Summary: The Bible says God is holy, righteous, and loving. However, there are Scriptures that make God seem unloving and unlovable, and Romans chapter 9 is one such section of Scripture. For example, Romans 9:11-13 seems to say that God loved Jacob and hated Esau before the two boys were even born. Then verse 18 says God hardens those people whom He wants to harden, and verses 21 and 22 seem to say God is a potter who makes people like He wants them, but then pours His wrath out on those who are “prepared for destruction.” Some Christians have no problem with this, believing that it is God’s right as Creator to do whatever He wants. To many others, however, Romans 9 has been confusing at best and has even turned some people away from God. In this 90 minute teaching, John Schoenheit employs his more than forty years of researching the Bible to interpret Romans 9. He shows that if we properly understand the Old Testament examples and quotations, and the use of Semitic idioms, and we translate the Greek text correctly, Romans 9 really teaches that God is loving, merciful, and patient in accomplishing His purposes. We can also see that God works with people according to the freewill choices they make, responding and adjusting as people choose to obey or disobey Him.
