Romans 9 may be the most troublesome chapter in the New Testament. Misunderstandings of this chapter have led to a caricature of the doctrine of predestination that teaches that God in his sovereignty has already decided who will and will not be saved and, as a result, nothing mere humans do will.

They have also led to centuries of Christian teaching that God rejected the Jews.

Popular commentator William Barclay even declared that Paul got the whole thing wrong!