Romans 10:16-11:32

Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you brought with you this morning, and turn to Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

To be honest and humble this morning, I have been dreading coming to this point in the book of Romans.

And by this point, I mean chapter 11, verse 26, which we're going to get to today, if you can believe it or not.

But, beginning in chapter 9, I have been wrestling with the meaning and the implications contained in such difficult, difficult text.

I have taken some comfort in kind of widely reading and seeing that I'm not the only one, a bit confused by it.

I take comfort that Peter himself, the apostle in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 16, said that there are some things in Paul's writings that are hard to understand.

2 Peter 3:16

Even Peter himself was a tad confused at times.

I have been actually kind of physically in anguish over the bearing and the meaning of this text that we're going to get to today.

You're going to think I'm crazy.

We are going to go from chapter 10, verse 16, through chapter 11, verse 32, taking a particular look at Israel and the meaning.

What is Paul getting at about Israel?

How is it that the grace of God is relating to Israel?

And that has been really the argument that he began for us at the beginning of chapter 9.

So let's read it together.

And I just ask that you be very attentive.

As we normally do verse-by-verse exposition, I won't be quite verse-by-versing it today.

So this is your verse-by-verse dose.

And then I'm going to kind of jump a little bit through the chapter so that we can actually make it through today.

And I hope you'll see the value in that by the time we finish our time together, which is starting at 11.

We'll see how this goes.

All right.

So begin reading in verse 16 of chapter 10.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

For Isaiah says,

Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

But I ask, have they not heard?

Indeed they have.

For their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

But I ask, did Israel not understand?

First, Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation.

With a foolish nation, I will make you angry.

Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek me.

I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.

But of Israel, he says, all day long I've held up my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

I ask then, has God rejected his people?

By no means.

For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah?

How he appeals to God against Israel?

Lord, they have killed your prophets.

They have demolished your altars.

And I alone am left, and they seek my life.

But what is God's reply to him?

I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

So too, at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace.

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works.

Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

What then?

Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking.

The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened.

As it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see, and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.

And David says, let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.

So I asked, did they stumble in order that they might fall?

By no means.

Rather, through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

Now, if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles,

how much more would their full inclusion mean?

Now, I am speaking to you, Gentiles, and as much then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles,

I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them.

For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others,

and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches.

If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

Then you will say, branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.

That is true.

They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith.

So do not become proud, but fear.

For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

Note then the kindness and the severity of God.

Severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness.

Otherwise you too will be cut off.

And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.

For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted contrator nature into a cultivated olive tree,

how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree?

Lest you be wise in your own sight.

I want you to understand this mystery, brothers.

A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

And in this way, all Israel will be saved.

As it is written, the Deliverer will come from Zion.

He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.

And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake.

But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

For just as you were at one time disobedient to God, but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,

so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy.

For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

Let's pray together.

Father God, I feel the weight of this text this morning.

But I pray as we've read from your Holy Scripture,

and as we listen to the preaching of it, and just even as I preach it,

that you will teach us from it.

We know that all Scripture is profitable.

So this text is for us this day.

And I pray, God, that will be the case.

That by your Spirit, we will feel the truth, and it will move us to action.

And I pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So we've been in the book of Romans for quite some time now.

We've been marching through it.

I need to go back and look and actually see how long we've been at this now together.

But those of you who are here may remember in Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

I preached a sermon on verses 19 through 16,

and I said that this text was the crux of Romans.

For those of you not familiar with that term,

I used to, I don't really anymore, but used to rock climb quite a bit.

And every route has or had, for me, a crux.

And the crux was always the most difficult move in the entire climb.

So if you could pull the crux off, with fair certainty,

you were going to be able to finish that particular route.

And that is this for Romans.

Martin Luther actually called it the center of the Bible,

verses 19 through 26.

And it's where we see that the whole world,

verse 19, is going to be held accountable to God.

For no human being will be justified in his sight.

Down in verse 22, there's no distinction.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And could be then only justified, verse 24,

by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ,

who's the propitiation, the replacement for our sin.

We received his righteousness in what Martin Luther called the great exchange.

So to understand the entirety of Scripture,

as well as just where we're at today in Romans,

we have to get this right.

The case that Paul has been building,

beginning in chapter 1 and working his way through,

is that all man is condemned in God's sight,

because all men have sinned.

There is no good thing we can do.

There's no lineage we can have,

no associations,

no activity that's going to make us right before God

except faith in his Son,

which is a grace to us.

I didn't know it at the time.

I didn't have verse 26 and chapter 11 in mind

when I said that this was so key,

so important that we get this absolutely right.

I'm glad I did,

and I'm glad I'm saying it again now.

We must see that this is the case.

This is the lens by which we must look at

the rest of Romans and all of the Scriptures.

It's very key that we get that right.

Man has sinned,

and therefore we are found unworthy.

We are depraved,

utterly worthless in God's sight.

But by the propitiation,

the work of Christ,

and our faith in him,

we can be redeemed,

have a right standing before God.

That is the way of salvation.

Not a way of salvation.

That is the way of salvation.

So Paul continues to go on

and build a case for what now life in Christ looks like.

This receiving of the Spirit

and life by the Spirit.

The difficulty that we're going to experience

as Christians in chapter 8.

And then he gets at the end of chapter 8

to talk about the sovereignty of God in salvation.

And so if God was sovereign in our salvation,

he's also going to be sovereign in our perfection

and our final completion.

He is sovereign over all things.

So as we suffer,

we have this great and glorious truth

that if God is for us,

who can be against us?

No one.

Not even ourselves.

Right?

He is good and loving to us

because he is God

and he is in control.

Right?

Then he, in chapter 9,

says,

but,

the question in his own mind,

and I'm sure the question he was asked many times

is,

what about the Jews?

What about the people that,

that culturally they had an understanding

were God's people?

These were the people

that God had given all these blessings to.

You see in verse 4 and verse 5 of chapter 9,

they had the glory,

the covenants,

the giving of the law,

the worship,

and the promises,

the patriarchs.

And it's from their flesh,

according to the flesh,

that Christ was born.

He himself was a Jew.

What about those people,

right,

that had all these benefits

given to them?

And Paul then gives us his famous argument

in chapter 9

of God's sovereignty and salvation.

We see the introduction of the term election

in verse 11.

That God's purpose of election might stand

not on the basis of works.

Jacob and Esau is the example

given there, right?

Esau was the eldest son.

His work was that he came out of the womb first,

but the promise was given to Jacob,

so that the eternal purpose of election

might stand not on the basis of works,

but because of him who calls.

That's verse 11.

He turns back then in chapter 10,

end of 9 and then into 10,

to talk once again about the Jews.

So what is it that's going on

in God's sovereign eternal purposes?

How is it that he still is relating

and he kind of rewinds back

to the beautiful simplicity

of the gospel

that anyone who believes in him,

verse 13 of chapter 10,

for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

Verse 14,

how will they call on whom they have not believed

and how will they believe in him

and whom they have never heard?

And how are they here without someone preaching?

We talked over the past three weeks

about the mission of the church,

which is to preach the gospel,

the good news of Jesus Christ,

because anyone who hears it

and believes it

and calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

So as Paul talks about

the exclusion of some

in Romans chapter 9,

Romans 9 · chapter mention

he then wraps it back around

and says,

but anyone who believes

will be saved.

And then he turns back

in the most challenging text

I've ever had to preach,

I hope ever will have to preach,

at the end of 10

and into 11

to continue to address Israel.

And that's what we're going to talk,

we're going to focus in on today.

Next week,

Lord willing,

we're going to talk about us,

the Gentiles,

and how it is we've benefited

from this.

This morning's going to be

a bit academic,

and for that I apologize.

At the end,

I promise to make it practical

for your living.

But I think it's important

that we get this

absolutely right

to the best of our ability

by the grace of God.

But let's see things.

In Paul's argument,

he's argued in chapter 9,

verse 27 through 29,

that God has always saved

a remnant of Israel.

Okay, so look at that there

at the end.

And Isaiah cries out

concerning Israel,

though the number of the sons of Israel

be as the sand of the sea,

only a remnant of them

will be saved.

For the Lord will carry out

his sentence upon the earth

fully and without delay.

And as Isaiah predicted,

if the Lord of hosts

had not left us offspring,

we would have been like Sodom

and become like Gomorrah.

So, number one,

we have to recall

that he's already stated

that God has always saved

a remnant of Israel,

remnant being the operative word

in this case.

Secondly, God has the right

to show mercy

or to harden

whomever he desires.

He is God.

We talked about him

being the great I am.

Everything plugs into him,

but he plugs into nothing else.

He is God.

And the question

asked in verse 19 of chapter 9,

the person who says,

you will say to me then,

why does he still find fault?

For who can resist his will?

And Paul's response to them is,

who are you, O man?

To answer back to God.

God has spoken.

He has decreed

that he'll have mercy

on whom he will

and he'll harden whom he will

because he's God.

Don't be so haughty.

Don't be so arrogant

and stand in judgment over him.

He's God.

You're a man.

As the creation,

worship your creator

for who he is.

He's worthy of that praise.

So that's the second one.

God has the right

to show mercy

or to harden

whomever he desires.

Number three,

Israel has rebelled

against God

throughout her history.

It's been a constant theme

throughout the history of Israel.

Rebellion,

even though they had received

all of these

beautiful pictures

of God's grace,

the things that were meant

to point to

the Christ that was coming,

the tabernacle,

the law,

the sacrifice,

the patriarchs,

the prophets,

all of those things,

these reflections

or shadows,

if you will,

of the coming glory

in Christ.

Yet,

she continued to rebel

in chapter 10,

verse 21.

But of Israel,

he says,

all day long,

I've held out my hands

to a disobedient

and a contrary people.

And that's the stage.

We can't divorce

where we're about to be

in chapter 11

from where we've been

in chapters 1

through

first half of 10.

Right?

We can't do it.

It would be

exegetically unfaithful

to do so.

But let's step

even a little bit

further back

from the book of Romans.

Okay?

And let's just see

how Jesus

dealt with the Jews,

speaking to the Jews

in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

If you'll turn with me there,

we're going to look

at three texts

in Matthew

and then two in Zechariah,

which you don't have

to turn to.

Okay?

Matthew chapter 8,

Matthew 8:11

verse 11.

Jesus says,

now remember,

in all three of these texts,

he's speaking to a Jewish audience.

He says,

I tell you,

many will come from east

and west,

the world,

and recline at table

with Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob

in the kingdom of heaven,

while the sons

of the kingdom,

Israelites,

will be thrown

into the outer darkness.

In that place,

there will be weeping

and gnashing

of teeth.

Here,

Jesus is already

beginning to expand

the gospel message

out beyond

just the nation

of Israel.

Okay?

We see Paul

as the carrier

of that message,

as the culmination,

the fulfillment

of what Jesus

is saying here

as he begins

to take the gospel

out to the Gentiles.

And just in case

you don't know,

Gentiles is everybody

but Jews,

just in case.

I think we're all,

I'm pretty sure,

we're all Gentiles

in this room.

That's what the scriptures mean.

All right?

So,

there's going to be

this passing

of the gospel

from the unbelieving Jews

to the nations,

to the world.

Matthew chapter 21,

Matthew 21:43

verse 43.

He says,

I'm going to read it

as you're getting there.

Please don't dislike me

for that.

Therefore,

I tell you,

the kingdom of God

will be taken away

from you

and given

to a people

producing its fruits.

Okay?

So,

again,

the same thing

he's been saying

in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

The gospel

is going to be

passing from the Jews

to the Gentiles.

Okay?

And then,

Matthew 22.

So,

turn just a little bit there.

Verse 1.

And again,

Jesus spoke to them

in parables,

saying,

The kingdom of heaven

may be compared

to a king

who gave a wedding feast

for his son,

God throwing a wedding feast

for Jesus Christ,

and sent his servants

to call those

who were invited

to the wedding feast,

but they would not come.

Again,

he sent other servants,

saying,

Tell those who are invited,

See,

I have prepared my dinner,

my oxen and my fat calves

have been slaughtered,

and everything is ready.

Come to the wedding feast.

Okay?

So,

these are all the blessings

given to Israel.

All right?

The prophets,

the sacrificial system,

the tabernacle,

all these things,

these pictures

of the coming Christ.

Verse 5.

But they paid no attention

and went off,

one to his farm,

another to his business,

while the rest seized his servants,

treated them shamefully,

and killed them.

And those are the prophets.

The king was angry,

and he sent his troops

and destroyed those murderers

and burned their city.

Then he said to his servants,

The wedding feast is ready,

but those invited were not worthy.

Go therefore to the main roads

and invite to the wedding feast

as many as you find.

And those servants went out

into the roads

and gathered all whom they found,

both bad and good.

So the wedding hall

was filled with guests,

but when the king came in

to look at the guests,

he saw there a man

who had no wedding garment,

and he said to him,

Friend, how did you get in here

without a wedding garment?

And he was speechless.

Then the king said to the attendants,

Bind him hand and foot

and cast him into the outer darkness.

In that place,

there will be weeping

and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called,

but few are chosen.

So there's this expansion,

once again,

of the invitation

to come to the party.

Both good and bad,

he says,

are invited.

The both good and bad,

in reference here,

are the Jews

and the Gentiles.

The Jews

and the Gentiles.

So they go out

and he invites,

he brings.

And a man comes in

and he's not wearing

a wedding garment.

In these days,

if you showed up to a wedding,

you were given something

to put on

to show that you were

an invited guest.

I didn't have time

to research what it was

you would put on,

but it was a garment

of some sort

you would wear

and you would joyfully

put it on to say,

I am here celebrating

what's going on

in this place.

And this is ultimately

talking about

the marriage supper

of the Lamb.

Jesus Christ

feasting with his people

and guess what

our wedding garment

is going to be?

It's going to be

the righteousness of Christ.

Because we're invited guests.

So there's this picture.

Then in Zechariah,

there's just some prophecy.

So Zechariah 12.10,

God speaks through Zechariah

and says,

and I will pour out

on the house of David

and the inhabitants

of Jerusalem

a spirit of grace

and please for mercy

so that when they look

on me

on whom they have pierced

they shall mourn for him

as one mourns

for an only child

and weep bitterly

over him

as one weeps

over a firstborn.

Chapter 13,

verse 1 of Zechariah.

On that day

there shall be

a fountain open

for the house of David

and the inhabitants

of Jerusalem

to cleanse them

from sin

and uncleanliness.

So we see

that the gospel

passes

from the Jews

to the Gentiles

but it has not

left them entirely.

The grace of God

has been expanded

across the world

including those

who are of the nation

of Israel,

including the Jewish people.

Paul asks that question

in chapter 11,

verse 1, right?

I ask then,

has God rejected

his people?

By no means.

And he makes the case

of himself,

his present day self.

I'm a Jew

and I'm a believer.

By and large

the nation

had rejected Christ

but many Jewish

yep,

not a good word for that,

Jewish people,

right?

Many Jewish people

had been turning

to Christ

at this time.

God hadn't rejected

his people

and you see here

the teaching

of Jesus

and Matthew

and this prophecy

in Zechariah.

We see these two things.

Both

are going

to be true

and that's

where Paul's wrestling.

Alright?

So we've

seen the stage

in Romans.

We've come back

from it a little bit

just to look at

some other scriptures

generally.

And so we get

to this phrase

in chapter 11,

verse 26.

And in this way

all Israel

will be saved.

There are three

major

arguments

for what this means.

And within those

three majors

there are some

variations certainly

on them.

I say to you

humbly

that I have

an opinion

that is not

inspired.

Certainly what I say

should only be

weighed against

the scriptures.

I hope I make

a clear case

because if I don't

then I shouldn't

be studying to preach.

I hope that

the opinion

I've arrived at

makes some sense

to you

as I present it

to you.

But I want to

quickly tell you

these three arguments

and then tell you

kind of where

I rest

on this.

Number one,

there's an argument

that when

he refers to

all Israel

that he's

speaking of

the church.

And that kind

of logic is

pulled from

the beginning

of chapter 9,

verse 6

when Paul says,

but it is not

as though the word

of God has failed

for not all

who are descended

from Israel

belong to Israel.

And he makes

this argument

that those of us

who are of the church

are of the spiritual

Israel.

And certainly

the scriptures

do that.

They do do that.

And I can see

why somebody

would be tempted

because it cleans

it up.

It makes it

really nice

and neat

to do it

that way.

But you kind

of have to

ignore the rest

of the chapter

for that to be

possible.

Paul is speaking

of the nation

of Israel.

Look with me.

I'm going to do

this really fast

so we don't

run out of time.

But look with me

beginning in

verse 1 of chapter 11.

He asks the question,

has God rejected

his people?

No.

I myself am an

Israelite.

So he's talking

about his heritage.

I'm an Israelite.

His people

an Israelite.

Then he goes on

in verse 2

to talk about

his people

whom he foreknew.

And at the end

of verse 2

being Israel.

Verse 7.

What then Israel

failed to obtain

what it was seeking?

The elect obtained it.

Verse 11.

They,

so I ask

did they stumble

in order that they

might fall?

And it goes on

and it goes on.

I'm probably

wasting time

to continue to do

this, right?

Verse 11.

There.

Israel.

Verse 12.

There.

Then you see

the world.

And if there.

Failure.

Riches for the Gentiles.

How much more

will their inclusion

mean?

Okay, so

if we follow

the pronouns

through,

and I'm just

going to stop

there,

but it keeps

on marching

its way

up to verse 26.

We follow

the pronouns.

Certainly we can't

say that he just

suddenly changes

his language

at this point.

He just suddenly

totally throws out

and shifts it

just to massively

confuse everyone

who might read

this letter,

right?

That's not the case

at all.

So we can very

quickly and easily

dismiss that.

Paul is not

arguing here

that in verse 26

that in this way

all Israel,

meaning all the

church,

will be saved.

It's not what he

means.

The second option,

and this is the

most prevalent

and popular,

which is not

the one I'm

resting on,

which gives me

great hesitation,

is the national

argument,

right?

It's an eschatological

argument.

It's an end times

argument that the

day will come

one day when

all of the

Gentile peoples

meant to be

saved will be

saved,

and then all

Israel will be

saved.

My challenge

with this is

that it seems

inconsistent.

I want to

focus in,

these people do,

on the word

all Israel.

I want to

focus in on

that,

but then neglect

what that would

actually mean.

If we just

simply look at

the phrasing

all Israel,

would that not

mean every Jew

who ever lived?

From the beginning

to the end?

That in some way

God is a

universalist in

regards to this

nation?

And here's where

chapter 3,

verse 19 through

26 serves us

well.

There's not a

separate promise,

as some have

suggested.

There's a

separate covenant

for the Jewish

people and a

different covenant,

the covenant of

grace, for the

church.

They're one and

the same.

That's the

argument Paul was

making for us.

Jew or Gentile,

there's no

distinction,

doesn't matter,

all of a sudden

fall short of

the glory of God

and will only be

redeemed,

only be redeemed

through Christ,

through his

propitiation,

the covenant of

grace.

So if we're

going to be

exegetically

consistent,

we can't say

that all means

all Israel

from the beginning

to the end,

all those who

have Jewish

heritage.

So most who

hold this view

don't believe

that.

They believe

that there

will come a

time when

all the Gentiles

will be included

in the end of

all things and

then all of the

Israelites who

are left will

turn to Christ.

There will be a

great national

turning back to

Christ.

Maybe, but I

don't believe

that's what Paul

is saying here.

There are some

who say, well,

not all of them,

but at least a

lot of them.

I mean, there's

just going to be

a big revival

that will happen

in Israel.

But then you

have to read it

and say, and

in this way,

all Israel,

well, I mean,

at least most

of them, or

not all Israel,

but the people

who are left

alive at this

time that we

don't understand.

That's what you

have to do.

Now, just to be

clear, I disagree

with the Johns

who all hold

this view.

You know who

the Johns are?

John Piper,

John MacArthur,

and Jonathan

Edwards.

This is what's

been making me

mentally sick

about this.

Generally

speaking, if

you disagree

with these

three men,

you really

ought to

reconsider your

stance, which

I've been doing

for the past

two months,

yeah, about

two and a

half months.

I've been

really, really

wrestling with

this.

these men

are godly

and wise.

I just

think in this

case they're

wrong.

I don't think

that's what it

means.

Now, granted,

if they're

right, it

does not

ultimately

change what

this text

really means

for us.

And we'll

get there

when we get

to the

practicality

of it.

They're not

distorting it

in order to

meet some

end of their

own.

I hope and

pray that

they're right.

I hope and

pray that there

will come a

time when the

whole nation

of Israel who's

alive will turn

to Christ.

And that

may happen.

I just

don't think

that's what

Paul is

trying to

teach us

in this

case.

So the

third argument,

and the one

I believe is

right, is

that he's

referring to

the remnant.

He's referring

to those of

Israel that

will be saved.

He means

all of Israel

intended to be

saved.

And I

recognize I

have to do

the same

thing, right,

to be

exegetically

consistent.

I have to

go, but

we've got to

add a few

more words in

there to make

that make

sense.

And so I'm

going to

show you

contextually

why I

think that's

what he

means when

he says

all Israel.

So, firstly,

he's speaking

in the present

tense throughout

the entire

chapter up

to this

point.

He's speaking

present tense,

which is why

I believe he's

continuing to

speak in the

present tense.

Okay?

Many who

hold to the

remnant still

think it's an

end times

issue, right?

I think it's

the remnant

present day.

Because,

verse 1,

right?

When he

asks, I

ask them,

as God

rejects his

people, he

says, by

no means,

and he

gives his

current day

evidence,

present tense.

I myself

am an

Israelite,

and I'm

a recipient

of God's

grace.

Verse 5,

says, so

too at the

present time

there is a

remnant

chosen by

grace.

Verse 13

and 14,

he says,

now I'm

speaking to

you Gentiles.

In as much

then as I

am an

apostle to

the Gentiles,

I magnify

my ministry

in order to

somehow make

my fellow

Jews jealous

and thus

save some

of them.

When?

Present tense,

right?

He's speaking

about his

ministry.

Now, I

magnify it

to make

Gentiles be

Christians so

that the Jews

will be jealous

so that some

of them will

be saved.

And then look

in verse 30

and 31 of

the use of

now.

Okay?

So once

again,

for just as you

were at one

time disobedient to

God, but now

have received mercy,

because of their

disobedience.

So they too

have now been

disobedient in

order that by

the mercy shown

to you, they

also may now

receive mercy.

Right?

So even after

the infamous

verse 26, we

see present

tense language

in verse 30

and verse 31.

Okay?

So I think

we're still

speaking in

present tense.

And I want to

show you,

beginning in

verse 11,

and Michael

Q, verse 11,

a pattern that

Paul has

established

throughout the

scripture to

get us here.

Okay?

So number

one, we see

the Jewish

rejection of

the gospel.

That's the

red lettering.

Okay?

We see the

Jewish rejection

of the gospel.

We see that

in chapter 10,

verse 21,

which is a

quotation from

Isaiah 65,

2.

I spread up my

hands all the

day to a

rebellious people

who walk in a

way that is not

good, following

their own

devices.

That's what he's

talking about,

chapter 10,

verse 21.

That's why he

brings that up.

Jewish rejection

of the gospel.

Secondly, the

grace extended to

the Gentiles in

blue, up here.

Grace extended to

the Gentiles.

Chapter 10,

verse 20, he's

quoting from

Isaiah 65,

1.

I was ready to

be sought by

those who did

not ask for me.

I was ready to

be found by

those who did

not seek me.

I said,

here I am,

here I am,

to a nation that

was not called

by my name.

So again,

here we see,

grace extended to

the Gentiles and

presented in

chapter 10,

verse 20,

and again and

again and again,

which I'm going

to show you in

just a moment.

Thirdly, we see

the envy of the

Jews.

Chapter 10,

verse 19, he

quotes Deuteronomy

32, 21.

They have made me

jealous with what

is no God.

They have provoked

me to anger with

their idols.

So I will make

them jealous with

those who are no

people.

I will provoke

them to

anger with a

foolish nation.

So the part of

the goal of this

rejection is that

Gentiles receive the

gospel so that

Jews become jealous

so that Jews

receive the gospel.

This pattern.

And fourthly,

the salvation of

Israel.

Chapter 11,

verse 1-4.

We see

Elijah basically

saying,

destroy them.

I'm the only

one left.

God's response to

them.

But what is God's

reply?

I have kept for

myself 7,000 men

who have not

bowed the knee

to Baal.

So he establishes

it for us there

and then continually

on and on and

on.

So the envy of the

Jews is in green up

there and then the

salvation of Israel

not found in verse

11 is going to be

in orange.

We're going to go

through these

together.

Okay?

Verse 11,

So I ask,

did they stumble

in order they

might fall?

By no means.

Rather,

through their

trespass,

the rejection

of the gospel

by Jewish

peoples,

salvation has

come to the

Gentiles,

right?

Grace extended

to the Gentiles

so as to make

Israel jealous.

Okay?

So the third,

the envy of the

Jews.

Right?

Verse 12.

Now if their

trespass,

right?

Jewish rejection

of the gospel,

means riches

for the world,

grace extended

to the Gentiles,

and if their

failure,

Jewish rejection

of the gospel,

means riches

for the Gentiles,

grace extended

to the Gentiles,

how much more

will their full

inclusion mean?

Salvation to

Israel.

So are you

seeing the

pattern?

Here we go

again.

Verse 13.

Now I'm

speaking to you

Gentiles.

Inasmuch then

as I am an

apostle to the

Gentiles,

I magnify my

ministry.

There's the

grace extended

to Gentiles,

in order somehow

to make my

fellow Jews

jealous.

There's jealousy

to Israel,

and thus save

some of them.

Salvation to

Israel.

Verse 15.

For if their

rejection,

rejection of the

gospel by the

Jews,

means the

reconciliation

of the world,

grace extended

to the Gentiles,

what will their

acceptance mean

but life from

the dead?

Salvation to

the Jews.

Verse 25

and 26.

Lest you be

wise in your

own sight,

I do not want

you to be

unaware of

this mystery,

brothers,

a partial

hardening has

come upon

Israel,

rejection of

the gospel

by Israel,

until the

fullness of

the Gentiles

has come in,

extended grace

to the Gentiles.

And in this

way,

all Israel

will be

saved.

The inclusion,

the salvation

of Jews.

Verse 30

and 31.

Let's throw

those together.

Yeah,

I did it up

there.

Okay.

Verse 30

and 31.

For just as you

were at one

time disobedient

to God,

but now have

received mercy,

grace to the

Gentiles,

because of

their disobedience,

rejection of the

gospel by the

Jews,

so they too

have now been

disobedient,

in order that

by the mercy

shown to you,

grace to the

Gentiles,

they also may

now receive

mercy.

You see the

pattern that

he's establishing

for us there?

He's simply

making this

argument,

right?

That the

rejection of the

gospel by the

Jews has

caused God's

grace to extend

to the Gentiles

by his

sovereign plan,

not like God

threw a plan

C in place,

right?

By his

sovereign plan,

that's how he

always intended

for it to be,

grace extended

to all peoples,

praise God,

were some of

them,

right?

Will cause the

nation of

Israel to be

jealous,

those who are

truly worshipping

their God,

by the right

way,

and they will

turn to

Christ.

Okay?

So,

we see this

continual pattern

being worked

through.

So,

that all needs

to be contextually

tied together,

right?

So,

as he's referred

in the very

beginning of

chapter 11,

verse 5,

so at the

present time

there is a

remnant,

right?

So,

what is he

referring to

then as he

says all

Israel?

And that's

why I

believe he

means all

intended

Israel.

All of

those that by

sovereign purposes

are meant to

be saved,

will be saved

through this

process.

Verse 26,

I'm proud of

the ESV.

I believe it's

properly rendered

here,

and in this

way.

Some of

your

translations

might say

and then,

right?

Which has

in mind

that once

the fullness

of the

Gentiles has

come in,

then this

thing will

happen,

right?

It's not the

proper rendering

of the Greek

phrase there.

The proper

rendering is

and in this

way,

which I

believe,

with great

humility,

refers to

the mystery

that he

mentions in

verse 25.

Lest you

be wise

in your

own sight,

I want

you to

understand

this

mystery.

That this

is the

way in

which God

is including

Israel in

the plans

of grace.

He hasn't

rejected them,

he hasn't

cast them

off entirely,

he's still

working amongst

the people

of Israel,

the peoples

of the world

and the

people of

Israel.

Verse 30,

verse 32,

for just as

you were at

one time

disobedient to

God but

now have

received mercy

because of

their

disobedience,

so they

have now

been

disobedient

in order

that by

the mercy

shown to

you they

also may

now receive

mercy.

For God

has consigned

all to

disobedience

that he

may have

mercy on

all.

We are

not

universalists.

If you

read this

out of its

context,

you have

to be.

If I

hand you

just

verse 32

and say

these are

the scriptures,

the scripture.

You read it

that way,

you say,

man,

God's pretty

fantastic because

all people will

be saved even

though they're

all his

enemies,

all people,

it doesn't

matter.

It's not

the case.

Faith in

Jesus Christ,

that's what

brings to

us the

salvation of

God.

So contextually

what is he

saying?

What is he

saying?

We've all

been consigned

to disobedience

so that he

can have

mercy on

all kinds

of people,

Jews,

and

Gentiles.

So why?

Why?

Why does

he tell us

all this?

What is

the point?

And how

does this

mean anything

for our

lives today?

Practically.

Verse 25,

he says,

lest you

be wise

in your

own sight.

And in

this case,

he is

referring to

the Gentiles.

He has

turned and

began speaking

to them in

verse 13.

He says,

now I'm

speaking to

you Gentiles.

And he

actually has

already brought

some correction

that the

Gentiles might

understand who

they are,

wild olive

trees being

branched,

being grafted

in to the

holy root,

the root

that is

the nation,

the peoples

of Israel.

Lest you

be wise

in your own

sight,

there is a

history in

the Christian

church of

anti-Semitism,

a history

of it,

of Christian

Gentiles looking

down their

noses at

Jews because

they were

the people

that killed

the Messiah.

It's prevalent

still today,

it certainly

existed in

the first

century church,

judging those

who had

originally

received these

benefits and

had rejected

Christ,

looking down

their noses

at them.

I don't

really think

that's a

problem for

any of us