In Romans 9-11 Paul is asking hard questions about the Jewish people. Their history began with the faith of Abraham. They were given a unique calling, unique opportunities, unique responsibility, and unique information.
When the Jews as a nation (or the church as a community imitating them) make the observation that God has chosen them, that they are part of his plan, then pride has its greatest opportunity to express itself.
In part, Romans 9-11 is an explanation of how people can be caught in spiritual pride and how the advantages of knowing about God and His truth can be twisted into something that actually drives us away from God.
Study Questions
- Study the doxology & exhortation in verses 11:33-12:2. What’s the main point? How is it an appropriate
response to chapters 9-11? - What do verses 3-8 teach us about our own abilities? (Note vs 3 particularly)
- Based on this chapter, how would you define spiritual gifts?
- Is 9a “Let Love be without hypocrisy” a fair summary of the rest of the chapter? Why?
- Summarize the “dos” and “do nots” in verses 9-21. What do they teach us about love?
- In light of chapters 1-11, on what basis can you hope to live the way chapter 9 describes?
Next: 19 Romans 13:1-7 Submission, Fearlessness and Conscience
Previous:17 Romans 11:1-32 Did God Reject His People?
Series: Romans: Justification by Faith
Study: Romans Resources
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash