he say that? If Israel rejected Jesus, doesn’t that mean God’s promises to them weren’t fulfilled?

To explain this, Paul turns to the Old Testament and gives us three illustrations from Israel’s own story to show us that God's promises were always selective. They were never given indiscriminately to every physical descendant of Abraham. They always needed to be received and embraced in faith.

And it is those examples we are going to look at today.

Paul refers to the Old Testament to demonstrate that God's sovereign purposes always required faith to be received.

The first illustration he chooses come right way in the first of today’ verses.1

“It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel

(Romans 9:6)

In other words, just because someone is a physical descendant of Jacob—whose name was changed to Israel—doesn’t automatically mean they are part of the true, spiritual Israel.

Paul is saying that within the nation, there has always been a distinction. There is a physical Israel. And there is a spiritual Israel—the children of promise. The faithful part, at time just a faithful remenant.

So, when God made promises to Israel, He was never guaranteeing that every biological descendant forever would receive them. He was always speaking of a spiritual line—a people called not by blood, but by grace.

This is the first piece of Paul’s answer to the troubling accusation that God failed His people?

No. God’s promises have always been fulfilled—to those whom He has called according to His purpose.

He can then say with confidence, “It is not as though the word of God has failed.” Why? Because God's promise did succeed—just not in the way many expected. Not every physical descendant—fulfilled the promise. But some of them did. And that means the promise stood firm. God's word did not fall.

The larger subject here is salvation. That’s the wider context withing this chapter about what this entire discussion in what the second half of what the book of Romans is ultimately about. And what Paul is teaching us illustrations something essential: salvation is not automatic, even among those with a spiritual advantage.

Remember what Paul had already said in this very passage. Look back to Romans 9:4. He lists all the privileges the Israelites had received:

“The people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!”

That’s a staggering list of spiritual blessings. They had everything: the Law, the covenants, the promises, the very presence of God among them—and even the lineage through which the Messiah came. And yet, in verse 6, Paul says, “They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.”

In other words, it’s possible to have all the outward advantages and still miss the inward reality.

That has profound implications. It means you can have access to the truth and still not be transformed by it. You can live in a land like the UK or America where the Word of God was preached from pulpits,  for generations broadcast over the airwaves without opposition, printed in bookstores and still remain lost. 

God’s Word is still available in our countries, you might have to seek it out a bit harder than people did a generation ago. But you can hear it every day if you wish, on the internet, on podcasts, or read it in print. 

And yet, access does not guarantee acceptance. We are saturated today with opportunities to access the truth. But still, not everyone who has that advantage takes it and is been saved.

So, Paul’s first illustration is drawn from Jacob/Israel and his descendants. 

His second is from Abraham himself…. Look at verse 7:

“Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’”

Here Paul points out that even some of Abraham’s own children were not chosen to inherit the promise.

Abraham had more than one son. We all know about Ishmael and Isaac. But God made it clear from the beginning: not just any son would do.

Abraham tried to take matters into his own hands and had another son through Hagar, his servant. That was Ishmael. But God said, essentially, “No, that’s not what I meant.” The promise was not for the child of human effort, but for the child of divine intervention.

So verse 7 says, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Paul here is quoting Genesis 21:12, where God explicitly rejects Ishmael as the heir of the covenant and names Isaac as the promised son.

Then in verse 8, Paul explains what that means:

“In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.

What’s he saying? Simply this: Physical descent is not what makes someone a child of God. You don’t become part of God’s people by biology. Isaac, not Ishmael, was the one through whom the promise flowed—not because he was better, but because he was chosen.

Paul continues in verse 9:

For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.””

That’s also from Genesis. Ch 18:10 and 14, where God tells Abraham that Sarah—his wife—would bear the child of promise. It had always been God's intention. It had never been about just having offspring. It had always been about His plan and His purpose.

So again, let’s pause and draw out the spiritual meaning. 

The first example taught us that you can have spiritual advantages—like Jacob’s descendants—and still miss salvation. 

This second example teaches us that you can have the right ancestry—like Ishmael—and still not be part of God’s covenant family.

Which means: You may come from a Christian home. You may have been raised in a godly family. Your parents may love the Lord. Your grandparents may have walked with God. But none of that makes you saved. Salvation is not inherited. It is not passed down genetically or even culturally. It’s not even something your parents can give you. 

They may have given you many advantages like love, protection, education—even a faith-filled example of a life well lived. But only God can give you new life.

Ishmael and Isaac were both children of Abraham. But only Isaac was the child of promise. So salvation is not based on advantages, and it’s not based on ancestry. It is based on God’s promise, received by faith, and rooted in His sovereign grace.

But there’s a third illustration in this passage. Beginning in verse 10, Paul writes,

10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

(Romans 9: 10-13)

So, he starts by saying.  “Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. Then he adds a parenthetical note that we’ll explore in a moment. But let’s follow the main thread first. In verse 12, Paul says: “The older will serve the younger.” And then, in verse 13, he quotes the prophet Malachi: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

This is the third example Paul uses to make his point, and in many ways, it's the strongest one yet. 

Why? Because Abraham had two sons, yes—but they came from different mothers: one from Sarah, his wife, and the other from Hagar, the servant. But in the case of Isaac, his two sons, Jacob and Esau, were born not only of the same mother, Rebekah, but they were conceived at the same time. 

They were twins. In this case, there is no distinction in parentage or timing. And yet, God chose one over the other.

God sovereignly chose one and said, “The older shall serve the younger.” That’s a quote from Genesis 25:23. And then, to underscore the point, Paul quotes Malachi 1:2–3, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Now, that last line troubles many people. Did God really hate Esau? That sounds harsh, doesn’t it? How can a loving God hate someone?

Now that verse troubles me also, but not because it says God hated Esau. The part I struggle with is that it says He loved Jacob. For me the real mystery isn’t the hatred—it’s the love. Because if you know the story of Jacob, you know he was a schemer, a manipulator—a rogue, really. And yet God set His affection on him. That’s grace.

But still, what does it mean when the Bible says, “Esau I hated”?

Turn with me to Genesis 29 for another use of the word “hate” in Scripture. In verse 30, we’re told that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. And then verse 31 says, “When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved...” or as the old King James Version puts it, “hated.” The Hebrew word “hate” doesn’t  translate easily too modern ear, it is why many modern translations replace it on some occasions. 

The word Hate doesn’t necessarily mean active hostility in these situations. It simply means that these people were loved less. That’s the key to understanding this troubling verse. “Hate” in this biblical context simply means “loved to a lesser degree.”

So when Scripture says, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” it’s not saying that God was cruel to Esau or rejected him completely. In fact, if you read Genesis closely, you’ll see that God provided for Esau. He blessed him with land, with descendants, with prosperity. God was just and fair toward Esau. But He chose Jacob for the covenant line. He set His covenant love and redemptive purposes on Jacob in a way that He did not on Esau.

Let me say something here that might surprise you. The Bible teaches clearly that God loves the whole world. John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That’s not up for debate. God’s love is wide and generous. But Scripture also seems to teach that God chooses to love some people more deeply and redemptively than others.

Think of it this way: God made provision for Esau, yes. He dealt fairly with him. But with Jacob, God intervened. He wrestled with him. He pursued him. He broke him down and then blessed him. That’s the difference.

God’s love is not absent in one case and present in the other—it’s a difference in intensity, in purpose, in covenantal depth.

Look again at verse 11. This is the parenthetical statement we skipped a moment ago. Paul says.

“Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand…”

In other words, God's choice was made before either child had a chance to act—before they had done anything good or evil. This is crucial. God’s purpose was not determined by human effort or moral performance.

It’s not about what we do at all.

Let me say that again, slowly: Salvation has nothing to do with what we do. It is not achieved by our good works, nor is it prevented by our bad ones. God’s election is based on His own will, His own grace, and His own purposes. 

That’s why Paul says in verse 11, “not by works but by Him who calls.”

And this teaches us something important about the way grace works. 

The ones who recognize their sin—who know they've messed up, who understand the depth of their need—are often the very ones who come running to Jesus. 

While those who rely on their merit, their effort, their moral standing—they often become self-righteous and proud, and they don’t even see the need for a Savior.

It’s upside-down from how we naturally think. But that’s grace.

God doesn’t save us because we’re good. He saves us because He is good.

The implication, and the application to us, is deeply sobering: Salvation doesn’t depend on your background, your advantages, your ancestry, or your achievements.

So, what does it depend on?

There’s a little phrase tucked into verse 11 that we haven’t dwelt on yet, and it’s the key to unlocking this whole section. Listen again to what Paul writes:

Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand, not by works but by him who calls.

That’s it. That’s the key.

The outworking of God’s redemptive plan rests on His sovereign election. The ground of our salvation is God’s call—not our works. Not even our potential works. Isaac was chosen before he was born. So was Jacob. 

That’s the immediate examples Paul chooses in this text. God chose, and His purpose stood.

And this principle is echoed twice in the passage. In verse 6, Paul states it negatively: “It is not as though the word of God has failed.” Meaning: the promises of God haven’t been broken just because not all of Israel believed. And then, in verse 11, he states it positively: “That the purpose of God according to election might stand.” 

Those two phrases are the twin pillars of this whole argument. And if you underline them in your mind and see this both in its positive and negative assertions you can understand the entire breadth of what Paul is trying to get over here.

What’s Paul saying? Simply this: God's saving purposes are rooted in God’s promises. And those promises will not fail. His plan is not frustrated by human rejection, and it is not thwarted by human rebellion.

It will be fulfilled—exactly as He has ordained.

So, when people look at Israel’s widespread rejection of the Messiah, and they wonder, “Did God’s plan go wrong?”—Paul’s answer is: Not at all. It was never God’s plan to save every physical descendant of Israel. That was never the promise. The promise was always to a faithful remnant. Always to those whom God had called.

Now, I realize that this for some people raises more questions but you need to stick with me as we read and work through together all of Romans 9 and chapters 10 and 11. 

This is just the beginning. Paul continues to unfold this mystery, and we have to read it all to understand the full picture.

But even then, let me say something important: You may never fully understand all of this. I certainly don’t. At points you may find it difficult to hold everything together in your minds and how this all applies to the world in which we live today. Can we hold everything the scriptures teach in our hands and understand it all. 

The answer is you don’t: I don’t.

This is where Isaiah’s words speak with such power. Isaiah 55:8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. And in verse 9: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 

Amen to that, be comfortable with that sometimes. This is God’s truth, not man’s logic.

So no, I don’t claim to understand it all. But I do see what Scripture clearly teaches: that God’s promises are sure, that His purposes stand, and that salvation ultimately rests not on human will or effort—but on God’s sovereign grace.

Let me close by offering what I believe are the three main reflections that flow out of this passage:

First, salvation is based on God’s promise, not our performance. That’s a deeply reassuring truth.

You don’t get to heaven because of what you do. You get to heaven because of what Jesus Christ has done. He died in your place, He rose again, and the promise of salvation is offered to all who believe.

Second, while salvation is based on promise, those promises are grounded in God’s sovereign choice. 

Now, some of us like the first part of what I said and struggle with the second. I get that—I did too. For years I resisted this truth. But in the end, I had to submit to what Scripture clearly teaches. Ephesians 1:9 says that God has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself.

Salvation is God’s work, grounded in His choice—and that’s not something we get to reshape to fit our preferences.

Third, and finally: God’s promises will never fail. That should bring deep comfort to your soul. Romans 8:30: “Whom He justified, these He also glorified.” That’s a divine choice and a divine chain that can’t be broken. Which is why Romans 8:39 declared that, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

That’s the promise. And God’s promises never fail.

So yes, Romans 9 is weighty. It may provoke questions, but ultimately, it offers assurance: God is in control, His Word is true, and if you belong to Christ—you are secure, because you rest in the unbreakable promise of God.

Now you might be wondering—how can we speak with such confidence? How can we say, without hesitation, that God’s promises never fail?

The answer is surprisingly simple: because they never have.

From the very beginning of history, through every generation, God's promises have always been fulfilled. Not one has been frustrated. Not one has failed. 

So when we see a world in which the majority seem not to trust in Jesus Christ, it may look like something has gone wrong. But that's playing a numbers game that God never plays.

We are still commanded to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. That is our calling. But Scripture makes it clear: it has never been God’s sovereign will to save everyone.

That may be a hard truth, but it is a biblical one. And it means we cannot accuse God of failing to keep His promises—because He never promised universal salvation.

So is God failing? Absolutely not. His purposes are marching forward with perfect precision. His promises are unfolding exactly as He ordained.

And what great comfort that brings.

Here’s another promise: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life (John 3:36). 

If you trust in Jesus Christ, then you belong to Him. You have eternal life. And nothing—absolutely nothing—can change that. Because it is rooted not in your achievement, not in your effort, but in the unshakable promise of God. And His promises never fail.

Now, if you’re thinking, “But wait a minute—earlier you said it was all God's sovereign choice, and now you're saying it depends on whether I believe,” then congratulations: you've understood the tension that runs through the heart of this text.

It does sound like a contradiction—but it’s not. It’s a mystery, and that’s a very different thing.

Some years ago, the preacher Ray Stedman came to the end of a message on this very passage, and he said something that  for me still rings true today. I want to close with his words, because they capture the right posture for us as we finish:

Sometimes we have to admit we don’t understand somethings. We are finite creatures, and how much we feel it at this moment. We certainly are not gods, and we don’t understand how God acts. But we believe He is faithful to us. He speaks the truth, and it does us good to seek to understand, so we do that.

In our pride, we resist the thought that we are not masters of our fate. But in our more sober moments, we bow Him and simply recognize that God is sovereign, and He has always kept His word. And though part of us may resist these truths, there is another part—born of Your Spirit, that can rejoice in them.

And I hope you can do that today….