Jewish History and Law vs. Gentile Faith
In Romans 9, Paul again discusses the differences between the Jewish religion under the law and the Gentile religion based on faith in Christ. As this chapter is mostly history, I'm going to only comment on a selection of verses.
In Romans 9:1-3, Paul declares he has spoken the truth to the Jewish people to whom he has preached and taught. The fact that they would not accept the truth he presented to them made his heart heavy and Paul wished that it was possible that he could lose himself if it would save all of his fellow Jews who were rejecting the truth he taught. Of course, this isn't really possible for us. Only Christ was perfect and was an acceptable sacrifice to God.
But these verses show Paul's heart for his people. Would that each Christian had that same heart for the lost today. If they couldn't witness or spread God's word themselves, maybe they would pray more or give their tithes and additional donations for the missionary work of the church.
The next section of the chapter goes through God's selection of Abraham, then Isaac, and then Jacob in deciding on the lineage that would form the basis of the Jewish people. Paul made it clear that it was God's right and will to see the futures of each in picking who He would select to be the main branch of the Jewish ancestry. He wasn't bound by the standards of the society of the day in making the selections.
Even among the Gentiles of the time, God chose to raise up Pharaoh as a power in order to demonstrate His own power over not just Pharaoh, but also all the false gods that the Egyptians worshiped. Most of the plagues against Egypt were directed specifically at the power that one or more of their gods supposedly had to control what happened. God chose to show that the human fashioned gods that man worshiped had no power, and He did it against one of the primary military powers of the world then in order to put fear into all who would go against the God of Israel. That power is still at work today as many who have attacked the newly formed (relatively speaking) nation of Israel have discovered.
God's Sovereign Nature
Paul then reflects in Romans 9:18-24 on the nature of God. God is sovereign. He shows His power and His mercy as He sees fit to bring His own purposes to fruition. Paul states a basic fact. The potter is in control of what he makes from clay. He can make a beautiful pot that is destined for holding beauty, for example, or he can make a chamber pot that is used to hold urine. It isn't up to the clay to decide what it wants to be.
In the same way, God is ultimately in control of what goes on in the earth, and He chooses how He wants to influence events to bring about His ultimate purpose. Today, many speak out against God because He allows certain things to occur which they think are wrong. There isn't a human alive who hasn't despaired of something that they felt should have happened differently. Man would certainly ask why God didn't intervene.
Examples from WWII
The thing is, man's perspective is very limited. To pick an example from hopefully far enough in the past that nobody will be offended, consider the persecution of millions of Jews and others by the Nazis in WWII. It was an atrocious thing, and for the people who choose to be blind to history, yes it really did happen.
But consider if God had stepped in to the free will decisions of either party. If He had told all the Jewish people and others to leave Germany and all the regions Germany would go on to conquer, and changed the hearts of allied countries to accept them, it is true that they might have escaped destruction. If God had eliminated particular Nazis, perhaps WWII could have been avoided or at least prevented the holocaust.
But the net result of either of those two actions which God didn't take would have meant there would probably have been no nation of Israel today. It was God's will that that nation come back into existence and prosper as a nation. Or at the very least he foresaw that happening when the prophetic messages were given in the Old Testament.
Because that was His ultimate will, He didn't step in to stop the free-will decisions that people on Earth were making. He didn't cause them to make those choices. The decision came down from a few in the Nazi hierarchy and was implemented by many more who made the free-will choice to go along.
We can certainly look back and wish that world history hadn't unfolded that way, and we can wish that God could have found a way to create the nation of Israel again without all the death and suffering. That's all well and good. But as God looked at all of humanity, He evidently didn't see any other way for the nation to come about on its own. And given the hatred of so many in the Middle East today, I'm pretty sure He was right. It took the disgust of what had happened to so many under the noses of the allies for the allies to force the nation state of Israel to be formed.
Add to that the formation of NATO and binding together more closely of the allied nations in commerce and other ways. After WWI, America was very isolationist - much like we are getting today. Would the world have worked together in the ways we are today (or at least were) without the atrocities of WWII? Even after so many years, it is a difficult question to answer.
To have fixed it by preventing the holocaust or perhaps WWII, God would have had to step in and stop so many free-will decisions. If He had done that, would the eventual war have broken out in some other way with worse consequences? Think about the ultimate war with nuclear weapons we have so far managed to avoid. Perhaps He knew that that would have eventually been WWII if He had stopped or prevented the one the Nazis started. Our perspective is just too limited, even at this junction of looking back in history.
And certainly, blaming God because of something that man chooses to do is wrong.
Examples From the Church
And that is the way so many things that are wrong in the world and in the church occur. Men and women, frequently men of power, make free will choices to do awful things to other people for their own purposes. It is their free will decision, and God has given us free will.
Eventually, as enough time passes, perhaps we will see some good come from anything we look at going on today and the near past and abhor. That doesn't mean we have to then like what we saw as wrong in the past, and I can assure you that God doesn't like what He sees as wrong either. Having a good result in time in no way excuses the wrong that went on before. But just like Pharaoh, sometimes He allows something to happen so that eventually something greater will come about. That is God's judgment call to make.
We can and should individually judge what goes on in churches today and either work to make churches and denominations better by fixing what is wrong, or move to a different church or a different denomination. We can judge what has gone wrong, in our opinion, in His church in the past as well and make decisions about our future based on what we see.
No matter how bad something is that has happened, eventually, it is brought to light, expunged, and the church is potentially made stronger after enough time. Everyone can, and should, be horrified by some things that have happened. I know that I am. But bringing these things to light has allowed people to speak up about many more injustices going on in the world outside the church as well. There is less institutional fear in reporting crime and bad behavior in schools, colleges, and the workplace in part because the church has been held up to God's light and survived. We realize that we need to deal with the individuals and not destroy entire institutions.
Satan's Contributions
We must also remember that Satan is trying to actively destroy the church in any way that he can. He's good at it. He can do a pretty good job of predicting outcomes of particular people's natures if they are put in positions of power in a church environment. Satan is just as active at recruiting and promoting those people into positions of power in the church as God is in trying to appoint and advance the righteous.
Satan's ultimate goal is to turn everyone away from hearing the church's message of salvation. You can be certain that any recruit of God is constantly under attack by Satan to try to tempt them into sin and cause God's church to fail, in whole or in part. I suspect the more successful the ministry, the harder he tries to undermine it.
I would bet a small unspecified sum, that many of the worst people who have infiltrated various church denominations did so with the Holy Spirit trying to warn the church leaders that they shouldn't be allowed to join or be promoted. But I'm also pretty sure that the Holy Spirit sometimes has limited success in directing the course of the church as He has in directing the course of each person's life. We're all just humans, after all.
That same human spirit that is at war with the Holy Spirit has also caused various people in the church to cover up error. That is just as wrong. But I'd bet it was also against what God wanted done. Also remember, that the people in the church, by nature, are looking for the good in people and hoping for the best changes to happen in every member. Those who do evil are very good at hiding that evil from sight. Evil can grow for a long time before it gets to a point where it is noticed, and then dealing with it becomes much harder if humans instead of God are in control of what is happening and the decisions that are made.
Some denominations are struggling to survive, so they relax their standards to accept more priests or pastors. They relax their standards to allow sinful people into positions of power, that eventually through promotions put them in places they can do even more damage. Sometimes, denominations simply grow to big or grow too fast and the administrative structure doesn't keep up because even churches don't like overhead expenses.
The Holy Spirit's Work
People not listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance is not God's fault either. Look at how successful the Early Church was when the Holy Spirit was allowed to be involved in everything, from where to go to what to do while there. Compare that to today. When the Holy Spirit is in control, you don't have all these problems. In addition, you don't have individuals going off and starting their own flavor of Christianity that is at odds with what the Bible teaches.
No matter how hypocritical or sinful you think the church has become, the Holy Spirit can bring it back in line if all parts of the leadership start listening to what God wants. Everything isn't all centered on just growth, although that is certainly our mission. But that growth has to be controlled growth with God in charge of everything from seminary or other degree grant to ordination to placement. He need to be in control of every ministry appointment. The Holy Spirit will guide you to the right candidate for any job you have in the church if you wait on Him and don't get discouraged and just pick the best one who has applied because you are tired of waiting.
Each person that has been affected also has free will. They have to choose whether to trust in God and seek His direction for their life to change from within, move to a different church, or turn their back on God because of what has happened to them, someone they know, or someone they have never met but choose to take offense for. Don't turn away from God. He isn't at fault in whatever the situation is.
But as we choose the path God wants us to take, we also must remember that God has called us to forgive. He has ordered us to turn the other cheek. He's even said that the quality of mercy and forgiveness we receive can be conditioned on the forgiveness and mercy we show to others (Matthew 5:38-44, 6:12-15; Mark 11:26). Even the vilest hypocrite in the church can turn their life around, be forgiven by God, and do great things for Him. Look at the author of Romans (Paul) for a bright and shining example if you don't believe me.
Follow the Holy Spirit's leading in how you choose to react to failures in those people in whom and institutions in which you mistakenly placed your trust. But also listen to His prompting when you feel something is wrong. That's just as important. Just as I said the Holy Spirit tried to stop the sin in the first place, expose the sin in the second place, He also tried to direct people who could be hurt away from what was going to happen. I truly believe this, as it is His Biblical pattern. From Old Testament prophets to the angels' work in Revelation. Everyone has to listen, whether child or parent, priest or bishop.
Choose to work from within for change to make the church more Christlike. If you don't have the energy for that, move to another church or denomination that God picks for you. Don't blame God for man's hypocrisy and free will errors. But be sure to let the Holy Spirit direct you as to where you go next. It does matter. God is the only one who knows whether a particular denomination or church is living up to His standards or not. He also knows which of the many who are living up to His standards will be the one where you can best thrive. He knows you and He knows what is best for you. Never doubt that. He might even be directing you to a under performing church to correct it from within. Go where the Holy Spirit leads, like the apostles.
God and Intervention in the Church
God could choose to handle everything related to His church as He did with Ananias and Sapphira. Would the church be a better place if everyone who entered its doors faced death because they had sinned? The church would be different today, that is certain, if lying was met with death. But it also may not have survived 2,000 years if people were afraid to enter.
And with our limited perspective, we also need to realize that if the sin and problems that God didn't choose to stamp out like He did with Ananias and Sapphira end up making the church much stronger in the future or allow the Holy Spirit to be allowed to guide the church again, then from a long term perspective, they have resulted in good even if they were awful in themselves.
Think back to some of the Jewish history that wasn't repeated here. Consider that God did strike down a few priests who failed. Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD (Leviticus 10:1-2). Did Him doing that prevent idolatry from happening and the nation from slipping into evil? No, it did not.
When even whole parts of the nation of Israel were judged and many died as a result of judgment like many would like to see carried out by God against evil in the church today, did that actually prevent worse idolatry later on? No, it did not.
Think back to the battle for Jericho. When, in Joshua 7, Achan took spoils that he shouldn't have taken and after the soldiers lost at the first battle for Ai, Achan and his whole house and family were destroyed. But by the end of Joshua, when Joshua is about to die at 110, he has to warn the people to get rid of the evil things that they have accumulated that were bright and shiny and they coveted (Joshua 24:20-25). Even the harshest of God's response isn't usually sufficient to prevent people from making the free will choice to sin.
I've pondered what it would be like if today, we had more Elijah moments (1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:1-15). Fire has always been associated with God. Something appearing to be tongues of fire initially was present at the Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 2). While that hasn't happened at other baptisms of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit baptism is still going on just as in the early church. It is in prophecy that during the tribulation the two witnesses will be able to project fire (Revelation 11:3-13).
Satan has caused whole false religions to flourish. Some even use the name of Jesus. I'd like to see what would happen if God rained fire down from heaven and burnt up some of Satan's prized temples completely, taking everything right down to the foundation just like He did with the prophets of Baal. What would happen if instantaneously God wiped out the prized sites of false religions at Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Amritsar, and many others closer to home?
Be clear that I'm wanting to see God act and not to have some human or group of humans try to step in and intervene. I can't believe I need to make such things clear, but it seems to be required for the age in which we live.
If several temples around the world in several false religions were all burnt up at the same time with a fiery blast from God would the people be like the Israelis were then, acknowledging the all powerful God (1 Kings 18:39)? Would they acknowledge God as they do due to the two witnesses mentioned above in Revelation? I'm pretty sure that even if they did, they still wouldn't eliminate the false prophets like Elijah subsequently ordered the people to do. There would be the same uproar as when Islamic radicals destroyed ancient sculptures, I suspect.
God doesn't desire for their to be evil anywhere, and especially not in His church. When the rapture happens, it will be interesting to see what is left of the church organizations that exist today. Perhaps the end results of the rapture - who is taken and who is left of the world's many religions, coupled with the issues in the church history to which everyone can point, will end up providing a resistance during the tribulation that will allow many more to be saved as people realize God means what He says and follows through with His promises. I'm not too hopeful, but I'm often surprised. Sadly, I suspect that the aftermath of the rapture will be so disruptive that communications will be very difficult with electrical disruptions.
Back to Paul's Time
So skipping that rather long aside, Paul again relates this to the Jewish people of his day. At the end, he points out that the Jews under the law were not able to live a righteous life, and the Gentiles who put their faith in Jesus were able to find the strength to live a righteous life and have their sins covered by the blood of Jesus. Faith won over law.
He points out the prophecy that Jesus would be a stumbling block to the Jewish people and would be considered offensive. Jesus indeed was, and the Jewish leaders of the day had Him crucified for it, with the support of crowds of people chanting crucify Him. He was also the rock of strength to all the Gentiles (and some Jews) who were willing to accept Christ and what He offered and believe with faith.
But Paul's heart was still heavy that his own people couldn't see the truth of the Messiah because they were blinded to all that they saw wrong in the world which Jesus didn't immediately fix and set right (their subjection to the Roman Empire). So many people today also fall under the same trap.
Because God doesn't immediately fix everything that they think is wrong in the world, just the way they think He should, they choose to believe in their hearts that He doesn't exist or must not care. Neither are true. He does exist, and He does care, but He also sees a big picture that is hidden from us and can investigate all the possible futures that could be from every interference He could make. He always picks the choice that leads to His preferred ultimate outcome, and, I suspect, ends up in getting the most people saved.