Romans 9 - Speaking of Salvation?

If there has ever been a Bible passage that has driven me crazy, it's Romans 9. I have never been able to figure out what it means. There are three categories of people who like Romans 9. Some say it speaks of double predestination (God predestines some to Heaven and others to Hell), some say it speaks of some people God chose to snatch from the flames (the others went to Hell of their own accord), and some others are strangely silent, because they just don't agree with the doctrine of unconditional election and are very disturbed by Romans 9.

Of course, I have fallen into the third category.

I would say, though, that if we understand Romans 9 to be talking about salvation, then we should believe in double predestination.

But I found this very interesting video series online. It's a lecture by Dennis McCallum on what Romans 9 actually means, in its historical and lingual context. I was very surprised to find out, and it makes perfect sense!

I can't say I could do much better at presenting it than Mr. McCallum on this, so I'll just post his videos. Please notice that he does take God's name in vain a few times, which really disappointed me. But I think everyone should still take a look at this video series. It is extremely insightful, and if you ever plan on understanding Romans 9, has information vital to understanding it.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1VPDhgIw24
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWTniSfNrKY
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ9FQv2Xv3g
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRCTL_GPXuU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9po3rHxzlU
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaktlTz6Qfg