So from Romans chapter 11, we're
going to bring a message today. All Israel shall be saved. Romans chapter 11, we're going
to begin there after we pray. Let's pray. Dear Father, we pray
that as you have made yourself known to your people and your
son by your spirit in the gospel, you would do so today. Have mercy
upon us, O God, our Father, and save us for your name's sake.
Teach us your own heart. Cause us to live this life with
our eyes given to us by you, seeing clearly what you think
from your word. And so stand in awe and say,
how great thou art. How great is thy faithfulness.
A God whose grace is greater than our sins. We thank you for
this mercy. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
It's really not fair to begin Romans 11 at verse 1. I should
really begin back a few verses in the end of chapter 10. But
I want to read the entire chapter with you, and so we'll pick up
from Romans chapter 10 to get the context. In Romans chapter
10, as we saw a couple weeks ago, God has set forth the gospel
and he has proclaimed the wonderful news that all who call on the
Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. If you were to look back in the
chapters of Romans preceding this one, Romans chapter 8 is
God's assurance to his people. the assurance of God's grace
to his people. What a comfort that chapter is, perhaps the
greatest chapter in all of scripture to God's people. Romans chapter
8, nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not our sin, not this world,
not Satan, not all persecutions, not our sickness, not our death,
nothing. We're more than conquerors through
him that loved us. What a comfort that chapter is.
And then chapter 9 is God's sovereign electing grace, His purpose to
save His people by His will, not by our will. And it's clear
from that chapter that God has an elect people, but He also
has a people that He rejected. And chapter 10 is the freeness
of God's grace because whosoever will, whosoever will call on
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved, calling on Him
as God has revealed Him to be our one mediator who accomplished
our salvation and established everlasting righteousness for
His people by His own sufferings and death on the cross. Now Romans
chapter 11 enters into another summary of God's character and
purpose. And it really is God's purpose
for all humanity. God's will shall be done. There's
no question about that. But I want to give you a few
highlights from chapter 11 before we read this so they begin to
attach themselves to your thinking. First of all, I always ask the
question, why is this here? When I read a particular section
of scripture, why did God start telling us these things? Why
were these questions raised? And what were the answers, what
were the conclusions that he brings us to? Well, first of
all, God wants us to know throughout the book of Romans, throughout
all of scripture, that salvation is of the Lord. If we understand
that, we've really captured the summary of Romans, the entire
book. But it's specifically, because
it is of the Lord, it's more particularly all of God's grace. And it's all of God's grace because
all of the work of our salvation, all that God required from us,
He put that requirement on the Lord Jesus Christ and received
the fulfillment of what He required from Him for us. And He points
us to Him, and He tells us to look to Him. And so by His Spirit,
He gives us the life and the faith to look to Him. So all
of this is in Romans, and it's particularly in Romans 11, because
He's talking here about His purpose to save a people, and His purpose
to use everything in order to accomplish that for His glory
and their salvation. And so we could call this God's
purpose for all men, But in particular, it's summarized in the 25th verse
of Romans 11 where it says, all Israel shall be saved. And we'll
get to that by God's grace here. But at the end of Romans 10,
The Apostle is picking up when he says that faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. He also points out that Isaiah
had said in verse 16 of Romans 10, they have not all obeyed
the Gospel. And obedience to the Gospel is
faith in Christ. Because it goes on, he says,
Lord, who hath believed our report? And the report, this is a verse
taken from Isaiah 53.1. And that verse, we know, is about
the substitutionary satisfaction Christ made for his people when
he offered himself to God in their place, bearing their sins
and their curse before God and satisfying God. But they have
not all obeyed. They have not all believed that
report. They haven't obeyed in faith.
That's verse 16 of Romans chapter 10. And then in Romans 10.17, The apostle says, so then faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We're saved
by God's purpose, by Christ's redeeming work, but it's through
the faith God gives to us that we come to the knowledge of this
salvation and glorify God and live in the light of God's truth. Faith is a very interesting thing.
If you think about it for just a minute here. I'm going to take
a little bit of a detour. Faith is equivalent to spiritual
sight. God gives us that sight. Remember
all the miracles in the New Testament of Jesus healing the blind. One
of the blind men, Jesus, asked him, what do you want me to do
for you? And he said, Lord, that I might
receive my sight. Now that's what we need. We need
to see with spiritual eyes. Jesus told Nicodemus, you can't
see the kingdom of God unless you're born of God, born of heaven,
born of the spirit of God, by the will of God, by the work
of God. And so faith enables us, it's God's gift to us, it
enables us to see that what God has said is true. It's a sight,
a spiritual sight, with persuasion of the truth of what we see.
But we can't see things that are not yet done. We see what's
accomplished. Even when God spoke to the Old
Testament prophets, it was something that He had spoken that was done
because He said it. God calls those things which
be not as though they were. So faith enables us to see what's
true, what God says is true and therefore is true. And therefore
in believing we have what we believe, don't we? We have the
righteousness of Christ because we see by faith that God has
received him for sinners and we know ourselves to be sinners
indeed. And we have cast all of our hope
on God receiving him for us. And so faith receives it. And
that faith comes to us by hearing with spiritual ears the word
of God. But hearing with spiritual ears requires hearing in the
process through whatever means God gives us to hear. And that
hearing might be through physical audible hearing, or it might
be through visual sight, because some people can't hear physically.
But without getting into the details of that, faith, by God's
grace, is given to us in hearing the truth of what God said concerning
Christ. And what a blessing that is.
It doesn't require learning all of the catechisms that the Catholics
or the Presbyterians or the Baptists or whoever puts in front of you.
It just requires hearing about Christ. And by God-given faith,
laying hold on Him with a life grip. and taking from Him that
life, that water of life that's so freely given. But in verse
18, then, there's a transition here. And in the scriptures here,
the question is raised, haven't they heard? And so it brings
in this whole problem, is that the nation of Israel had the
word of God. They had the law, they had the
tabernacle and the service, and they had the prophets, and they
had the Psalms. Many prophets, all those years,
over 1400 years. They had the law and all these
prophets and all these things, and they had the promise of Christ
coming. And they even heard John the Baptist when he came, and
they heard the Lord Jesus himself. They saw his miracles, they heard
his apostles, but they did not believe. And so if faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, we have to ask the
question, is it God's Word that failed? No, because in Isaiah
55 11 it says, God's Word accomplishes all He sends it to do. So it
can't be His Word. And so we wonder then, is it
possible that they didn't hear the Word? And so that's the question
that's answered here in verse 18. Paul the Apostle by the Spirit
of God says this, verse 18 of chapter 10, but I say, have they
not heard? Now listen to his answer. He's
going to, and carefully note here, The Apostle Paul was expert
in the Old Testament, but he was guided by the Spirit of God.
And the Spirit of God here gives us three witnesses to answer
this question. It's a powerful answer. First
he calls from the Psalms, then he calls from the Law, and then
he calls from the Prophets. The Psalms, and the Law, and
the Prophets. This shuts down all all claim
that they didn't hear it. He proves it here, verse 18.
But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went
into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Now this is a beautiful quote
from Psalm 19. And if you go back to that psalm, which we're
not going to take time to do, you'll see that God in that psalm is
talking about the heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth
showeth forth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech,
night unto night showeth forth knowledge. There's no sound,
there's no language for their voices not heard. Their sound
has gone into all the earth. And you wonder, is it the stars,
the sun, the moon, and the earth that preach the gospel? But that's
the beauty of the way God writes scripture here. He's talking
about what? The gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ who was crucified for sinners in satisfaction to God
and in full success. And he calls forth from the psalm
what in the psalm looks like a statement of God's power in
creation to bear witness to his Godhead. But it's much deeper
than that. Because in bringing forth these
physical things to talk about God in a general way, It's a
prophecy that speaks specifically in a spiritual way of the gospel
of Christ. And so that the heavens that
declare the glory of God in Psalm 19 is really a prophecy of God's
people throughout time preaching the gospel of Christ. The heavens
declare the glory of God. All of God's saints All of the
Law, all of the Psalms, all of the Prophets preach Christ. And all of the Gospels, the New
Testament, the Apostles, and all that followed Him preach
this one message, the Lord Jesus Christ, which is what He said
in the earlier verses of Romans chapter 10. If you will believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you'll be saved. That's the message. Have they
not heard? Oh yes, they've heard. Because
God has said in Psalm 19, in prophecy, their sound went into
all the earth. And in Colossians, Chapter 1
it says in verse 5 for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven
whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel
which is coming to you as it is in all the world and Bringeth
forth fruit as it does also in you since today you heard of
it and knew the grace of God in truth It's gone into all the
world First, John the Baptist came before Christ, then the
Lord Jesus Christ himself. He came unto his own, it says
in John 1 11, and his own received him not. The Jews, who were his
people outwardly, they heard their own Messiah preaching the
gospel, and they would not receive him. But as many as received
him, To them gave he power to be the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name, which were born not of the will of
man, not of the will of the flesh, not of blood, but of God. And
so he says here, in verse 19, so that's the first witness that
Paul brings forth. No, they've heard. It was prophesied. The sound went into all the earth. The gospel has gone into all
the world. Verse 19, but I say, did not
Israel know? Know what? What didn't they know? Or what did they supposedly know?
Well, they knew God in the sense that they knew He was God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They knew of
the promised Messiah. They knew His laws. They knew
His justice. They knew His holiness in some
sense. They knew some things about God in their understanding. But they didn't know it in faith. They didn't have the faith of
the Lord Jesus Christ. So he says, but did not Israel
know? What he's asking here is, didn't Israel know that God had
prophesied that they would hear the word of God, reject it, and
then God would send the gospel to the ends of the world? Didn't
Israel know this? That's what he's asking. Didn't
Israel know that God was going to save the Gentiles and actually
incite in them jealousy and anger against God? Because he turned
to these people that they thought were the dogs and heathen and
unrighteous, the publicans and sinners. He says, did not Israel
know? In other words, know that God
was going to do this? That he was going to bring his
severe judgment on that nation and turn to the Gentiles? And
this is where he quotes from Moses. First, he says, Moses,
remember the law now. Moses saith, I will provoke you
to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation
I will anger you. Now, if you look back in Deuteronomy
32, The context here in Deuteronomy 32 and verse 15, listen to this. Yeshurun, which is another word
for Israel, and in particular Israel, the unbelieving part,
he says, but Yeshurun waxed fat and kicked. Thou art waxen fat,
thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. Then he
forsook God, Jeshurun, Israel after the flesh. Then he forsook
God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy
with strange gods, idolaters. With abominations provoked they
him to anger. They sacrificed to devils, not
to God. To gods whom they knew not. To
new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
of the rock that begat thee, thou art unmindful, and hast
forgotten God that formed thee. And when the Lord saw it, he
abhorred them because of the provoking of his sons and his
daughters. And he said, I will hide my face
from them. I will see what their end shall
be, for they are a very froward, proud, stubborn generation in
whom is no faith. You see, this is unbelieving
Israel he's speaking about here. And I will move them to jealousy
with those which are not a people. I will provoke them to anger
with a foolish nation." You see that? There's the prophecy. Israel
knew that for their unbowed, proud disobedience of unbelief,
that God was going to deal harshly with them in anger to pay them
back for the way they treated Him in their idolatry. And He
was going to anger them by saving those they despised and giving
them mercy. And this is why we're saved,
because of God's eternal purpose to do this. And so back in Romans
10 verse 20 now, he speaks of the Psalms, he speaks of Moses,
and now he speaks from Isaiah. He says, but Isaiah, Isaiah is
very bold when he speaks to Israel. And he said, I was found, speaking,
this is God now speaking from the prophet Isaiah. I was found
of them that sought me not. I was made manifest to them that
ask not after me. So that these people that God
was going to save, he's prophesying here by Isaiah, he was going
to save those who did not seek him, who did not ask for him,
and who were not in all outward appearance his people. They were
not called by his name outwardly, and yet he's going to save them,
and Isaiah is very bold in that prophecy. Bold because he's telling
about God's saving purpose that will be successful even though
the people themselves have no part in it. And bold also because
he's speaking this to Israel, which hated the fact that God
would save people who were such sinners because they weren't
as righteous and holy as they were. They trusted in their works,
and so this just rankled them. It raised up their anger. But in verse 21, Isaiah continues,
But to Israel he says this, Concerning the Gentiles who did not seek,
who did not ask, and who were not called by his name, They're
going to be saved, but to Israel, he said this, all day long, I
have stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying
people. And that's the context of Romans
11. Now we want to go through Romans 11, and I want to read
through this first of all with you. This is a chapter that's
very controversial. But I don't think it's that difficult
if we just understand all of the rest of scripture. He says
this in verse 1, I say then, hath God cast away his people? Which ones? His people. But do you mean the nation of
Israel or do you mean? is elect people. Well, listen
to the next part. No. God forbid. For I also am
an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. So
the Apostle raises the question and answers it in the first verse.
Has God cast away his people? And he's referring to his people
first and foremost in the nation of Israel. But not every individual
in that nation. Because they did not all obey
the gospel. Remember? Isaiah 53-1 and Romans
10-16, they have not all obeyed the gospel. Did he save? Was
there ever a time in all of Earth's history, past or yet to be determined
future, that God saved every individual out of any nation? How about the nation of Israel?
No. Even when Jacob and Esau were
in the womb of Rebekah, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.
And throughout time, we're going to see here, that was not the
case. But even in the present time, Paul is saying, no, it
is not possible that God cast away his people. Because look,
I'm one of them. God has not cast away his people
which he foreknew. What a powerful summary and answer
that is. This, it picks up back from Romans
8 verse 29 and 30 where it says all God foreknew, he predestinated,
all he predestinated he called, all he called he justified, all
he justified he glorified. There's an unbroken chain of
God's purpose. It can't be broken. All those
God foreknew before, he glorified at last. They'll be in heaven.
And so this is a double assurance. First, it's an assurance to God's
people that none of God's people shall be lost. All of his people
shall be saved. He will not cast them off because
God is faithful. He is immutable. He cannot change. He cannot lie. He cannot fail. He's the same from eternity to
everlasting. There's no change in God. Never
learning, never losing power, never increasing in wisdom or
power. He's the same. His will never
changes, is never altered, never disappointed. He brings his will
to perfect completion. He never has any regrets. He
never withdraws his promises. He never takes back his gifts.
This is our God. He saves his people, all of his
people. Jesus said in John 10, 16, other
sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. I must. Because he shall have
his own at last. Not a hoof shall be left behind. As Moses told Pharaoh when he
was leaving Egypt, no, not a hoof shall be left behind. And when
the Lord Jesus stands in glory and he takes in account of his
people, every one of them will be found there, not a hoof will
be left behind. None of the strong will be left,
none of the weak, none of the sick, none of the diseased, none
of the speckled, none of the spotted, none of the fearful.
They'll all be brought in because the shepherd brings them. Not
one shall be cast away. God has not cast away his people
which he foreknew." What's the conclusion then? Then not all
in Israel, the nation, not every individual in that nation, were
foreknown as God's people. That's the conclusion. And then
he says, don't you know, or as it's written in the King James,
what ye not What the scripture sayeth of Elias, or Elijah? How
he maketh intercession to God against Israel? And now, we heard
from Psalms, we heard from the law, we heard from Isaiah, we're
gonna hear from another prophet now, Elijah. And what did Elijah
say? It was after he had told the
people of Israel, if the Lord be God, then serve him, but if
Baal, then serve him. Don't halt between two opinions.
It's a shameful thing. Either serve the Lord or serve
Baal. Either trust Christ or trust this world. Trust your
righteousness. And so Elijah said this and Jezebel
determined to kill Elijah. And so Elijah ran from her. He
ran a long time and he hid in a cave. And the Lord appeared
to him there. And the Lord said, ask Elijah
in 1 Kings chapter 19, what are you doing here Elijah? He says,
because I'm the only one left. Lord, they've torn down your
altars. As he says it right here, he's quoting it. Lord, they've
killed your prophets and dig down your altars and I am left
alone and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of
God to him? That's what's important. What
was God's answer to the greatest prophet in all the Old Testament,
Elijah? This is it. Listen carefully
to these words. I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Who did
it? Who reserved these? The Lord says, I have reserved
for myself. God saves by His work. God reserved, that's why we're
saved. And to Himself, we're for Him. To God's glory. That's
the only way. And that's a very important theme
throughout this chapter. The way God saved His people
in the Old Testament, as testified by the Psalms, and Moses, and
Isaiah, and Elijah, and soon David, All of these things prove
that all of God's people are saved in the same way. By God
reserving them for Himself in His eternal electing grace. By the redeeming blood of Christ
and by the life-giving operation of the Spirit of God giving us
life and faith in Christ. Birthliness of God's will, of
heaven. And so he says, I've reserved
to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image
of Baal. Even so then, another heavy conclusion, he says, even
so then, at this present time, also in the past, this is the
way it was, and now also now at this present time, there is
what? A remnant according to the election
of grace. How big is the remnant? Well,
a remnant is a small part of the bigger thing. He said, there's
7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
And yet, how many were in the entire nation of Israel? There
was at least a million men. And with all the women and children,
there were millions. Well, divide 7,000 by a million,
and what do you get? A very small number. About seven
out of a thousand. Only seven out of a thousand.
That's a small remnant, isn't it? And so he says in verse five,
even so then, at this present time, as Paul is speaking in
the New Testament time, after the death of Christ, his resurrection,
his ascension to glory, at this present time, from that time
to the end of time, there is a remnant according to the election
of grace. Election is the only way that
anyone is saved, because God did the choosing, and His election
is of grace because it's independent, independent of the good or the
evil that we've done. It's only God's purpose. It's
entirely devoid of any consideration of our own person and our works.
It's God's purpose. It's God's doing. His sovereign
will. Election. The election of grace. God determined to make salvation
by election, first of all, so that His purpose, that it would
be all of grace, would be established. Romans 9-11 proves that. And
also, because there's no other way we could have been saved.
We would never have chosen God. We didn't seek Him. We didn't
understand. We were far from Him in our minds. We were against
Him, Romans 8-7. But here he says, he concludes
now, this huge, huge anchor, this point that he's established,
he says, and if by grace, then is it no more of works. In other
words, grace excludes works. Like a tall wall, inside of this
wall is salvation. The walls are salvation, inside
of it are God's people, and this wall excludes all works. That's called the wall of grace,
of salvation by grace. He says, if it is of grace, then
it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace, and we
are not saved. But if it be of works, then is
it no more of grace, otherwise work is no more work. These two
things won't mix. Don't try to mix grace and works,
because God says they cannot be blended. Works will never
produce. righteousness, will never obtain
life, will never bring us closer to God, only God's grace will
do that. And that's the lesson that it's
impossible for us to learn except by God-given grace. And so he
says in verse 7, what then? This is with a conclusion, Israel
The nation of Israel that sought righteousness by works, as it
was in chapter 10, verse 1 through 3, Israel has not obtained that
which he seeketh for. But who has? The election has
obtained it, and the rest were blinded. So the nation of Israel,
the natural, outward people, the physical and temporal nation
of Israel, have not obtained what they sought for, which was
God's favor to them. And they sought it by their works.
They haven't, but who has? Somebody has. The election of
grace. Therefore, if we're saved, it's
all of grace. In spite of what we are. We are
as bad as they are. Romans 3.9, the apostle says,
what then, are we better than they? No, in no wise. And so
the rest were blinded. They were blinded in their blindness. They weren't blinded because
they saw and God took away their sight. They couldn't see. And
because in their blindness they rejected God's Christ in unbelief,
their hearts were further hardened in God's purpose. He says in
verse 8, According as it is written, God has given them the spirit
of slumber, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should
not hear unto this day. That was from Isaiah. 29.10,
but David is quoted next. He says, And David saith, Let
their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block,
and a recompense unto them. Now these words of David are
actually the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, because David spoke
these words in Psalm 69 in prophecy of Christ. So these words from
David have even a greater weight, if that's possible. because the
words of scripture are as weighty as they can be, but the Lord
Jesus spoke these words in prophecy in Psalm 69. Let their table,
the table of this unbelieving, unbowed, proud, ignorant, foolish,
God-hating people that angered him by their idolatry, though
he had given them so many outward physical blessings and told them
the truth, and they turned from him, just like all of us naturally
do, He says, let their table be made a snare and a trap and
a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened
that they may not see and bow down their back always. And so
now the question is raised. Okay. So God brought, as He predicted,
as He eternally determined, He brought judgment on Israel for
their unbelief. So the question is, well then
have they stumbled? Has the entire nation of Israel
stumbled in such a way that they should fall, utterly fall? God
forbid. That wasn't the only reason that
God brought this judgment on them. There was another reason,
and here it is. God forbid. But rather, through
their fall, salvation is common to the Gentiles, for to provoke
them to jealousy. What an amazing thing that is.
God turned the evil that they intended against God into good
for his elect people. And as a result, it angered and
incited jealousy among these Jews. Now, verse 12. Now, if the fall of them be the
riches of the world, because this happened at the cross and
shortly thereafter when the gospel was preached first by Christ,
they saw Christ, they crucified Him, they put Him to death according
to the will of God, but then the apostles preached to them.
Look at one scripture in Acts 28. Acts 28 and verse 24. Paul
had been preaching. He'd been preaching to the Jews
in Rome. He says in verse 24, And some
believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed. After
that, these people who heard him, they didn't agree. Some
believed, some didn't believe. And those who did believe, and
those who didn't believe, disagreed, and so they left. And after that,
Paul had spoken one word, well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah
the prophet to our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say,
Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye
shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this people
is wax gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their
eyes have they closed. lest they should see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them." And then
Paul speaks to them directly. He says, "...be it known therefore
to you that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles,
and they will hear it." And when he has said these things, the
Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves. See how God
did this? Because the Jews rejected Christ,
the gospel went to the Gentiles. And that's why we're here. That's
why we're saved. He says back in Romans 11 and verse 12, Now
if the fall of them be the riches of the world, meaning the Gentile
world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles,
how much more their fullness, how much more their fullness,
if God saved his people, When they rejected Christ, how much
greater will it be when He receives these people who rejected Him?
Verse 13, For I speak to you Gentiles inasmuch as I am the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office as an apostle to
the Gentiles. Verse 14, If by any means I may
provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save
some of them, them which are my flesh are the nation of Israel.
Look, guys, God prophesied this. I'm an apostle of Christ preaching
the gospel he sent to the Gentiles. Listen to what I'm saying. This
is the only way you can be saved. In Acts 15.11, the Apostle Peter
said, we believe by the grace of God, we, we Jews, shall be
saved even as they. And that's what Paul is saying
in verse 14, to his brethren. I do this that I may provoke
to mimicking or copying me, them which are my flesh, that they
might also be saved and preach the gospel. Verse 15. He's summarizing
again, he says, for the casting away of them be the reconciling
of the world, What shall the receiving of them be but life
from the dead? When they were casted away because
they rejected God's Christ, what will happen when they believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ? Resurrection from the dead. What
happens when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? What do we
believe? We believe that God raised him
from the dead because he completed the work of our salvation. Well,
if he did that, Then when we believe that, God says He raises
us from the dead. God, it says in Ephesians chapter
2 verse 4, because He was rich in mercy for His great love wherewith
He loved us, has quickened us together with Christ. For by
grace you're saved. So, our believing Christ is a
resurrection from the dead. We're created a new creature
in Christ, we're raised from death to life, and we're implanted,
we're joined to Christ in this living union. We're his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And so what he's
saying here is when the Jews believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
like we do, they're raised also spiritually from the dead. And
that first resurrection is a proof of the second resurrection. Let's
read on. For if the first fruit be holy,
the lump is also holy, and if the root be holy, so are the
branches. Now this is the first verse of many that are going
to take two examples. Remember how God spoke to Pharaoh
by Joseph? He gave him two dreams and he
said the thing is doubled because it's sure. Here God is saying
in two ways the same thing. First, He speaks of the first
fruit. In the harvest, in the earliest
part of the harvest, they would go out on the field and they'd
gather in the very first ripest fruit. And they'd bring that
in. And then they'd wait longer, 50 days in fact, and they would
bring in the whole harvest. Remember Christ rose from the
dead? 50 days later, God poured out His Spirit on Pentecost.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the first fruit. He's the first fruit
of all them that are raised to life. In 1 Corinthians 15 verse
20 it says so. He's the first fruit of those
raised from the dead. So in this first example, in
verse 16, the first fruit is Christ. If Christ is holy, just
like if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy. All those
who result in growing up to God because the seed fell into the
ground, the corn of wheat fell into the ground, it died and
therefore brought forth much fruit, all that grain, spiritually
are the people of God. They're holy because Christ is
holy and they're bound to Christ in this single lump. What is
that lump? It's the body of Christ, isn't
it? We're joined to Christ. We're members of his body and
of his bones. And so he says, if the first
fruit be holy, the lump is also holy, and if the root be holy,
so are the branches. What's the root? The root of
the tree, the root of the vine. If the root is holy, then the
branches are holy. Because if you have a good tree,
it's got a good root. But if you've got a bad tree,
it's got a bad root and bad fruit. What is the root? He says in
Revelation 22 and verse 16, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel
to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root
and the offspring of David. So David, we know, was a king.
He was a man. And the Lord Jesus says, I'm
the root of David. David came from me. And he says
also, and I'm the offspring of David. I came from David. Can
that be possible? Of course it is, because he's
David's Lord as God, and he's David's son as the son of man.
So Christ is the son of David and he's as a branch and he's
the root of David because out of him David came forth. So who
is the root of this tree called the olive tree a little later
on? The Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ is holy, we're holy.
We're in the same lump, the same body. If the root is holy, so
are the branches. That's what he's saying here
in verse 16. And if some of the branches be broken off, And thou,
being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with
them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree. Boast
not against the branches, but if thou boast, thou bearest not
the root, but the root thee. That's just a metaphor of what
spiritually is true. If Christ is the olive tree,
the root of the tree, then the branches in that tree are those
who are joined to Christ. But in that tree, some of the
branches are broken off because they're only outwardly, temporally,
physically part of Christ. They're His people after the
flesh. He came to His own. And his own
received him not. And what happened? They were
cut off. They were cut off. Because they weren't truly part
of the root. They weren't really partaking of the root and fatness
of the olive tree. Which is the spirit of God. He's
the oil that comes from the olive tree that gives us spiritual
life. Verse 19, Thou wilt say then
the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. Well,
because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest
by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear.
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also
spare not thee. What happens is when we come
to understand how God has dealt with the physical nation of Israel,
or maybe perhaps as we come to the knowledge of the truth about
how God saved us by His grace, by His eternal sovereign will,
not by our free will, we get mad at people because they don't
believe that. And we get a little proud. And we begin to argue
with them. But that is not the way, that
is not the spirit of God. When we find that welling up
inside of us, recognize it. That's self-conceit, that's pride,
that's arrogance. That person that you're disparaging,
that you're casting aspersions on, that person, that was you. Of such were some of you. You
too were sometimes disobedient, foolish, and all these things,
hateful and hating one another. But after the kindness and love
of God our Savior toward man appeared. What are you doing
with this attitude of arrogance and pride against those branches
that you say were broken off against the nation of Israel
saying well they can't be saved because they were broken off.
And look at me. And God says, no, you stand by
faith. Don't be high-minded. When you see God's eternal purpose
and that salvation is all of God, and that He can have mercy
on whom He will, and He can withhold mercy from whom He will, it should
cause us to tremble in awestruck fear that God would save me. And so we worship Him. Verse
22, Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God, on them
which fell, the nation of Israel, the unbelieving nation, severity,
but toward thee, toward us who were sinners also, but received
God's grace, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness. It's
not a condition that God puts down and says, you do this and
I'll do that. It's a condition that God meets
in us. It's the result of God's saving grace of us. And he says,
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall
be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. Have
you ever grafted something into a tree? I haven't, but I know
something how it works. First you have to cut. the tree,
the branch on the tree. Then you have to cut the branch
over here, and you take the branch here, and you put it against
that other branch, and you bind the two together so that the
sap from the tree, the root and the tree, come into the branch
and give it life, and so that the buds and the fruit come on
that branch because of the sap of that tree. It's called grafting. First, the tree had to be cut.
And also the branch had to be cut, and then the two had to
be brought into union. And this is our salvation, isn't
it? The Lord Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions. And when the Spirit of God comes
to us, what does He do? He bruises us. He humbles us. And He causes us to see nothing
but Christ. And then He places us in Christ,
creates us in Christ, joins us to Him in a living union by His
Spirit. And so there's no reason, no place for pride here. It's
God's work. He did it. He reserved us for
Himself. And if they also, if the people who were the descendants
to Abraham, if they don't remain in unbelief, if God gives them
faith, they will be grafted in again. For God is able to graft
them in again. Verse 24. For if thou wert cut
out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, that's what
we were by nature, we were in our sins, we were in Adam, and
were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, which
is Christ, the church, how much more shall these, which be the
natural branches, the nation of Israel, be grafted into their
own olive tree, because they were naturally part of Christ
by physical descendants, Then he says in verse 25, this concluding
statement, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits,
that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness
of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved.
As it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant
to them, when I shall take away their sins. Now, this is controversial
because most people will say, this is speaking about God is
going to eventually save all the nation of Israel. But that's
not what's taught here. God does not save every individual
in that nation. Remember, at this present time
also, He shows the pattern. There's a remnant according to
the election of grace. And what Paul is trying to say
here in this chapter is that throughout time there is a remnant
according to the election of grace. Both out of the nation
of the Jews and out of the nations of the Gentiles. They're all
saved by God's electing grace. Christ's work, the Spirit's work
in them to join them to Christ. And the result is that when God
is all done, all spiritual, all the Israel of God shall be saved. That's what God is saying here.
He can't be saying the other, because it goes on, this is my
covenant to them. when I shall take away their
sins." God's covenant was not to take away the sins of all
and every individual in the nation of Israel or any other nation.
It was to save His people who were given to Christ, given to
Him in eternal election. And so we can conclude this.
And I know that it was longer than I had wanted it to be, but
it was a long chapter. I know this is an overview, really. To get to the details of it,
we would have to look at it more carefully. But I wanted you to
see God's purpose throughout time, to save his people. assurance
that He will save His people, the certainty that even the evil
and the wickedness that comes from those who oppose God and
that God's judgment upon them works together to save His people
according to His eternal purpose. And it will all be according
to God's Word. What God said in the beginning will be fulfilled.
Nothing shall fail. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord,
that we can trust you. We know your word is true from
the beginning, and every one of your righteous judgments endureth
forever. We're so thankful, thankful for
your saving grace in Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.