We come this evening to a consideration of the words that had to be found in the ninth chapter

of Paul's epistle to the Romans beginning at the sixth verse.

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel that are

of Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children,

but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now here we start a new subsection of this ninth chapter

of the Epistle to the Romans. You remember that in our general analysis of it,

at the beginning of the session, we indicated that the first five verses constituted a subsection

on their own, and that here another section starts, which runs on to the end of verse

13. And it's at this point, of course, that the apostle proceeds to take up the real argument

in verses 1 to 5.

He's been merely introducing the subject.

So that now as we come to this sixth verse in which he rarely gets down to the argument

that he's concerned about, we must remind ourselves of what in general that argument is

and as to what it's about. And this, of course, applies not only to this section and to this

chapter, but also to chapters nine and 10 as well. Now, the problem

with which he's dealing is this. He's dealing with an objection, which he has no need to

imagine because it was an objection that was actually being brought against him and his teaching, an

argument which was being brought against the preaching of the gospel in general. But it is an

objection and an argument in particular against what the apostle has just been saying

at the end of chapter 8. And particularly there from verse 28 to the end.

There, you remember, in that glorious passage,

he had been dealing with the final perseverance

...