Romans 9:6

The word of God that was in Paul’s mind was evidently God’s revelation of His plans for Israel in the Old Testament. God revealed that He had chosen Israel to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6). The Israelites were to function as priests in the world by bringing the nations to God (cf. Isaiah 42:6). They were to do this by demonstrating through their life in the Holy Land how glorious it can be to live under the government of God. Israel had failed to carry out God’s purpose for her thus far and consequently had suffered His discipline. It looked as though the word that God had spoken concerning Israel’s purpose had failed. The Greek word translated "failed" (ekpeptoken) means "gone off its course," like a ship. Paul proceeded to show that God would accomplish His purpose for Israel in the rest of chapters 9-11.

". . . Romans 9-11 contains 11 occurrences of the term ’Israel,’ and in every case it refers to ethnic, or national, Israel. Never does the term include Gentiles within its meaning. The NT use of the term is identical with the Pauline sense in this section." [Note: S. Lewis Johnson Jr., "Evidence from Romans 9-11," in A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, p. 203.]

Even though all the physical descendants of Israel (Jacob) constitute the nation of Israel, as Scripture speaks of Israel, God spoke of Israel in a more restricted sense as well, namely, saved Israelites. Paul had previously pointed out this distinction between the outward Jew and the inward Jew (Romans 2:28-29). Non-dispensationalists, who believe that the church replaces Israel in God’s program (i.e., "replacement theology"), frequently appeal to this verse for support. They take the first "Israel" here as the "old Israel," and the second "Israel" as the "new Israel," the church. [Note: For further refutation of this interpretation, see Saucy, The Case . . ., pp. 195-98.] Saved Gentiles are also Abraham’s seed, but they are not in view here. Paul was considering only two kinds of Israelites: natural (ethnic) Israelites, both saved and unsaved, and spiritual Israelites, saved natural Israelites.