Good morning, Bereans. We are finishing Romans 9 this morning. This is the strongest chapter in the New Testament on the sovereignty of God in salvation. It makes it absolutely clear that salvation is a work of God and not of man's will or work.
Over and over in chapter 8, Paul is applying to the Church the blessings that were originally promised to Israel. Israel was promised the Holy Spirit. Yahweh said to the House of Israel:
I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:27 ESV
But this promise has been received by the Church. Paul says to the Roman Christian:
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Romans 8:9 ESV
Israel was promised a future resurrection, but Paul speaks of the resurrection of believers. Israel was God's son, but now believers are God's adopted children. Israel was promised an inheritance, but now it has come to the Church. Israel was God's chosen people, but now believers are called chosen.
Israel and Judah were promised the New Covenant.
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Jeremiah 31:31 ESV
To whom is the New Covenant promised? Israel and Judah. Who received the New Covenant? The Church. "Israel and Judah" is the New Testament Church. The Church is the lawful continuation of Old Covenant Israel and the inheritor of the Abrahamic covenant and promises.
So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. Galatians 4:31 ESV
Who is the free woman in this text? Jerusalem above. What does the free woman represent? The New Covenant! So, Paul writes to the most Gentile of all the churches, showing that to the Gentile church has passed the covenant, the glory, the birthright, the privilege and the redemption hope.
With the application of so many of Israel's promises being received by the Church, the question arises, "Has God gone back on His promises to Israel?" And the answer is No! God is the faithful covenant-keeping God. The problem is that His promises were misunderstood as belonging to national Israel when they were, in fact, to true Jews only.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, Romans 9:6 ESV
God's covenant faithfulness is called into question, so in chapters 9-11, Paul vindicates the covenant faithfulness of God. These chapters are a theodicy, and they show us how Jews and Gentiles fit into God's plan of salvation.
Israel was entrusted with the oracles of God. They were to be the light of the world. In God's covenant plan, Israel was to be the faithful one through whom the covenant plan was to be put into operation. But Israel has been unfaithful. Does this mean that God's covenant plan has failed? Has He given up on Israel and moved to the church? Does He keep His word? What is God going to do?
God doesn't give up on His covenant plan. What He does is provide a faithful Israelite to fulfill it. The covenant faithfulness of God is revealed through one who will do and be what Israel should have done and been. God will be faithful to the covenant with Abraham through the one faithful Israelite—Yeshua, through whom the light will shine to all the world.
In our last study, we focused on God's sovereign calling, His giving mercy to Jews and Israelites.
even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? Romans 9:24 ESV
We talked last week about the fact that Paul is referring here not to Gentiles but to Israelites, the ten northern tribes. God has called Jews and Israelites just as He said He would. After saying this, Paul then quotes four passages from the Hebrew Scripture to support it—two from Hosea and two from Isaiah. The thrust of these passages is the return from exile and restoration, so they deal not with Gentiles but with the house of Israel. God was bringing back a remnant from Israel and from Judah. God's judgment has fallen on Israel, but there is mercy to the remnant.
So, we can clearly say that the word of God had not failed. God had promised to save a remnant from Israel and Judah and to reunite them into one body. He was, in fact, doing exactly that. As a result of the re-gathering and reuniting of the remnants from Israel and Judah, the Gentiles would then be brought into God's salvation.
Remember that the gospel is to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. We see this in the book of Amos. The book of Amos, addressed to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, was written just prior to when the ten Northern Tribes were carried off into captivity by Assyria. This happened in 721 B.C. Isaiah, Micah, Hosea, and Amos are all contemporaries. The ten Northern Tribes had turned from God, and God was going to judge them. The book of Amos is a warning of coming discipline concerning the nation of Israel.
Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: "Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up." Amos 5:1-2 ESV
Notice what God says here of Israel: "Fallen, no more to rise." That sounds pretty permanent. But next God promises a remnant:
"The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel." Amos 5:3 ESV
This is speaking of a remnant that will be left out of Israel. From a nationalistic view, as a physical people, Israel was to fall and not rise again. But God said He would save a remnant. We see this in our text in Amos:
"Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD. "For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, 'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.' Amos 9:7-10 ESV
These verses proclaim the coming disciplinary judgment upon Israel; but yet, within them there is a bit of hope because when He says that He will destroy them from off the face of the earth He adds, "I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob." But, now, in verse 11, there comes the prophecy of hope in the light of that.
"In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this. Amos 9:11-12 ESV
This text speaks of God's judgment and destruction of Israel which is not complete and not permanent. He promised to return and to restore Israel, rebuilding it as in the days of old. But the restoration of the kingdom to Israel is not an exclusive blessing only for the Jews. It will be, God promises through Amos, a restoration which will enable the Gentiles to seek the Lord and worship Him. The word "nations" is the Hebrew word goy which usually refers to non-Hebrew people or Gentiles.
In Acts 15, at the Jerusalem council, James confirms that this is referring to Gentiles.
Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, Acts 15:14-15 ESV
Then James quotes Amos 9:11-12 to support God's call of the Gentiles. Notice how James quotes Amos 9:12:
that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things Acts 15:17 ESV
So, the New Testament confirms the fact that Amos is referring to Gentile salvation. As you study the promises of Gentile salvation through the Hebrew Scriptures, you'll find that they are connected to the restoration of Israel. Many prophecies that speak of Israel's restoration speak also of the promise of Gentile salvation. They go together.
The voice of your watchmen-they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:8-10 ESV
Let's look at Isaiah 60, a Messianic prophecy. It concerns the restoration of Israel, the calling of the Gentiles, and how the Gentiles would view restored Israel.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1-3 ESV
The word "nations" here could be and should be translated "Gentiles." God said that when Israel was saved, the Gentiles would also come to the light.
Apart from the New Covenant truth, we would no doubt view these prophesies of restoration as physical—of God's restoring and redeeming national Israel. But the New Testament writers give us the true meaning of these verses. Notice what God says to Israel through Isaiah.
The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:14 ESV
If we were Old Covenant Jews, we would understand this prophecy of Isaiah as our Gentile enemies being subservient to us. But Yeshua uses this verse and applies it to the Church (Rev. 3:9), that is, true Israel, and it is Old Covenant Israel that is persecuting the Church. Yeshua said that the Old Covenant Jews were going to come and bow before the feet of the Church, the true Israel. So, we see that many of the prophesies given to Israel are spiritually fulfilled in the Church—the new Israel of God.
In Romans 9, Paul talks about the remnant that God will bring from Israel and Judah. God will have mercy on only a remnant of the house of Israel.
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Romans 9:18 ESV
But Yahweh will not only have mercy on a remnant of the house of Israel; He will also have mercy on Gentiles.
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; Romans 9:30 ESV
"What shall we say then?" — this is used as a transitional phrase to move to the next stage of the argument. As we come to the end of Romans 9 with its heavy emphasis on God's sovereignty in salvation, the question arises as to how we can know who is chosen and who is not chosen? No one can look at people and say, "You're chosen" or "You're not chosen." How, then, do we know who is in and who is out? Paul gives us the answer in verses 30-33, and it is surprisingly simple. We know who is chosen and who is not chosen by how they respond to Yeshua. The chosen believe!
"Righteousness" —this is the Greek word dikaiosune. It is used in a covenantal sense of God's faithfulness to the covenant with Israel. In Isaiah, when the prophet celebrates the righteousness of God, he continually goes back to God's covenant faithfulness. The dikaiosune attribute of God's character, despite Israel's sin and consequent banishment, establishes that He will remain true to His covenant with Abraham.
With that truth in mind, I believe that when Paul talks about righteousness here, it is the equivalent of saying "covenant membership." He states that the Gentiles did not "pursue." This is the Greek word dioko which means to run swiftly in order to catch some person or thing. Metaphorically it is to seek eagerly. Although they weren't seeking covenant membership, they "attained" (Greek: katalambano, "to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to appropriate") righteousness. The Gentiles, who made no effort, got it. This reinforces what Paul said in Romans 9.
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans 9:16 ESV
They didn't will or run, but God chose them and called them into covenant membership—this is sovereign election. The reason that Gentiles attained righteousness can be attributed to one thing alone: the mercy of God. We must not stray from this vital truth. Salvation is nothing less than a sovereign act of God in mercy toward sinners.
"A righteousness that is by faith" — the reference to faith shows that human response is imperative, but the ultimate source of such faith is God's merciful election.
So how did the Gentiles attain covenant membership? God pursued Gentiles by grace. There was nothing in them, nothing around them, and nothing worthy about them that could give them the ability to believe. Not even a right motive could help them. But God, rich in mercy and the great love with which He loved us, pursued Gentile sinners to save them by grace (Eph. 2:4-7). The human response to God's sovereign election is—faith. But understand that we only respond in faith because God gives us the faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
To what does the demonstrative pronoun "this" refer? It refers to the nearest preceding noun "faith." Our faith is not of our own doing; it is a gift of God. The only objective evidence, as far as I understand it, that a person is one of God's elect is that he believes the Gospel of Yeshua the Christ.
The truth is that technically we're not saved by faith but through faith. Faith is the instrumental means; grace is the efficient means of our salvation. We're saved by Yeshua. We're saved by His grace. We're saved through faith. You would understand what I meant if I said to you, "I put the fire out with the hose." Now hoses don't put out fires. But hoses are the channels for the water that puts the fire out. The hose is the instrumental means; the water is the efficient means. Faith is the instrumental means by which we are able to access our salvation through Yeshua.
John Robbins, in the foreword of Gordon Clarks' book, Faith and Saving Faith, writes, "Belief of the truth, nothing more and nothing less, is what separates the saved from the damned. Those who maintain that there is something more than belief, are, quite literally, beyond belief."
Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 1 John 5:1 ESV
The tenses are very important. Sadly, they are not made clear in the English translation, so just bear with me. John uses the present tense: "Everyone who believes." It conveys the idea that everyone who is presently believing in Yeshua "has been born of God."
Here the perfect tense is used which generally refers to an event in past time—the results of which persist to the present time. So, we have a present tense and we have a perfect tense. The perfect tense indicates an event that occurred previously to another event. The tenses make it clear that the divine begetting is the antecedent and not the consequence of the believing.
"Has been born of God"—is a perfect passive indicative, conveying a settled condition brought about by an outside agent. In this case—Yahweh. So, let me state it like this: "Everyone who is presently believing in Christ has been in the past born of God." This verse teaches that faith is the result and evidence of one's being born again and not the reverse. In other words, we are not born again as the result of faith. Birth must precede the believing.
Paul goes on to say:
but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Romans 9:31 ESV
Israel pursued righteousness, covenant membership, but they never arrived at it. The word "pursuing" comes from the realm of hunting. It's the same word that would be used for a hunter pursuing his prey or a dog chasing a rabbit. There's aggressiveness to it. Paul indicates that the Jews pursued righteousness in that way.
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, Romans 9:32 ESV
They pursued the law, not considering that it brought the knowledge of sin, stopped every mouth, and made everyone guilty before God. They pursued it as though it could produce righteousness in them through their obedience to the commandments.
But notice what Paul says in Galatians 3.
But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Galatians 3:12 ESV
If you want to live by the law, you must do it; not try to do it, intend to do it, or even want to do it. Only the man who does what the law demands shall live by it.
Paul cites this text as proof that the governing principle for those who would be law-keepers is righteousness through works and not through faith. In other words, one who chooses to live under law must operate within the governing principle of works while the one who chooses grace must live by faith.
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. Romans 3:27 ESV
What kind of Law excludes boasting? Not the Law of works. If we work, we have something to boast about. But the Law of Faith excludes boasting because faith is a gift of God.
The "Law of works" for a Jew was not about miscellaneous moral activities. It pertained to those things which the Torah prescribed; the things which marked out the Jew as different from his pagan neighbor. The works of the Law referred to three things in particular: (1) circumcision, (2) the Sabbath, (3) and the purity laws. And these were all things that the Jews boasted in.
So, Paul says that boasting is excluded by "The Torah of faith" — this is not a principle, but the true teaching of Torah. The Torah was a call to faith, a call to trust in God. Hebrews 11 states that "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain," "By faith Enoch was taken up", "By faith Noah...prepared an ark for the salvation of his household," "By faith Abraham...lived as an alien in the land of promise."
The Jews scrupulously obeyed the law, offered a river of animal blood on the altar of sacrifice, kept the dietary laws, established the priesthood, and in general tried to "play by the rules." But the whole point of the law was to point to Yeshua the Christ who would one day fulfill the law in his life, death, and resurrection.
Covenant membership and righteousness come not by human effort. The unbelieving Jews were seeking to be justified by works and thus were striving to attain to a position which no man can reach. The whole plan of salvation is so ordered that no flesh can glory in His presence.
so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31 ESV
We have nothing to boast in. We were made covenant members by the call of God. Our only responsibility is to believe the gospel. Man has a responsibility to believe, but he does not have the ability. Why does God command us to do what we cannot do? It is to show us the depth of our depravity. We can't do it because we're fallen; we are separated from God by our sin. If salvation is ever going to come, it must be applied sovereignly. The Jews sought it by works and human effort. As Paul states:
"They have stumbled over the stumbling stone" (Paul quotes Isaiah 8:14 where Isaiah predicted that they would stumble on a stumbling stone).
And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Isaiah 8:14 ESV
By the way, this passage directly refers to Yahweh. Yahweh is the stone in Isaiah 8:14. In the New Testament, Christ is the stone. What does that tell you about Christ? He's Yahweh. This is another affirmation of His deity.
Peter affirms that Christ is that stone over which the Jews stumbled.
let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Yeshua the Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by him this man is standing before you well. This Yeshua is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. Acts 4:10-11 ESV
In the text in Romans, it appears that the Torah is the stumbling stone. In the context, it is the Torah that has made Israel fall flat on Her face. Paul may be alluding to that in that God gave Israel Torah to reveal Christ. Paul seems to be using both of these ideas here.
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 ESV
The New Testament affirms over and over that Christ is the stumbling stone.
as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." Romans 9:33 ESV
Paul quotes here from Isaiah 8:15 and 28:16.
And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken." Isaiah 8:15 ESV
therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.' Isaiah 28:16 ESV
So, Paul takes these two verses from Isaiah—both of them very familiar to the Jews—and combined them to show that Yeshua is both a stumbling stone and a cornerstone. To some he is a "stone of stumbling;" to others he is a cornerstone of life. Those who stumble over Yeshua fall to their own destruction. Those who build their lives on him "will not be put to shame" or better "will never be disappointed."
Yeshua uses this stone motif of himself in the Gospels when talking to the Jewish leaders about the parable of the vineyard. Yeshua, in the parable, is telling His audience that He is not a prophet; He is the Son. That is the basis of His authority. He owns the vineyard. He has been sent by His Father to possess what is His. But they will reject Him and put Him to death.
But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' Mark 12:7 ESV
Instead of respecting His Son, the vine-growers saw an opportunity to take the vineyard for themselves, so they took this son and killed him.
And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:8 ESV
The implication in the story was absolutely clear. The Son had come to Israel, and they were fulfilling this prophetic parable exactly as our Lord described. They had failed to hear the long line of prophets that God had sent. Now they would reject the word of the Son, and they would kill Him. Yeshua is prophesying His own death at the hands of these religious leaders. In a few short days, they will deliver Him to their own authorities and condemn Him to death.
Yeshua then applied the lesson of the parable by an appeal to the Scriptures in typical Rabbinic manner. This method of finishing off a parable with a Scripture quotation is regularly found among the Rabbis.
Have you not read this Scripture: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" Mark 12:10-11 ESV
Yeshua quotes here from Psalm 118.
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22 ESV
He is declaring that this very Son that you are rejecting will become the cornerstone of the new temple, of the New Covenant—of a whole new way of life.
Notice who it is that rejects this stone. It is the "builders!" Who should have known a good stone when they saw one? The builders! This referred to the religious leaders, those who should have understood the Scriptures. But because of their spinning of God's Word to create a religion of self-dependence in legalism, they rejected Yeshua the Christ.
According to Yeshua, they were like a bunch of stonemasons who thought a stone was useless. They studied it and decided that it was the wrong size and the wrong shape and the wrong materials: "Discard it!" they said, and they turned their backs on it. They could not see that it was the cornerstone, the most important stone in the building. Yeshua did not fit the pattern they had in mind for a Savior, so they rejected Him.
After quoting from Psalm 118 in the vineyard parable, both Matthew and Luke add this:
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." Luke 20:18 ESV
Having established Psalm 118:22 as messianic, Yeshua connects it with two other messianic verses about the stone. Isaiah 8:14-15 refers to stumbling on that Stone and Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45 refers to being crushed by it. The Son is on the one hand, a "stone of stumbling," a cause of stumbling to the Jews. But this "stone of stumbling" was soon to be an active agent in their destruction—a stone that crushes and grinds His enemies:
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." Daniel 2:44-45 ESV
With this stone metaphor, the biblical writers established that the kingdom God built would be founded upon Yeshua. Every detail in its dimensions, shape, size, and form relates directly to Christ. Without the cornerstone, the building has no value. Paul expressed this clearly:
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Yeshua himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV
Christ is the corner stone to such a degree that "the whole building," all the redeemed through the ages, are fitted and joined together into one "holy temple in the Lord."
Peter picks up on the same thought.
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Yeshua the Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV
Just as Paul did, Peter describes the body of believers as "a spiritual house" or a temple that exists for the worship, praise, declaration, and glory of our Lord. We're "living stones" that are joined to Yeshua the Christ "the living stone." He follows in the next verse by declaring Christ "a precious cornerstone."
For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 1 Peter 2:6 ESV
God has made Christ the defining factor of his living temple, and every person who would come to God must find his place in relation to Christ.
The message of Christ crucified, the doctrine of the atonement, was very offensive to Jews who were expecting a royal deliverer. Even with Isaiah 53 before their eyes, the Jews had never dreamed of a suffering Messiah. By Jewish law, anyone who was crucified died under the curse of God (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). To the majority of Jews, Christ was a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. At the same time, Christ is a security, a solid rock, for all who put their trust in Him.
"Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." The word "shame" is from the Greek kataischuno which is a strengthened form of aischuno. Thayer's Greek\English Lexicon translates this as "disappoint." Kittle, in his Theological Dictionary of New Testament words, says, "Extra-biblically the word 'ashamed' was often used for disillusionment."
This hope will not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 CSB
Let's look at Romans 1.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 ESV
We can kind of understand "ashamed" here but I think "disappointed" is much better. The Gospel is power and it doesn't disappoint.
One more.
Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 2 Corinthians 7:13-14 ESV
The word here for "put to shame" is kataischuno and, as already noted, would be better translated as "disappointed." Paul is telling the Corinthians that Titus found them to be just what he told him they were so that Paul was not at all disappointed.
Sorry, got to do one more.
which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 2 Timothy 1:12 ESV
The word "ashamed" here is epaischunomai, the same as in Romans 1:16. It also should be translated as "disappointed." Paul wasn't disappointed because he knew that God was going to deliver him through all of his suffering. This is a banking metaphor. Paul is saying, "God has the power to keep that which I have deposited with him, and I am not disappointed at my suffering."
Believers won't be disappointed because God keeps his promises. That is what these three chapters are all about. His promises are for those who put their trust in Him and in Him alone. Israel was rejected because of unbelief. But those who believe will not be disappointed!
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." Romans 9:30-33 ESV
The majority of Israel did not believe in Him and perished. The only way anyone receives Salvation is by faith.