10:11-13
Paul quotes from Is 28:16. His key point here is that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, the universality of God’s salvation. This is not “universalism”, which means all are saved, rather it means anyone, regardless of ethnicity, background etc will be saved if they put their trust in the Lord. Paul wants to drive home to the Jews that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is one Lord and He bestows His riches, His grace, on all without distinction. So why did God choose Israel? Why is the Old Testament predominantly about Israel? There isn’t a simple one line answer to this, and I don’t pretend to have a complete understanding, but here are a few thoughts. First of all Israel acts as a microcosm of God’s dealings with man. We see the utter sinfulness of Israel again and again in the Old Testament. We see God’s unwavering commitment to them, that sinful as they were, His plans for them were tremendous blessing. Israel went wrong in thinking she was privileged (in the wrong sense). She did have many benefits as Paul has pointed out, but she failed to grasp the true nature of her sinfulness and her need for a saviour.
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