Romans Chapter 11
God is Patient and Forgiving, But Do not Push Your Luck

You may recall that back in chapter 9 of Romans, Paul began this section with the tragic contradiction of Israel’s condition. Although they were specially selected and privileged by God, they were disobedient and would not believe the writings of the Old Testament of the Bible. They took the truth of the Bible and manipulated its meaning for their own benefit and comfort. They refused to accept Christ as the promised Messiah which the Old Testament promised, in spite of undeniable proof, much like people have done in the Church with both the Old and New Testaments since the coming of Christ.

Romans 11:1-10 NLT:
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
4 And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”
5 It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.
6 And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
7 So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened.
8 As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”
9 Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve.
10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”

In Romans chapter 11, Paul turns his attention to the natural consequences of Israel’s disobedience. Paul asks two questions. The first appears in verse one and the second appears in verse 11. In verse 1 Paul asks:

     1) “Did God reject His people?”

Paul then answers his own question: “By no means.” Just because Israel rejected God, God has not rejected Israel. God has not abandoned the nation of Israel, because a small number of Jews did accept Christ and became Jewish Christian converts, as Paul shows in verses 1-10. In verse 11, Paul asks the second question:

     2) “Again I ask: ‘Did they (the Jews)[fn] stumble so far as to fall beyond recovery? ‘”

We need to understand that the nation of Israel knew that God would never break His promises to them. Why? Because the Old Testament is filled with passages such as Nehemiah 9:21-32, where we see that God continually forgave Israel is spite of their disobedience.

And this is another of God’s promises. In 2 Chronicles 7:13,14, God says to His people, Israel:

13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues among you.

In spite of the repeated disobedience of the Jewish people, God never broke His covenant, His promise to Israel, nor will He ever break it. Jeremiah 30, 31 and Isaiah 14 tell us the very same thing. Will God cast away His people? No, He will never do that. Will He discipline them? Yes, He most certainly will.

In every generation in the history of the nation of Israel, there has always been a certain number of saved Jews. There is for the time being a temporary, partial, and purposeful setting aside of the nation of Israel. But it is not a total, permanent, and judgmental final setting aside. So there are a small number of Jews today who are saved, and there is going to be a restoration in the future, which in fact will provide a blessing for the entire world. So let us begin by looking at Romans 11:1-3 NLT:

1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people, the Jews? Of course not! Remember that I myself am a Jew, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

Paul begins by saying it is obvious that God did not reject the Jews. Because Paul himself is a Jew, and one who had for a long time persecuted Christians. So Paul was not rejected by God and Paul is a Jew, an Israelite. Paul is saved and is in the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps it would be helpful to those of you who are not familiar with the covenant promise God made with Abraham to review it before going any further so that we might understand what Paul is talking about here in Romans 11. The covenant is not always an easy concept to understand, but let us give it a try. God’s covenant contains 3 basic features:

For example: God says to Abraham sometime around 2000 B.C. something like this: “You will be the first in a line of many leaders of a great nation, which I will bless forever if you and they obey my commands (Genesis 17:2-9).”

                                          The covenant relationship leads to:

For example: God told Moses and the people of Israel, who had been led out of bondage in Egypt, that the Ten Commandments and the laws He had given them are the commands which God had spoken about with Abraham (Exodus 19:3-8).

                                            The covenant stipulations lead to:

Which of these they receive depends on whether they keep or do not keep the conditions of the covenant, and that fulfillment takes place in the future after God has determined if they have been obedient or disobedient.[fn]

We can simplify all 3 of these steps into something we might be better able to understand. God in effect makes a pledge that could go something like this:

“I pledge to provide you with all the best life has to provide if you live within my will, trust in Me, and obey Me. If you live your life according to the rules I have laid down, then you will be richly blessed in life and you will be given eternal life in Heaven. If you disobey you will endure much suffering in life and spend your eternity in Hell. It’s your choice.”

In Genesis 17:2 and 9, God speaks to Abraham and gives Him His promise which God will never alter or take back throughout all of history. God tells Abraham in verses 2 and 9 NLT:

2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation.”

This is a promise God makes to Abraham and his descendants. Then about 500 years later, in Exodus 19:3-8, God concludes his discussion with Moses about the stipulations or conditions He is laying down in order for the covenant, or promise, with the people of Israel to be kept. God had given Moses the Ten Commandments and all 613 laws that the Israelites were to obey. When Moses presented these conditions to the Israelites, they agreed to accept God’s terms according to Exodus 19:3-8. In verse 8 we read:

8 They all responded together, “We will certainly do everything the Lord asks of us.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord. (NLT)

Then in Deuteronomy 28, God spells out the blessings we just spoke of that will come from obedience and the curses that will result from disobedience, Deuteronomy 28:1,2,7-10,15,21,22,30,58-61.

We will read just a few of these verses to give you the general message.

Blessings Resulting From Obedience

7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.
8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.
10 All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. (NRSV)

Curses Resulting From Disobedience

15 But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
58 If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,
59 then the Lord will overwhelm both you and your offspring with severe and lasting afflictions and grievous and lasting maladies.
60 He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were in dread, and they shall cling to you.
61 Every other malady and affliction, even though not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will inflict on you until you are destroyed. (NRSV)


Then in Psalm 89:34, God says:

I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips. (NRSV)

God repeats this promise again in Isaiah 54:10 and Ezekiel 16:60.

In Ezekiel 33:11, God says to them:‍

Israel had been the chosen people of God, the people of His promise, a promise which God Himself declared to be unbreakable.

Romans 11:2 states that God “foreknew” the people of Israel which means He chose them as a people for a very special purpose. To foreknow something in this context is the knowing of intimacy, of a close relationship, of love.[fn] In Amos 3:2, we read:

2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth. (NRSV)

That does not mean that God only knew about the people of Israel. It means that they were the only nation in the world with whom God established an intimate relationship.

The promise did not include all Jews in salvation (chapter 9).  Nor does the punishment exclude all Jews from salvation (chapter 11). The promise included those that were willing to obey and trust God, people who were willing to make Jesus Lord of their lives (Romans 10).  Paul is living proof that the setting aside of Israel in judgment is only partial. If any Jew deserved to be shut out for disobedience, it was Paul. But when Paul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he believed and was saved.  So the first proof that Israel’s setting aside is only partial is Paul himself. If a Jew today accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he/she will also be saved and become a part of the remnant that believes. That not only applies to the Jews today but to everyone else in the world. Belief in the work of Jesus is the only thing that will bring anyone salvation, whether Jew or Gentile.

In verse 2, Paul refers to the situation in the Old Testament concerning Elijah. After Elijah’s victory over the false prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, Elijah fled from Queen Jezebel into the desert. Here is a man who was not afraid to stand up to 850 men and do battle with them, but one woman sends him running into the desert. Later Elijah hid in a cave on Mount Horeb, where he was in a state of total depression because his victory over the prophets of Baal had not brought about the revival he expected among the disobedient people of Israel. It was here that God spoke with him: Elijah speaks first, 1 Kings 19:14,15,18 NLT:

14 He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
15 Then the Lord told him, “Go back the way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram.
18 Yet I will preserve seven thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal or kissed him!”

God told Elijah he was wrong. He was not the only one left. God had seen to it that there was a remnant of 7,000 Jews who were faithful to Him. The “faithful remnant” therefore existed way back in the time of Jeremiah, about 800 years before Christ. And just as there was a “faithful remnant” back in Jeremiah’s time, there was also a “faithful remnant” in Paul’s day as he was writing this letter to the Romans. Therefore God has not cast away His people, the nation of Israel, except partially. There are still some who believe and obey. In fact the remnant in Paul’s day was probably a pretty sizeable remnant. James would soon tell Paul in Jerusalem that there were “many thousands” of believing Jews (Acts 21:18-20)

These are the two remnants that Paul is referring to in Romans 11:4,5 NLT:

4 And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”
5 It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.

So there were believing Jews way back in Jeremiah’s time as well as believing Jews in Paul’s day in the mid first century. There has always been a remnant of believing Jews and there will always be a remnant of believing Jews right up to the end when Christ returns, and just before that time all of Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). 

The future salvation of Israel is repeated throughout the writings of the Old Testament prophets. Jewish teachers commonly said that “all Israel will be saved,” but then went on to list which Israelites would not be saved: the phrase thus means “Israel as a whole (but not necessarily including every individual) will be saved.” A good comparison here would be to think about someone saying that America is a wonderful country, but not meaning that all Americans are wonderful. In other words a surviving Jewish remnant will turn to faith in Christ during the Tribulation (seven year period preceding Christ‘s return). Paul proves this point from Isaiah 59:20–21 NLT:[fn]

20 “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins.
21 And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!

The majority of the Jews who survive the Tribulation and are alive at this time will turn from their disbelief and accept Christ as Savior and be saved.

But until that time it will always be a remnant, a small surviving group of Jews, those who have kept the covenant by believing and trusting in God and Jesus Christ. Because there is always a remnant means that God has not cancelled His promise to Israel.  When James wrote his epistle who do you think he was writing to? Listen to how James begins in James 1:1 NRSV:.

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

The Dispersion was the remnant of Christian Jews that had gone into all parts of the Roman empire.

When Peter wrote, who did he write to? 1 Peter 1:1 NRSV:

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Peter was writing as well to the remnant scattered all over the Roman  Empire. The book of Hebrews was also written to Jews who believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

In every generation from the time God chose Israel as a special nation for a special purpose, He has determined that there will be at least a small number of people who will be faithful to Him. That selection is based on the response of faith, but it has been initiated by the sovereign plan of God.

And as Paul says at the end of Romans 11:5, the remnant was chosen by the grace of God.

Then in verse 6 Paul says:

6 And if they are saved by God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s wonderful kindness would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

Therefore, it is clear in verse 6 that those who believed and placed Christ in charge of their lives were given salvation as a gift (grace) from God. In the same manner Romans 11:7,8 tells us that the unbelieving majority of Israel were hardened by God:

7 So this is the situation: Most of the Jews have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the rest were made unresponsive.
8 As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this very day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”  (NLT)

The Jews were seen as continually trying on their own to make themselves right with God even though they should have known there was no way that could be done. Such a goal is utterly impossible. Are you trying to get yourself right with God by the things you do? By going to church, by giving money to the church, or by serving on a committee. It will not work. The only way to get right with God is through His Son, Jesus. You must believe in His substitutionary death on the cross in order to receive this fee gift of salvation and eternal life in Heaven. You may then place Him in charge of your life. Anything else is totally ineffective. That is why in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The scribes and Pharisees thought they were the most religious people in the world. They had no idea that their opinion of themselves was not going to do them any good. They were not as righteous as they thought. Only those who obtain their righteousness through the sacrifice of Jesus can obtain the righteousness necessary to enter Heaven.

The “elect” or “chosen” in verse 7 does not have reference to the entire nation of Israel but to those who believed in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. As Paul said in Romans 9, “Not all Israel is Israel.” In chapter 2 Paul said the true Jew is one who is circumcised in the heart, inwardly. The rest were hardened.

That is the problem. In Romans 10:21, Paul told us that: “But of Israel He (God)[fn] says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” When God moves in with a judgmental hardening of someone’s heart, it is as a result of a response of continual rejection of God’s message on the part of the individual. God’s hardening does not occur without the person first hardening themselves. God does not appear to harden anyone’s heart unless they themselves have repeatedly rejected His message.  It is the judgment of God on a person because of the repeated disbelief of that person (Proverbs 29:1).

Paul gets this from two Old Testament writings, both of which speak of “eyes which cannot see.” In Deuteronomy 29:2ff, Moses tells the Israelites that, although they have seen all of God’s wonders, He has not given them “a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.” Paul also quotes from Isaiah 29:10, where Isaiah told the people of Israel that they had “a spirit of stupor.” This means they had a complete loss of any spiritual feeling toward God, which was self-inflicted before it became a judgment of God. It also tells us that the prophets gave warning that this was going to happen and when the Jews saw it happening they should have known that Scripture was being fulfilled, and they should have repented and believed. Then we read in Romans 11:9,10 NLT:

9 David spoke of this same thing when he said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble.
10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs grow weaker and weaker.”

These 2 verses are difficult to interpret. But we know that Paul takes them from Psalm 69:9ff, which portrays the experience of a righteous person who is being persecuted. This victim prays that God will both defend him and that God’s judgment will fall on His enemies, Psalm 69:22,23 NRSV:

22 Let their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies.
23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.

Psalm 69 and Psalm 22 are the most frequently quoted Psalms about the suffering of the Savior, Jesus. They tell of the suffering and pain of Jesus. In Psalm 69, David pronounces a curse on the enemies of God. These verses pray for judgment to fall on the enemies of God; those that reject God; those who deny God His rightful worship. The judgment, therefore, that has come upon Israel fits right into the plan of God. Moses said it, Isaiah said it, and David said it.

You probably would not think there was any place safer than at your own table, right? David’s prayer, though, is for the table at which they sit to be the trap that catches them. Several images can come to mind regarding this verse.

One possible image is that of Jews feasting at a table loaded with food and wine. If you recall, the Jewish manner of sitting at a table was to recline. This gives a view of being at ease and relaxed while one is enjoying the banquet. This also implies affluence. Oh, how easy it is to be lying in the lap of luxury and paying more attention to that than to what is happening in reality. You feel all is well, while in actuality your enemies are creeping up outside the hall ready to attack you. You become indifferent and oblivious to the dangers around you. You are blind.

Another possible image is the Jews feasting on the Word of God—the Law that God gave them regarding how they should live their lives, focusing on Him, and enjoying the blessings that come to them from living such a life.  If you recall, the scribes and Pharisees had taken the wonderful Law of God and “put a fence around it.” In other words, they had taken God’s directives and said they are so special and holy that it was important to set up more regulations in order to help people obey God’s law. These regulations became very tedious to adhere to and they had the effect of getting the Jews so hung up on every little detail of the Law and its interpretation that they failed to recognize the living Word of God when He arrived on the scene in the form of Jesus.

When you read David’s words, it could sound like he was calling for payback time for the way the Jews had abused God and denied Him His rightful place. But notice the word, “let.” This could possibly be taken as a request for punishment, but it also certainly implies what could well happen in the natural course of events as a consequence of the state just described. So it may well be that what is being said here is not so much that God is going to blind them and trap them, but more that they will trap and blind themselves by continuing these behaviors that ignore God. And if they fail to keep God in charge of their lives at all times, God will merely allow that process to continue and He will not intervene to end it for people who have continually rejected Him and refused to be obedient to His Word (Proverbs 29:11).

You may be sitting there thinking, “Boy those Jews sure were stupid. They just became so engrossed in their own blessings and behaviors that they missed all that God wanted to do for them. I am sure glad I am not like them.” But hold on a minute. Maybe we are much more like them than we care to admit. Maybe we, like them, are also blind to what is happening.

For people today it may not be so much that we are legalistic and absorbed with the Law of God, as were the people to whom Paul was writing. Many today who are attending Christian churches have declared their independence from law, legalism, and rituals. They have grabbed onto Christ’s words, “The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32) and reveled in that idea. Look around you; in some situations we are so free from the Law that we totally disregard any law. Freedom has become license. It has become a freedom that makes us think that perhaps we can interpret God’s Word in a way that best fits how we want to live. 

Or perhaps for some of us it is being lulled into a comfortable rut and blinded to spiritual things by our affluence and materialism. If someone is thinking, “I am not rich so I cannot be guilty of materialism,” quite the contrary. Not only is the person who buys every new electronic toy that comes out, or who fills their closets with all the latest fashion trends, vulnerable to being materialistic, but also the person who cannot afford such things yet desires them strongly. We are materialistic if we find or hope to find our comfort and security in things and possessions. We are materialistic if we fill our minds with dreams of all the things we want to have and if we spend a lot of our time scheming how to get those things, rather than spending our time doing things that please the Lord.

Verse 10 paints a picture of pain, grief, and someone who is blind trying to find the light. The Psalmist is crying out to God to blind them, break them if necessary. He is speaking of those who refuse to be obedient to God. This whole concept fills the New Testament: constant, frequent willful rejection results in a person being more and more blinded to God’s truth and ultimately that person will in turn be abandoned by God.

Yet there is hope. In the midst of a blind nation, God has always maintained a remnant of believers. The unbelief of the Gospel by the Jews does not in any way alter the plan of God, not in the least. God made a promise and He will keep it.

 

BELIEF IS ALWAYS THE BOTTOM LINE

We hope you will burn that into the DVD of your mind because it is essential to where you will be spending your eternity. We also hope that you remember there is no way anyone can earn salvation by their good works. You could be the best person that ever lived on this planet and you would still fall short of God’s standard of sinless behavior. The only way to salvation and eternal life is through faith and trust in the work of Christ on the cross. That is what God wanted the Jews of the first century to understand and that is what He has wanted everyone to understand since that time.

Just one quick vocabulary note here so that everyone understands the term, Gentile, because we will be using the word repeatedly. Gentile or Gentiles refers to all of the other people in the world who are not Jewish.

Do you love a good mystery? Are you held spell bound by Law and Order, Perry Mason, or Sherlock Holmes? As we continue in Romans 11, we will be looking at a wonderful mystery, one that far surpasses any of those just mentioned. It is a mystery involving a truth that was in the Scriptures for hundreds of years but which only came to light after Christ’s death and resurrection. It is a mystery that is now being revealed by Paul. Let us begin by reading Romans 11:11-15 NLT:

11 So I ask, have they (Israel[fn]) stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.
12 Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the Jews turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when the Jews finally accept it.
13 I am saying all of this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I lay great stress on this,
14 for I want to find a way to make the Jews want what you Gentiles have, and in that way I might save some of them.
15 For since the Jews’ rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, how much more wonderful their acceptance will be. It will be life for those who were dead!

God intends to use Israel’s stumbling (Romans 11:9,11), her disbelief in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior, for a purpose. I believe that purpose is made very clear in Ephesians 3:4-7:

4 As you read what I have written, you will understand what I know about this mystery regarding Christ.
5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.

7 By God’s special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

However, the Jews became selfish over their special status of being God’s people. They interpreted that call by God as meaning they were the only ones who could be saved, rather than as meaning they were the chosen people through which God’s Word would be given to the world. They distorted and disobeyed the Scriptures and rejected Christ, so God would now offer salvation to those who would believe.

Israel’s fall is not a fall beyond recovery. In fact God will use Israel’s fall, first to benefit Gentiles with greater blessings than they would ever have received if Israel had not fallen, and then to experience blessing themselves. The details of how this will unfold are explained by Paul. First, already through Israel’s fall salvation has come to the Gentiles. Secondly, this Gentile salvation will make Israel envious and so lead to her salvation, her restoration or “fullness.” Thirdly, Israel’s fullness will bring much greater riches to the world.

Thus the blessing bounces from Israel to the Gentiles, from the Gentiles back to Israel, and from Israel to the Gentiles again. Of these three bounces the first has already taken place; the second and third stages will come in the future. Luke records four separate occasions in the book of Acts where the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews led to its acceptance by the Gentiles: Acts 13:44-52; Acts 18:1-6; Acts 19:1-10; Acts 28:11-31. The Jews rejected the Gospel message and the Gentiles accepted it. Paul goes on to say in verse 12 that the first event took place with a view to the second. God thus used the disobedience and sin of Israel so that the Gentiles could be saved.

And then Paul tells us that salvation was given to the Gentiles in order to make Israel jealous. If you read the verses just mentioned in the book of Acts, you will see several references indicating jealousy by the Jews toward the apostles. The Jews were jealous of the apostles’ success, of their influence on the people, and of the large crowds they attracted. But Paul foresees an even more productive jealousy than this. Paul knows that when Israel sees the blessings of salvation being enjoyed by believing Gentiles, their reconciliation to one another and to God, their forgiveness, their love, joy, and peace through the Holy Spirit, the Jews will want these blessings for themselves and, it is implied, they will repent and believe in Jesus in order to have them. Thus provoked to envy, the Jews will be led to belief and conversion.

This future conversion of Israel will then lead to a further blessing for the whole world. We need to be careful not to gloss over verses 11 and 12 because they are very essential. Why? Well, let us take a closer look at them. If Israel’s “fall” and “defeat” brought blessing to the Gentiles, in other words if something bad happening to Israel brought a great blessing to the rest of the world, just think how much blessing the rest of the world will get when the greatest majority of the Jews are converted and believe in Christ. The blessing for the rest of the world should then be even much greater.

Now the jealousy Paul is trying to create among the Jews is not necessarily a bad thing because jealousy can be both good or bad depending on what is desired. If what we want belongs to someone else and we have no right to it, then jealousy is evil. But if the thing desired is in and of itself good, something that God wants for all people, then to desire such a thing is not bad. Such a desire is a good thing in itself and a good thing to want to have.

Something else we should take note of here is that it is a well-known fact that Anti-Semitism has been a major prejudice in our world probably from the very first century until now, and very possibly even earlier. Anti-Semitism of course is a hatred for the Jews. The other side of that, however, is that many of the Jews have hated Gentiles, which is probably a lesser known fact, but true. Now one of the big problems for the Jews in Paul’s day was their arrogance. They simply refused to humble themselves before their God. So God allows them to stumble and they have to endure the conversion and acceptance of Gentiles, whom they must become jealous of before they can come back to their God. This is a very humbling thing for the Jews. God has therefore taken action that will force Israel to become humble in that they will now seek a faith that they want because they see all the blessings it brings to the Gentiles.

And this should be a lesson to those of us who are already saved, that we not become proud and arrogant. Because it is only as a result of the grace of God that we have this gift of salvation. Our lives should therefore be powerful representations of what God can do in a life. In this way our lives can be a magnet to those Jews who have rejected the Savior. How we live, act, speak, and how we make evident the love of Jesus is the best possible way we can demonstrate the benefits of such a life to the Jewish people.

At this point we would like to tell you a story that we hope will stick with you and become part of you. This specific instance relates to the Jewish people in Israel, but the lesson can apply to almost anyone anywhere. If you ever take a trip to Israel, you will probably find that the tour guides who have been around for a number of years are more than just a little familiar with Christianity because of all the Christian tourists that visit Israel. These guides know all the hymns, they know the doctrine, they even know more than you would think about New Testament theology.

Here is what one guide told a Christian pastor who spent some time speaking with him one evening. He said, “Look, I know what all of you believe. What I cannot handle is the way most of you live your lives.” He went on to tell this pastor horror stories about the so-called Christian leaders who visit there and do not sleep with their own wives. Others want under the table favors, free jewelry, free lodging, free meals, and whatever else they can get free. They are nothing more than hypocrites. These people call themselves Christians whether they are or not and it creates confusion in the minds of the Israelis about the validity of Christianity.

You will recall back in Romans 10:19 Paul wrote:

19 But did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God had said, “I will rouse your jealousy by blessing other nations. I will make you angry by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”  (NLT)

And Moses told the people of Israel this would happen way back in Deuteronomy 32 around 1500 B.C.

Further, Paul regards arousing the Jews to jealousy of the Gentiles as a necessary part of his mission to the Gentiles. In his letter to the Romans so far, Paul, who has been appointed as the apostle to the Gentiles, has had an awful lot to say about the Jews. Paul wants to demonstrate that the Jews and Gentiles cannot really be separated. Paul wants to show the Gentiles how his plan for leading the Jews to jealousy will have a direct beneficial effect upon them.

What are the benefits which the fullness of Israel will bring to the Gentiles? The primary benefit for the Gentiles will be “life for those who are dead (Romans 11:15).” There are a few different interpretations of this phrase and we would not discount any of them. But we believe the best explanation which fits into the context of everything Paul is referring to in these verses would be that the Church, that is all believing Christians, are to have respect for the Jews and to desire their conversion, for them to be grafted back into the olive tree. This is implied by the advantages that would accrue to the Church by the conversion of the Jews (Romans 11:12,15). It would be “as life from the dead“, and is that not how a conversion experience is described? Based on Christ’s resurrection, those of us who were once “dead in trespasses and sins” are now made alive through our faith in Christ. Those of us who were on the way to Hell because of our sins can now jump for joy that we are alive and on our way to Heaven because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. We who were spiritually dead are now spiritually alive because we have been made a part of that tree that is fed through its roots by the holiness of Jesus Christ. Therefore, those of us who through our faith in Christ have been grafted into the tree, must not insult and gloat over those poor Jews who were cut off because of their disbelief, but rather pity them, and desire their welfare, and long for them to come to faith in Christ so that they may be grafted in again.[fn]

Then beginning in verse 16 (Romans 11:16), Paul makes an analogy that should not be skimmed over lightly. He likens the root of the olive tree to be holy. This means that God granted righteousness to Abraham and the patriarchs because of their faith. Therefore, those who became branches of that tree whose root was holy, because of their faith, will be holy as well, Romans 11:16:[fn]

Beginning in verse 17, Paul issues a warning to the Gentiles regarding pride, Romans 11:17-20 NLT:

17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree, some of the Jews, have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, were grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in God’s rich nourishment of his special olive tree.
18 But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root.
19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.”
20 Yes, but remember—those branches, the Jews, were broken off because they did not believe God, and you are there because you do believe. Don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.

Paul is telling the Gentiles here not to think that they are superior to the Jews because the Jews’ branches have been broken off. Paul warns them not to think that way because in verse 21 he says:

21 For if God did not spare the branches he put there in the first place, he will not spare you either.  (NLT)

If we go back to verse 16 we see here where Paul refers to the first fruits of dough and the whole lump; the root and the branches. The first fruits of dough and the root refer to Abraham and the other patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob. The whole lump and the branches refer to God’s people Israel, who are descendants of the patriarchs. The holiness attributed to the part and the whole, the root and the branches, is that of being dedicated, consecrated, set apart to God. This is a legal holiness for the group by virtue of their being God’s chosen people.

It is important to keep in mind as we study these passages that Paul is not referring to individuals, but to Jews and Gentiles as people groups. We mention this so that no one will get the idea that you can lose your salvation. Verses such as Romans 11:21 are referring to groups of people. For example, when I say, “Americans love pizza,” you know I mean Americans in general, not every American. So when Paul refers to Israel, He is referring to the nation as a group of people, not necessarily every single Jew.[fn]

Then Paul proceeds in verse 17 to compare Israel to an olive tree. He says that some of the branches have been broken off, but not all of them because there always was and always will be a remnant of Jewish believers. This analogy Paul makes is representative of what actually happens in the agricultural care of olive trees, which was a major crop in Israel. A branch that was unproductive would have to be broken off because it would still sap some of the strength from the tree and it would crowd the tree so that air and sunlight could not penetrate the grafted branch which needed all the air and sunlight it could get. So the unproductive branches would be cut off. And they would then graft in the new branches which would then benefit and thrive from being fed by the roots and trunk of the olive tree.[fn] That is what we are being told in verse 17:

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree.

 
We cannot leave this thought without reading from John 15:1ff, NRSV:

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 22:8-10 NRSV:

8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.
9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’
10 “So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

The Jews did not want it, so it was given to the Gentiles. So that is when the Gentiles were grafted in to the olive tree. Paul goes on to give a command in verse 18:

18 But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root.  (NRSV)

Do not start boasting that you are better than the branches that were cut out. Because it is the root that is providing for you, and the root is the patriarchs of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to whom God made His promises. And it is through this root, in Jesus Christ, that the promises of God would be kept. It is because of this root that every believer has received salvation and no tree can exist without a root. If you are a Gentile believer, you are saved and blessed because you are connected to an Abrahamic root. We receive all of our blessing only because we are grafted in to the covenant of salvation that God made with Abraham. Look at Galatians 3:6-9 NLT:

Then in verse 19 and 20 of Romans 11, Paul says:

19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.”
20 Yes, but remember—those branches, the Jews, were broken off because they did not believe God, and you are there because you do believe. Don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.   (NLT)

Paul wrote this to those who might think that because they replaced a branch that was broken off, that they are better than them. “If I am not the root, at least I can say that I am a better branch than the one that was broken off.” Not so. We are to be very careful not to do this. Do not think too highly of yourself but rather develop a little healthy fear, and Paul tells us why in verse 21 NLT:

21 For if God did not spare the branches he put there in the first place, he will not spare you either.

Do you get the picture? Israel had not been provided any protection against their unbelief even though they were the chosen people of God. So Gentiles will certainly not be protected in their unbelief. We must have a healthy dose of humility and yes even fear in regard to the fact that we are chosen, saved, and blessed because of our faith in Jesus according to 1 Peter 1:17-19 NLT:

17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth.
18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.
19 He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

It is only the root of Jesus, and His sinless blood hat feeds the branches of the tree and keeps them saved. We have no special status with God outside of our faith. If the Church enters into unbelief, God will cut off the Church, just as He cut off those among the Jews who refused to believe.

The Church has become so liberal and in so many ways denied the validity of Scripture and the lordship of Jesus Christ, it would not surprise me if God cut off the Church just like he cut off the Jewish nation. The Church that exists today is for the most part unbelieving. There is still a remnant of faithful believers in the Church, just as there is a remnant of faithful believers among the Jews. But the Church hardly even resembles any more what Jesus intended for it to be, and the day may be coming when He cuts it off. If you want to read about the destruction of the Church, just go to Revelation chapter 17 where you will find a detailed account.

Next Paul writes (Romans 11:22):

22 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe to those who disobeyed, but kind to you as you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.  (NLT)

Remember these verses are referring to peoples as a group and not individuals. You will not be cut off if you are a believer. Your salvation is secure. But if you belong to a church that does not believe faith in Christ is the only way to salvation, or you do not belong to a church and you think that way anyhow, you will be cut off. Do not take lightly either the grace of God or the judgment of God. Both are true, both are real. By your faith you can avail yourselves of the grace, kindness, and mercy of God, or by your arrogance and disobedience you can bring on yourselves the judgment of God.

To be a part of God’s blessing, one must believe. The only people who maintain their place in the trunk of blessing are the faithful, both Jew and Gentile. Then in verse 23 we find a marvelous promise:

23 And even those of Israel, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.  (NLT)

We believe this will all happen during the seven-year tribulation just before the return of Christ. The unbelieving Church will be cut off and Israel will be grafted back in. The destiny of Israel can and will be reversed, verse 24:

24 For if God was willing to take you who were, by nature, branches from a wild olive tree and graft you into his own good tree—a very unusual thing to do—he will be far more eager to graft the Jews back into the tree where they belong.   (NLT)

Sounds to us like such an occurrence is very possible. In fact it is promised (verse 25):

25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ.  (NLT)

There it is. It is promised that Israel will be grafted in as soon as all the believing Gentiles who will ever come to faith in Christ do so. Then that redeeming remnant of believers in the Church will be raptured. God will then break off and destroy the unbelieving remnant of the Church, and graft the believing remainder of Israel back in. In other words the Jews who have accepted Christ as Savior will be saved. The Jews who refuse to accept Christ as Savior will be destroyed along with the rest of the unbelievers in the world. We know this because of Ezekiel 20:33ff. What a day that should be! Then will come the millennial kingdom when Christ will return and establish His world government in Jerusalem. And all redeemed believers, both Jew and Gentile, will serve in positions of authority.[fn]

Romans 11:26 then tells us:

26 And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this? “A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel from all ungodliness.  (NLT)

The salvation of all of Israel will then signal the return of Christ and His setting up of His kingdom on the earth. You will not want to miss this. Do not let anything in this world prevent you from being there.

 

HOW GREAT IS GOD’S  MERCY

We now know that the Jewish nation of Israel will be saved before the return of Christ. Just exactly when that will be we cannot say, but there are certainly enough indications in the Scripture that would lead us to believe it will very likely happen some time during the Great Tribulation, perhaps only months or even weeks before the return of Christ and the establishment of His millennial kingdom on the earth.

We also spoke of a great mystery that God revealed through the writings of the apostle Paul. Do you remember what the mystery was? A mystery that was made clear in Ephesians 3:4-7.

Then in Romans 11:25,26 NLT, Paul writes:

25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
26 And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this? “A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel from all ungodliness.

Let us now get an overview of the rest of Romans chapter 11 and read verses 27-36 NLT:

27 And then I will keep my covenant with them and take away their sins.”
28 Many of the Jews are now enemies of the Good News. But this has been to your (the Gentiles)[fn] benefit, for God has given his gifts to you Gentiles. Yet the Jews are still his chosen people because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the Jews refused his mercy, God was merciful to you instead.
31 And now, in the same way, the Jews are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you. But someday they, too, will share in God’s mercy.
32 For God has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
33 Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!
34 For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?
35 And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back?
36 For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.

Let us begin with verse 27: “then I will keep my covenant with them and take away their sins.” This was the promise of God given to Jeremiah in the Old Testament some six hundred years before the birth of Christ, where God speaks of the new covenant. Jeremiah writes in Jeremiah 31:31-33 NLT: 

31 “The day will come,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.
32 This covenant (promise)[fn] will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

God is saying that He is going to make a new covenant with Israel that is not going to be like the last one which they broke. He is going to make a covenant with the “people of Israel,” not a remnant, not just a small number of the people of Israel, but with the nation of Israel. Then Paul goes on to be even more specific in Jeremiah 31:34 (NRSV):

34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

This is the new covenant made for Israel. God repeats this promise in Jeremiah 32:38-40. The difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is that the old covenant was on the outside and new covenant is where? It is on the inside. God says He will put it on their hearts, He will bring the nation of Israel to faith in Jesus Christ.

The purpose of all of this is to put God’s sovereignty and glory on display. You see God controls history and that in itself is evidence enough of His sovereignty. He controls human history totally. Human history is constantly moving on a track that God has established and no one and nothing is going to alter it even the least bit. Do you think it is by coincidence that in 1948, after nineteen hundred years of being scattered all over the world, Jews again came back to where their history began, and then established the nation of Israel, while all of their neighbors from centuries before had passed from the realm of human history? God brought them back because He controls history to work out His sovereign will with infinite power.

Now Paul does not want us only to see God’s sovereignty in these verses. He also wants us to see God’s integrity. In ultimately saving Israel, God reveals Himself to be a God who keeps His promises. Romans 11:26 in the more accurate NAS translation says: “All Israel will be saved; just as it is written.” If it is written in the Bible, that is the way it will be because God controls history and if He tells us something will happen in the Bible, it will happen.  Paul loves to go back to the Old Testament for support. In verse 26, the statement “The deliverer will come from Zion,” comes from Isaiah 59:20,21 (NRSV):

20 And he will come to Zion (promised land) [fn]as Redeemer, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.
21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.

“Jacob” is just another name for Israel. The promise here is that God is going to save Israel. Israel’s salvation is an absolute certainty because God promised it. And because He keeps His promises He is a God to be glorified. Before going on, you may find it helpful to get some feel for God’s integrity when making a covenant promise. When God makes a promise He does so with the intent of it being a promise forever and one day being fulfilled. In Genesis 15:5-21, God made a promise to Abraham. The father of the nation of Israel through whose descendants all future promises were to be made and kept. Here is what God said: Genesis 15:5-21 (NRSV):

5 He (God)[fn] brought him (Abraham)[fn] outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”
8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years;
14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

This is exactly what happened to Abraham’s descendants during the captivity in Egypt. And Moses brought them out of that captivity and led them to the Promised Land.

15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Here God makes a covenant promise with Abraham. He tells Abraham to go and get three animals and two birds, kill them and cut them in half and lay them on the ground. Half of some on this side and the other half over on this side. God then gave Abraham a divine anesthetic and knocked him out. Abraham went into a deep sleep and God Himself like a smoking lamp and a burning furnace passed between those pieces. This is how contracts in these times were sealed. Normally both parties to the agreement would walk between the halves of the animals, affirming that the same thing, being cut in half. should happen to them if they break the contract or promise.[fn]

When God made His promise or contract with Abraham, He did not let Abraham go between the pieces. God put him to sleep and went through alone because God was making a covenant promise, not dependent on Abraham, but on God’s own unchangeable nature. And five hundred years later God fulfilled that promise by leading Abraham’s descendants out of bondage in Egypt and to the promised land of Israel.

And when God set out to redeem Israel it was to fulfill the covenant that He made with Himself. When God makes a covenant promise with God, nobody is going to break it. The redemption of Israel is based on an unconditional covenant promise that God would bless the descendants of Abraham. That Abrahamic covenant eventually passed into the new covenant which is also unconditional. The next two verses reinforce this. Romans 11:28,29 NLT:

28 Many of the Jews are now enemies of the Good News. But this has been to your benefit, for God has given his gifts to you Gentiles. Yet the Jews are still his chosen people because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.

The Jews are presently enemies of the message of the Gospel, the Good News preached by Jesus. But they are still the chosen people of God. They are the beloved of God. At one and the same time they are enemies of God and the beloved of God. Concerning the Gospel the Jews are the enemies of God. As being the chosen of God they are loved.

We have a God who has absolute integrity. We can give glory to a God who has absolute integrity. He is not like the people He created. Are you weary of the fact that people make promises they never keep? Men and women make promises and contracts and then break them all the time. Just look at the divorce rate or how overburdened our judicial system is. God has integrity. Bless His name for that.

Now Let us move on to Romans 11:30,31 NLT:

30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.

Do you know why Jehovah God, the one and only God of the Bible, stands out head and shoulders above the gods of other religions?

No other gods of any other religion do that. If you do not believe that, go check it out. Gather up all your research materials and then come back and Betty and I will spend all the time you would like in a friendly debate that you will end up losing.

Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, “What kind of God would forgive Hitler? Look at all of the horrible things he did.” You are right, it would be awfully hard to accept that God would forgive someone like Hitler. And the chances are very slim that Hitler ever repented and invited Christ into His life. But if he had, he would have received salvation. His crimes against humanity were appalling. But is it not comforting to know that no matter what you have done, you can still be forgiven? Do not trouble yourself worrying about the insanely evil people in the world. God will judge them as they deserve. Rather concern yourself with your eternity and those whose lives you touch. People just do not comprehend the reality of eternity anymore. Especially in the culture of the twenty-first century.

We must remember that there is nothing within any of us that recommends us to God and it is only because of His grace and mercy that any of us are saved. We do not think we would be exaggerating if we were to estimate that less than one percent of the people in the United States have any idea of what salvation and eternal life is all about. Polls tell us that perhaps as many as eighty percent of the people in the United States believe in God and consider themselves to be Christians.

If you were God, would you put people on the earth and expect them to do what is right just by letting them do whatever they think to be right? Or would you in some way communicate to them certain standards for doing the right thing? Without some standard to go by, we would have a culture in which everybody would do what they think is right and believe they would not have to answer in the end for what they have done. Sound familiar? So if God, the Creator of the world and all living things required that people crawl on their hands a knees over a quarter mile bed of glass every day in order to be saved, and never made that known to anyone, it would be up to each individual to think that requirement up on their own if they were to be saved. What do you think the chances would be of their doing that? Little or none would probably be a pretty accurate guess.

If you were to go out on the street right now and sample a hundred people, asking them where they are going after they die and how it is that they know that, we will bet you would get a hundred different answers. Why? Because they have never checked out what God’s standards for salvation are. They do not know what God says in the Bible about being saved and going to Heaven. All they can do is believe what someone has told them or think something up in their minds that they can be comfortable with. After all, no one in their right mind would want to spend eternity in the torment of Hell, right? So they say something like, “Oh, I’ll probably go to Heaven because God wouldn’t really send a decent person like me to Hell.” Or perhaps they will say, “I’ve served my church as a member of the choir for twenty years and sung a lot of praises to God. That should be enough to get me in.” We would tell you some of the really bizarre, unbelievable responses to that question that we have actually heard but no one would believe we were telling the truth.

Friends, God gave us His standards for salvation. He opened up His mind and who He is to us all through the Bible. And for those of you who do not think, you will observe we used that word, “think“, again, that the Bible is not the Word of God and without error, please send us an e-mail through our website (www.villagechurchofWheaton.org)  and tell us all the reasons you think that way and we will do our best to show you the irrefutable evidence. One of the realities that people do not like about the Bible is that it states clearly that those who die without being saved will spend their eternity in Hell. Well it will not matter what they think after they die because they will stand before God on their own and He will tell them the reality concerning their eternity and frankly that He could care less what they think. And at that point there will be no opportunity for appealing the verdict. You can only do that while you are alive.

Do you think many people give a second thought to spending their forever in Hell, suffering every moment? Of course they do not because they do not know the standard that God has set before each person for salvation. They just kind of hope God would not do something like that to them, when all they would have to do to be sure, would be to look in the Bible. They do not know the standard because they do not read the Bible, they do not go to a church that teaches the truth, and they do not hang around with people who do those things. I went to many of the churches in Wheaton to do some research before we started Village Church and I did not hear the pure truth of the gospel message preached at any of them. I heard beautiful music, interesting and entertaining sermons, fascinating dramatic sketches, but I did not hear anybody telling people how they could be saved and go to Heaven for eternity. We need a revival in this country and we need preachers who know the truth, believe it, and are not afraid to preach it.

And even though millions upon millions of Americans have been stumbling around in the dark for so long, they could be saved, because we have a merciful God who will forgive them as soon as they turn to the truth and embrace it. And the sum of all this comes in verse 32, Romans 11:32 NLT:

32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

This verse deals with a question that I have heard asked over and over again. In fact everyone at one time or another may have asked it. The question is, Why did God allow sin to occur? If He is so all powerful and in control of everything why did He not just allow the world to be perfect? Do you know why God allowed sin? He allowed sin because one of the attributes of God’s nature is mercy. Because God is a God of mercy, God has His reasons for revealing and exercising that mercy, and the only way that such mercy can be exercised is where there is sin. So in order for God to reveal Himself as a merciful God, God has allowed sin so that He might show mercy toward the sinner. Do you remember Romans 3:9 NLT, where Paul wrote:

9 Well then, are we Jews better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.
10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is good— not even one.
11 No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one.”

These verses characterize the whole world; all men and women from the beginning of time to the end. Why has God allowed this? Look at Romans 3:19,20 (NRSV):

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
20 For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Why does God want the whole world accountable to Him? Why does God want the whole world to be convicted of sin? So that all people may be seen to be unworthy. Then wherever God moves in with salvation, He is demonstrating the attribute of mercy. You might be saying to yourself, “But not all people receive mercy.” And that is true because God also needs to demonstrate His wrath. The reason there is a Hell is so that God may demonstrate His wrath and be glorified.

If you are having trouble with that concept, think about this. If you did not believe you would be punished for your disobedience, you would not worry too much about being disobedient, would you? That is the attitude that is taking over our culture today. People refuse to recognize there are consequences for their behavior and so they do just about anything they want to without worry. They have chosen to close their eyes to the truth and they are greasing their own slope to an eternity in Hell. The day they die, terror and regret will fill every part of their existence. Unfortunately it will be too late then. On the other hand, if you know that there is punishment for your disobedience and someone shows you a way to avoid that punishment while enjoying the best life possible, you would be a fool if you turned it down, right? In fact, you would be very grateful to the one who provided that opportunity for you. That is the way God is. He wants you to know that He loves you so much that He will keep you from the punishment if you trust and obey.

All that exists in terms of attitudes, thoughts, and created physical things exist ultimately so that God might display His glory. The Greek word for “disobedience” used in Romans 11:32 actually means “not to allow oneself to be convinced.” God has allowed humankind intellectually and morally to fall into a state where they do not allow themselves to be convinced of the truth of God in the Bible. So the only way they can be saved is outside of their own power through the mercy of God. If you are a believer, you are a believer because God has been merciful to you. Therefore, all the praise and glory go to whom they belong. The praise and glory go to God.

When we read in verse 32 that “He might show mercy to all,” that does not mean of course that all people will be saved. It means that all believing Jews and Gentiles are saved. Can you keep from praising and glorifying God for giving you salvation if you possess it, when you consider the alternative? How can you help but praise God for giving you an eternity in the glory of Heaven compared to the horrors of Hell where you would be going without His mercy. Then Paul ends this chapter with a doxology[fn] beginning in Romans 11:33-36 NRSV:

33 O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?”

This doxology is telling us that God is incomprehensible. There is no way with our limited minds that we can truly understand a God who has no limitations. There is simply nothing that He cannot do. And the way He does many of these things we simply could not understand. Psalm 139:1-6 NLT further emphasizes this quality of God:

1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I am far away.
3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

Paul ends this chapter in which he has confirmed God’s sovereignty and God’s integrity and God’s generosity to the Jew and Gentile. He shows us how God’s plan comes all the way to completion, where both the Gentiles are redeemed and the Jewish nation is redeemed. The whole plan of God is going to work out gloriously. Having identified God in a way that recognizes His faithfulness and His saving mercy, a God who controls history and fulfills all His promises, Paul simply cannot help bursting into a song of praise in these last few verses.

Paul is saying “Oh what a God we have! What a plan He is unfolding!” Paul is in absolute awe of God’s plan here as he closes the chapter. He cannot help but praise and glorify a God of such love and mercy. Just compare this ending with the way Paul began this section in Romans 9:1 with sorrow and heaviness of heart as he thought about the present lostness of Israel:

1 In the presence of Christ, I speak with utter truthfulness—I do not lie—and my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm that what I am saying is true.
2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief
3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s special children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave his law to them. They have the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.
5 Their ancestors were great people of God, and Christ himself was a Jew as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

But now as Paul thinks about the future salvation of that nation, he rejoices. We might close with this footnote. The future salvation of Israel is not going to be retroactive. Any Jew up to that time who lives and dies without Christ lives and dies without Christ, without a second chance. Paul has sorrow because of that, but he has joy to realize that ultimately there will be a nation of Jews who will believe when God’s plan comes to fulfillment. So Paul is filled with awe and wonder and praise, and he does not feel this way only about the things that God has not yet revealed, but by the things that God has revealed. He is in awe how God could pull all this off and make it happen. Paul is overwhelmed by God in every way. So we live in faith because we can be assured that what such a God tells us is true. What He has given us is only a sample of how much more there is that we can trust. That is why it is so foolish when we question Him. God is graceful and merciful and we will never be able to comprehend the depth of His grace and mercy. How thankful Betty and I are to have such a God. We hope you are too.

Isaiah

John

Romans

1 Peter


© Ron Teed - Used by permission. All rights Reserved.