Romans 11:1-10
God’s plan for
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Rom. 11:25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Pray
Intro
√ Nice to be home – many thanks for those who blessed us by covering the “home front”.
Also – the chocolate!
√ Let’s get back to Romans!
God’s plan for the Jews, and how it is that He is able to keep His promises to the patriarchs even though Israel had for the most part rejected the Gospel.
So, a quick outline of Paul’s side track regarding God’s plan for Israel…
Chapter 9 - Israel’s past election
Chapter 10 - Israel’s present rejection
Chapter 11 - Israel’s future restoration
Ap. Very important that we understand the place of the Jewish people, and of their nation Israel in God’s redemptive program.
Note that Paul says…
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery”
…the truth is there is much about God and His plan for World which Christians are ignorant of.
Ignorance can be fixed, stupid is forever! J
Ex. Many Christians have made the mistake of believing that God is finished with Israel.
These people then spiritualize “Israel” to represent the “Church” and apply all of the promises given in the Old and New Testament to the Jews to instead be promises to the Church.
Leads to all sorts of confusion when trying to unravel Bible prophecy.
In chapter 11 Paul deals with this very issue and outlines God’s plan for the nation of Israel.
Is God finished with Israel? (vs. 1)
Rom. 11:1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
√ The central question
“I say then, has God cast away His people?”
The question is in context with Paul’s discussion of Israel’s rejection of the Gospel, contrasted with the widespread acceptance of the Gospel by the Gentiles.
√ The answer
“Certainly not!”
So, for all those who hold to the doctrine that God has finished with His chosen people – they find themselves at odds with the inspired Word of God!
√ Paul – a living example of a Jew who got saved!
And, remember that Paul wasn’t looking for Jesus – he was trying to destroy the message of Jesus!
Ap. God hasn’t given up on, nor finished with the people of Israel.
That is because God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are as good today as when He made them!
While the majority of Jewish people in Paul’s day, and ours, have rejected the Gospel…
…God has not rejected Israel forever.
He has a plan for His Chosen people and He can be counted on to keep His promises!
2Co 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Ap. Beware of Arnold Murray & his Shepherd’s Chapel
*** See CRI handout – Be a Berean!
Ex. The so-called Anglo-Israel doctrine is false, simply a subtle form of anti-Semitism – denying the fact that the people in Israel are actually Jewish and teaching that the Anglo-Saxons are!
Based upon the false premise that 10 of the 12 Tribes of Israel were supposedly lost after the captivity in Babylon and Assyria.
Note however, that James – under the direction of the Holy Spirit still spoke of the 12 tribes as existent long after the captivity.
Jas 1:1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
Ex. Like Paul, the Jews in his day could tell you the genealogy and to which of the 12 tribes they belonged.
Ex. Even today – DNA research on Jewish men throughout the world found a DNA strand that is unique to the priesthood of the Levites!
So, if you’re an Arnold Murray fan – take this home and read it, study the Bible, and pray about it.
√ How can we be sure that Paul is correct?
Could he not be a unique case, rather, than a true example that God isn’t through with the Jewish people?
Note vs. 2-4
How can we sure? (vs. 2-4)
Rom. 11:2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,
Rom. 11:3 “LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?
Rom. 11:4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
√ The Bible says so!
Paul appeals to the Bible for his authority regarding the nature of God and His dealings with Mankind.
The point Paul makes is that even at the lowest point in Israel’s spiritual history – the nation given over completely to idol worship under Ahab and Jezebel…
…God had not cast His chosen people away!
Ex. Elijah – was sure that he was the last of God’s saints and about to be killed.
But, as Paul points out God had maintained a remnant (small group) that were still faithful during the lowest spiritual point in Israel’s history.
So then, Paul is not a unique example – rather, as he illustrates from the Bible – this is proof that God has always maintained a remnant of believers among the Jews.
Ap. Bad theology is the result of Biblical illiteracy!
Note what Paul says in vs. 2…
“God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do
you not know what the Scripture says
of Elijah”
That is, those to whom Paul was writing who had come to the wrong conclusion that God was finished with the Jews…
…because they didn’t know their Bible very well!
Jesus rebuked the Sadducees for their bad theology regarding the resurrection of the dead.
Mt 22:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.
My point is that bad theology and outright heresy are almost always related to a poor knowledge of the scripture (contrasted to those who simply pervert the Word!)
Ex. Most people who get sucked into the cults had a previous “Christian” experience – but didn’t really know their Bible.
That’s one of the reasons Paul exhorts Timothy (and all pastors) to teach the Word!
Conversely, that’s one of the characteristics of the Church in the Last Days and the false religion of Antichrist…
…that they don’t teach the Word!
2Tim. 4:1 I charge (command) you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2Tim. 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
2Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
2Tim. 4:4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of knowing your Bible.
Ap. Protect your soul – read your Bible – come to church – get involved in Bible study – the Bible is the only authoritative source by which we can know God and how it is that He deals with Mankind.
Our manual for doctrine and behavior.
Present application (vs. 5)
Rom. 11:5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
√ The Church in the 1st Century
To further strengthen his argument, Paul points to their present experience as proof that God has not cast off the Jewish people.
Ex. The majority of the believers in Paul’s day were Jews – like himself – who had believed in Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy.
While they represented a minority of the total population of Jews in the world…
…they were none the less a visible – living – proof that God was faithful not only in times past but also in the present to maintain a remnant of believers among the Jews.
Ap. A remnant today
Today we find that the majority of the Church is made of Gentiles. However, there is even today a remnant of Jews who have embraced Jesus as their Messiah.
Ex. Jews For Jesus & Calvary Chapel in Jerusalem – “completed Jews”, or “Messianic Jews”
The point that we don’t want to miss is that God is still working with His chosen people – the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Tough group to reach – but we ought not to ignore them.
√ So, why are the Jews so hard to reach with the Gospel?
Paul deals with that in our next section.
Trapped by works (vs. 6-10)
Rom. 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
Rom. 11:7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Rom. 11:8 Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”
Rom. 11:9 And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
Rom. 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”
√ These verses constitute Paul’s explanation as to why the majority of the Jews failed to accept the Gospel and are to this day still hard to reach.
Now, the KJV, and the NKJV can be a little muddled making it difficult to grasp Paul’s point.
J.B. Philips
Rom. 11:6 And if it is a matter of the grace of God, it cannot be a question of their actions especially deserving God’s favor, for that would make grace meaningless.
Rom. 11:7 What conclusion do we reach now? That Israel did not, as a whole, obtain the object of his striving, but a chosen few achieved it. The remainder became more and more insensitive to the righteousness of God.
Paul’s point is that Grace and works are mutually exclusive!
That is, according to the Gospel which Paul received from Jesus Christ and preached all over the Roman Empire…
A person could not make himself/herself acceptable to God by any means except Grace.
To try and make oneself acceptable to God with good works served only to prove that a person didn’t understand the Grace of God.
Bottom line – people must come to God on His terms – He makes a person acceptable through the means of Grace.
Paul’s point here, backed up with scripture, is that Jewish thinking had become so enamoured with the Law that they couldn’t comprehend that God would not accept them based upon their works.
√ Grace
Here’s what it means to you and me this morning.
God accepts you and loves you beyond your ability to even comprehend the depth of His love…
…not based upon your performance.
But, rather upon your faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
At which point – you move into a Grace-based relationship with God.
This is the hardest thing for me to really apprehend!
Why? Because every human relationship I have is based upon who I am and what I bring to the relationship.
Whether or not I am accepted by you or anyone else is based upon who I am, how I perform, my behavior, etc.
So, I find myself overly concerned with what others think of me and whether or not they will accept me for who I am.
If I’m not careful I carry that wrong understanding into my relationship with God – believing that He will only accept me if I perform to His standards.
The result is that I begin to feel badly believing that God no longer accepts me because of who I am.
Ap. The truth is that God accepts you and me based upon Who Jesus is!
Close
√ God isn’t finished with Israel and the Jews – we’ll look more at His plans for their future next week.
√ Do a study on “Grace” and you will find that Grace and works are mutually exclusive.
Ex. Some examples
Ac 15:11 “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
Ro 4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
Ga 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
Ga 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Ga 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,