| Romans 9-11 continued...
Romans 11
Romans 11:1-10. "I ask then: did God reject
his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant
of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject
his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture
says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against
Israel: 'Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down
your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to
kill me' [I Kings 19:10,14]? And what was God's answer to
him? 'I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not
bowed the knee to Baal. [I Kings 19:18]' So, too, at the present
time there is a remnant chosen by grace. and if by grace,
then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no
longer be grace.
What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain,
but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written:
'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could
not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very
day [Deut. 29:10].' And David says: 'May their table become
a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for
them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their
backs be bent forever [Psalm 69:22-23].'"
So has God rejected the nation of Israel and cast her aside
because of her rejection of him? Does Israel still have a
right to the promises he gave her thousands of years ago?
Is the Christian Church now Israel? Does God have a future
plan for the nation of Israel? The answers to these questions
are given to us in Romans chapter eleven.
Let's look at Romans 11:1. "I ask then: Did God reject his
people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant
of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin." Now this would be
a perfect place to say, 'All right dear Romans, I want you
to know that God has rejected Israel, the nation of Israel
is cast off and the Church is now Israel.' Why doesn't he
say that? Instead he says in the clearest possible ways, "God
has not rejected Israel." "No way, may it never be." One of
the strongest ways the Greeks could express a negative was
to use a double negative, which they do here in this sentence,
which is translated "No way, may it never be." And then he
says, "If God is through with Israel then I couldn't be saved
because he said I really am an Israelite, of the tribe of
Benjamin, and yet God saved me so God must not be done with
the nation of Israel. They're not under a curse, they're still
God's people or I couldn't be saved.' He also said in verse
2, just to emphasize it, "God has not rejected his people,
whom he foreknew." Look at verse 11, "Again I ask: Did they
stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather,
because of their transgression, salvation has come to the
Gentiles to make Israel envious."
Look at verse 28, 'From the standpoint of the gospel they
are your enemies. They fought you.' Read the book of Acts.
They fought the apostle Paul every step of the way. But from
the standpoint of God's choice they are what? "Beloved for
the sake of the fathers." Why? "for the gifts and the calling
of God are irrevocable." Did he call them his people? Yes.
That's irrevocable.
You mean you're telling me that after all they have done,
rejecting the Lord, crucifying Christ--God is going to have
something to do with them? Let's go back a step. Who crucified
Christ? You know Jews for centuries have been called Christ-killers
by Christians, ignorant Christians. Who crucified Christ?
The Romans did. Well if you're going to call anybody Christ-killers,
call Italians Christ-killers, right? The Jews didn't crucify
him. They did say, "Let him be crucified." But it was the
Gentiles who had a part in crucifying Christ. So you can't
call them Christ-killers unless you want to be called a Christ-killer
also. So they have rejected the Lord, yes. So they have fought
the gospel, yes. So they blasphemed the name of our blessed
Lord, Jesus Christ, yes. But does that mean that God would
cast them off? NO! Why? Because to begin with this whole deal
God made with Abraham was not based on how Abraham would perform.
It was based upon how well God would perform his promises.
If you go back to Genesis 15 you'll see the incident there.
This is where the Israelites started. God came to Abraham,
and said, "Hay Abe, I'm going to make out of you a mighty
nation." He told him that in Genesis 12. By chapter 15 Abraham
still didn't have any children. He was wondering, 'Well God
said my descendants would be like the sand of the sea and
the stars of the heaven--they'd be innumerable. And I don't
even have one son yet. I mean, shouldn't we just have one
to get this thing going, Lord? There's a lot of stars out
there. There's a lot of grains of sand to catch up with.'
He said, 'It looks to me Lord like the only heir I have is
my slave, my good buddy and slave Eliazer of Damascus. Is
he going to inherit everything?' 'I made you a promise, I'll
fulfill my end of the deal.' 'So Abraham believed God, and
it was counted towards him as righteousness.' We're told in
verse 6 that God said, 'Let's finalize this agreement, that
I will make of you a great nation, I will give you the promised
land, and the Messiah will come through you and save the world
and of his kingdom and rule there shall be no end. So let's
seal the agreement.'
And in these days they didn't sign on the dotted line. They
had a very risky business they performed. They would take
a couple of animals, sacrifice the animals, cutting them in
two. They would lay the animals out and make a path out of
the animals. They'd cut a cow in two, push it apart, make
a pathway, cut a goat in two and make the pathway a little
longer, take other animals and they would have this pathway
of butchered animals literally cut it two. Then the two partners
in the agreement would walk back-to-back. They would walk
through one way with one of the partners saying "I agree to
abide by this covenant and I agree to do my part, this, this,
this and this." And they'd walk back the other way and the
other partner would say it. "I agree to do my part which is
this, this, this, and this." and then they would both say,
"and if I do not do my part, you may cut me in two, just like
we've cut these animals in two." Well, needless to say there
weren't many of those agreements made, right? You were serious
when you signed on the dotted line, because it meant you could
be torn in two. And so God proceeds to make this agreement
with Abram. Verse 9, "So he said to him, 'bring me a three
year old heifer and a three year old female goat and a three
year old ram, and a turtle dove and a young pigeon.' And he
brought all these and cut them in two, and laid each half
opposite the other." He didn't cut the birds" (Well, you know
you cut a bird in two and all you get is feathers everywhere).
"And the birds of pray came down on the carcasses and Abraham
drove them away." Now verse 12, significant, "When the sun
was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And behold a
terror and a great darkness fell upon him. And God said [while
he was in this deep God-induced sleep], 'Abram, your descendants
are going to be many for number, go and become slaves in a
foreign land. But after 400 years I will bring them out of
that land and put them back in the promised land. And they
will remove all the inhabitants of the promised land, and
I will give them that land forever." And that's what God said.
Verse 17, "And when it came about, when the sun had set that
it was very dark, behold there appeared a smoking oven and
a flaming torch [shades of Revelation 5] which passed between
the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying, 'To your descendants, to your seed I have given this
land, from the Nile River to as far as the Great River the
River Euphrates." He also said, 'I've also given you all the
inhabitants of the land and you can kick them out.' So God
made this agreement with Abram. And remember what I told you
about this type of agreement, that both parties were supposed
to go through the cut in two animals, both parties were supposed
to state their part of the agreement, and then upon penalty
of being torn in two if they broke their end of the agreement?
God goes through, the smoking flaming torch representing the
Lord. God is saying, 'If I don't do what I have said, you
can tear me in two.' But where's Abram? Abram's flat on his
back, incapacitated by this sleep that God put upon him. Why?
Why isn't Abraham walking through there? Why isn't Abraham
doing his part!? God is saying, 'Abe, I don't want you walking
through there because I know you couldn't do your part. I
know you'd bring a curse upon yourself. Abraham, everything
that I'm promising I will do based upon My faithfulness, not
yours.' And that's the beginning of the story of the Israelites.
And because of this promise God is also promising to the Israelites,
'I will do for them what I've promised based upon my faithfulness
and not theirs.' And that's the Abrahamic covenant. That's
the promise to Abraham. It's called the everlasting covenant
in the Scripture.
And so if you say, "Well, how can God still have Israel as
his chosen nation after they have rejected him?' Well you
have to know this promise wasn't based upon their works anyway.
If you go back to Romans 11:2 "He says, 'God has not rejected
his people whom he foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture
says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God about
Israel." And this is what Elijah said, "Lord, they have killed
your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one
left, and they are trying to kill me [I Kings 19:10,14]."
And actually Elijah was complaining, saying, 'Lord, I thought
there always was supposed to be faithful people in the nation
of Israel?' But what is the Divine response to him? "I have
kept for myself seven thousand people who have not bowed a
knee to Baal." "In the same way then, there has also come
to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious
choice. But if it is by grace"--if God's choice of Israel
is by grace--"then it is no longer on the basis of works,
otherwise grace is no longer grace (Romans 11:4-6)."
God chose Israel not because they were a great people, not
because they were the best looking people, not because they
were the holiest people, or the most numerous people. He chose
them because he wanted to give somebody something they didn't
deserve. And he looked around for an undeserving people and
he saw Abram, and he said, 'Abram, I'm going to give you what
you don't deserve. I'm going to do this, this, this and this
for you.' It was by grace. Now you have been saved in the
same way, by grace.
The formula for our salvation is not grace, plus works equals
salvation. Now that is what a lot of religions teach. That's
what a lot of cults teach. In fact I guarantee you every cult
teaches that. The Bible doesn't give the equation that way
at all. The Bible says grace plus nothing equals salvation.
But some will say, "But wait a minute, you've got to have
faith." But don't you remember that even saving faith is not
from you, it's the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For
by grace you are saved in faith, and that faith not of yourself,
it's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."
You can put faith in the equation if you want, but it's part
of grace. So say grace plus faith equals salvation. That's
great. But faith is no big work you do, it's just believing
and trusting in God. [And that comes as a fruit of the Holy
Spirit who dwells in us.]
Now because grace means getting what you don't deserve, (unmerited
favor is what grace means) it makes no sense at all to say,
"We're saved by grace plus something that we do." If grace
means you don't deserve it in the first place, then how can
you do something to deserve it? The point is, if you're going
to be saved by grace, then you're going to have to be saved
by grace alone. If you're going to be saved by works, you
have to be saved by works alone. You can't mix the two, they're
like oil and vinegar. They do not mix, there's a separation
there.
How are you trying to obtain eternal life? By works or by
grace? I hope it's by grace. A lot of people have the idea
that our life is like this: "Jesus died on the cross, and
on the cross he made a tremendous down payment on our eternal
future, our eternal home, and now if we will just accept this
deal, man, the down payment has been made, no cash down to
mortgage. Just come as you are. All you have to do is sign
on the dotted line and guarantee you'll make the payment every
month. And it's low interest, too.' And that's the view a
lot of people have of how to be saved. Jesus paid the down
payment, and now it's just up to me to pay God's easy payments.
The only problem is, what if you get behind a payment or two?
Well that's when you come to Church and they start talking
to you and say 'All right, you're going to lose this house,
God's going to foreclose on you, unless you catch up on your
payments. Unless you do what you're supposed to do God will
close the books on you. You're going to be out of here! Pay
God what you own him!" That's not the gospel, that's not the
Good News of Christianity. The Good News of Christianity is
this: "Jesus paid it all, he paid everything on the cross,
he bought the whole house! No hidden costs, he paid for it
all! And it's free and it's a gift and it's yours for the
believing, the accepting, for the receiving." Isn't that good
news?! So it's got to be grace. If it's grace plus works it's
no longer grace.
So God has promised the land of Israel to Israel forever.
There will always be a nation of Israel. You may say, "Yes,
but look at what they've done, they've rejected Jesus, they've
wandered from him, they've put him down. I just can't believe
he has any room in his heart for them." But you've got to
understand, God knew they were going to reject Messiah when
he chose them. This is no surprise to God. Right here in Romans
11:8-9 he quotes the prophet that says God would give them
"a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears
so that they could not hear to this very day." He quoted David's
prophecy "that their table would become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution to them." Read Isaiah
53. God predicted that his nation, his chosen nation Israel
would reject the Messiah, would despise the Messiah, would
pierce him through, would put him to death and that he would
rise again from the dead. That was all predicted. This didn't
catch God by surprise.
The stoning of Steven didn't change God's mind about Israel.
Why in Deuteronomy chapters 4 and 28 the Lord predicts that
his people would be cast out of the land because of their
idolatry and the abominations that they would commit. He saw
that. Nothing takes God by surprise. He sees the future as
well as you see the present, better than you see the present.
In spite of all this God will not forsake the nation of Israel.
Yes, presently Israel is being disciplined by God. God said
that he would scatter his people over the entire face of the
earth, that they would go into all the different nations of
the world. But he said, in the last days he would bring them
back into their land. And it says he would bring them back
into their land in their own unbelief.
Why should we care about what happens to Israel? Well, if
God says adios to Israel, we have no hope. If God permanently
casts off and spits out Israel, then what keeps God from spitting
you out of his mouth? Because if God doesn't keep his promise
to Israel, how can you trust God to keep his promise to you?
You can't, can you? If he breaks one promise, he's going to
break them all. God's integrity, God's faithfulness, and your
ability to trust in him is all based on what we're studying
right now.
Let's go to Jeremiah 30-33. This is all talking about a good
word which the Lord is speaking to Israel about what he is
going to do for them in the last days. He's saying, "I know
you're in captivity now in Babylon"--that's the context. But
he goes on to say, 'I'm going to bring you out of captivity,
and then he jumps forward into what he’s going to do
in the last days. And it's very clear that much of what he's
saying here is not talking about the years right after the
Babylonian captivity, he is talking about the years yet in
the future.
Jeremiah 30:1-9. "The word that came to Jeremiah from the
Lord, saying, 'Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying,
'Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken
to you. 'For behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord,
'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and
Judah [the ten tribes of Israel were deported out of Palestine
in 721-718 B.C. by the Assyrian Empire, and foreigners were
moved into Samaria in their place. The kingdom of Judah lived
just south of Samaria with Jerusalem as their capital. The
Babylonians carried them away a little over 100 years later
from 604 to 585 B.C.],' says the Lord. 'And I will cause them
to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they
shall possess it.'
Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel
and Judah. 'For thus says the Lord: 'We have heard a voice
of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see,
whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see
every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?
And all faces are pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that
none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but
he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in
that day,' says the Lord of hosts, 'that I will break his
yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners
shall no more enslave them. But they shall serve the Lord
their God. And David their king, whom I will raise up for
them." This is describing the tribulation time, the last
three and a half years before the Millennium begins, the time
of Jacob's trouble, the time of Jacob's distress. This is
obviously about the future because God is saying, "I will
resurrect David and put him on the throne and he will reign
during the Millennium. So God says, before the end of time
I will bring back my people Israel into their land.
Let's look at Jeremiah 31:35. "Thus says the Lord, who gives
the sun for a light by day, and the ordinance of the moon
and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea,
and its' waves roar (the Lord of hosts is his name): If those
ordinances depart from before me ["if this fixed order departs
from before me" another translation has it]," that is, if
the sun would stop coming up and the moon go off its course
and there would be no longer any tides, "then the seed [offspring]
of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before me forever.
God is saying, "I made a promise to Israel and I'm going to
keep my word, because I'm God and I don't lie. I do not lie."
Numbers 23:19. "God is not a man that he should lie, nor the
son of man that he should repent. Has he said and will he
not do it? Has he spoken and will not make it good?" I Samuel
15:29 says, "Also the glory of Israel will not lie or change
his mind, for he is not a man that he should change his mind."
So God is not going to change his promise that he made to
Israel. He promised to keep them a nation forever. He's going
to do it. He says, 'For all they've done, I'll still keep
them a people before me, my people forever.' Jeremiah 32:37.
"Behold I will gather them out of all countries where I have
driven them in my anger, in my fury, and in my great wrath;
I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them
to dwell safely." This is talking about the last days. "They
shall be my people and I will be their God: Then I will give
them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever
for the good of them and their children after them."
Let's also look at Jeremiah 33:19-26. Again the Lord is declaring
he is going to keep the nation of Israel before him forever.
He will never reject the nation of Israel. They are his chosen
nation. "And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
'Thus says the Lord: 'If you can break my covenant with the
day and my covenant with the night, so that there will not
be day and night in their season, then my covenant may also
be broken with David my servant, so that he shall not have
a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests,
My ministers." [And his descendant right now is on the throne,
his name is Jesus, the son of David, and he's going to reign
forever.] "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the
sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants
of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me. [So
even the Levitical priesthood will serve the Lord again, under
the priesthood of Melchizedek, obviously. Have you ever wondered
about that 1000 year period spoken of as the Millennium. The
Old Testament prophecies are loaded with beautiful prophecies
about that time of peace and prosperity for all, under the
gentle rulership of the Messiah, Jesus.] Moreover the word
of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Have you not considered
what these people have spoken, saying, 'The two families which
the Lord has chosen [the House of Israel and the House of
Judah], he has also cast them off? [Even way back then during
the Babylonian captivity, people were saying that Israel and
Judah had been permanently cast off by God, permanently rejected.
God is now about to take issue with these false rumors being
spoken by non-Israelites, Gentiles.] Thus they have despised
my people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.
Thus says the Lord: 'If my covenant is not with the day and
night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven
and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob
[Israel] and David my servant, so that I will not take any
of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return,
and will have mercy on them.'"
So I guess it's pretty clear from the Word of God from the
New Testament in Romans 11 to the Old Testament in Jeremiah
that God has not rejected his people. As Romans 11 says, "Has
God rejected his people? May it never be! NO way! Did they
stumble so as to fall? No, may it never be. Oh, they are enemies
of the gospel now, but for the sake of the fathers [patriarchs,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob] they are beloved of God."
The Church is not Israel, the Church is the Church. The Church
is the distinct bride of Christ.
So what are the implications of all this? First of all, if
God does away with Israel, what makes you think he won't do
away with the Church some day? If God just makes promises
and then brakes them because we aren't good enough, well then
we're in trouble. I mean it would be one thing if the promise
was based on our obedience, but the promise to Abraham, Abraham
slept through. It was not based on anything he did. It was
based on God's faithfulness. So if you say that God is through
with Israel, then you are basing your belief in God's unfaithfulness.
God is not done with Israel. [Judah, one of the tribes of
Israel, is occupying the promised land right now!] And there
is more to come in regards to the nation of Israel in the
future. We serve a covenant-keeping God (Psalm 11:4-5). [pp.
12-26, Word for word transcript, Pastor J. Mark Martin, Calvary
Community Church, Phoenix, Arizona.]
Romans 11:7-32. "What then? What Israel sought so earnestly
it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
as it is written: 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes
so that they could not see and ears so that they could not
hear, to this very day [Deut. 29:4; Isa. 29:10].' And David
says: 'May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling
block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened
so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever [Psalm
69:22-23].'
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?
Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation
has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their
transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means
riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their
fullness bring!
I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle
to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that
I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of
them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the
world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then
the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though
a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others
and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do
not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You
do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will
say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted
in.' Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief,
and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not
spare you either.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness
to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you
continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut
off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be
grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. [How?
All these Israelites whom Paul was writing about died in their
unbelief. These verses have confounded and mystified many
Christian fellowships for centuries--but not others.] After
all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by
nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated
olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural
branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers,
so that you may not be conceited [the other time Paul uses
this phrase is to describe a major resurrection from the dead]:
Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full
number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will
be saved, as it is written: 'The deliverer will come from
Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is
my covenant when I take away their sins [Isa. 59:20-21; Jer.
31:33-34].'
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your
account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved
on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call
are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient
to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,
so they too have now become disobedient in order that they
too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.
For God has bound ALL MEN over to disobedience so that
he may have mercy on THEM ALL."
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