All right, let's go back to Romans
chapter 11. If you read along with the reading
in verses 11 through 21, you may have had some difficulty
understanding the language there, the specifics of it. But let
me show you the essence of the message that the Holy Spirit
inspired Paul to write here. and is appropriate for us today. Now, I've entitled this message,
No Pride in Sovereign Grace. No Pride in Sovereign Grace. And that's really the essence
of Paul's message. Look at verse 20. The last part
of that, he says these words, be not high-minded. But fear,
be humble. That's what he's talking about.
Don't be high-minded, don't be proud. And he says, for if God
spared not the natural branches, now the natural branches there
is the nation Israel. He says, take heed lest he also
spare not thee. So there's a warning there against
pride. Now, man by nature loves to categorize
sin. It's almost like a hobby. And
the reason man likes to categorize sin is because of pride, because
we like to think, well, there's some sins I don't commit and
some sins I do. And you can even go back to some
of the false denominations. Well, like Catholicism, you know,
they talk about cardinal sins, you know, venial sins, you know. It's almost like sin-like, something
like that, you know. There's sins under there. People
like to talk about the unpardonable sin. And that's very common even
among Protestant denominations. I think the reason I like to
talk about the unpardonable sin is because whatever it is, and
really nobody is sure what it is, nobody's really sure what
it is exactly, you know, but I just want to know I didn't
commit it. You know, things like that. Most people say the unpardonable
sin is unbelief. That's not the unpardonable sin.
What were you before God saved you? You were an unbeliever. Yeah, you were a sinner, but
you were an unbeliever. And God forgave you. of the sin of unbelief. Some people say, well, unbelief
when you die. Well, I don't know where they
get that, you know, in the Bible. Now, I know this, when God saves
a sinner, he forgives him of all sin, the scripture said,
by the blood of Christ. Cleanses us from all sin. But
sometimes it's good to look at what we might call the root,
the heart, the essence of sin. And I believe this is it right
here, the sin of pride. The sin of pride. Think about
this. It was the sin of pride that
brought down the whole human race in the fall of Adam. Somebody
said, well, it was unbelief. Well, why do people, why do men
not believe God? If you don't believe God, I can
tell you exactly why you don't believe him. It's because you
think you have a better way. You know better. That's pride. You think you know better than
God. And that's what pride's all about. Adam. Lifted up with
pride and took sides with his wife against God took sides with
Satan remember He said he said that that in the that God knows
that you will be as God's you'll put yourself on that layer you
declare your independence from God you you declare your sovereignty
because you know better you can determine better what's right
and what's wrong and Adam Took side with Satan. He was lifted
up with pride. What brought Lucifer down? Read
about it in Isaiah chapter 14 sometime. I will ascend unto
the throne. I will ascend unto the place
of God. Pride. The Bible says in Proverbs
chapter 6 that God hates a proud look. What causes a sinner to
come to God pleading his works for salvation? It's unbelief,
that's unbelief. But what causes that unbelief?
Pride. He thinks his works are worth
something. He thinks his works can recommend
him unto God. That's pride. What divides the
people of God? Even believers. Now listen, it's
not that when God saves you, you're finished with that war
of pride. You'll fight that war the rest of your life here on
earth. Pride. No greater battlefield of the
war between humility and pride than right here behind this pulpit. I'm telling you the truth. Preacher
pride. That's what divided the Corinthian
church, and people had pride in preachers. That's just as
bad. Well, I'm of Paul. I'm of Apollos.
What divides the people of God? What causes a child of God to
think he knows better than God? It's pride. That's what it is. Someone has categorized the different
types of pride. Listen to this. Pride of face.
That's common today, isn't it? Everything is about surface today.
Pride of race. That was the Jewish problem.
They were proud that they were Abraham's seed. That's what they
pled as their righteousness, as their right and title to eternal
life. Pride of race. That's what causes
race prejudice. Pride of race. Pride of place. Think about that. Down in Georgia,
we used to often see a bumper sticker that said, American by
birth, Southerner by the grace of God. That's pride of place. Pride of pace, somebody said. That's pride of works. I'm running
faster than you are. I'm doing more than you do. That
kind of thing. And yes, even pride of grace. Pride of grace. That's what Paul's
talking about here in Romans 11. Pride of grace. Nevertheless, pride is pride. And it's the cause of many a
fall. particularly those who think they have attained a supposed
level of personal holiness or dedication and sanctification
and therefore have somehow gained victory over sin. You ever met
anybody like that? Well, we have gained victory
over sin, but it's not because of any personal holiness or strides
in sanctification or even growth in grace. Our victory over sin
is at the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ, period. God forbid that
I should glory, and where glory can be translated boast, God
forbid that I should boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Galatians 6, 14. The reality is, the Bible says
it simply, if a man thinks himself to be something when he's nothing,
he deceiveth himself. Well, what does the Bible teach
us about ourselves? We're nothing. That's what John
the Baptist said, I'm nothing, Christ is everything. I'm nothing,
Christ is all. We don't have anything to brag
about, except Christ. Isn't that it? He's our bragging
rights. Somebody said preaching the gospel
is just a sinner getting up and bragging on Christ, bragging
on his Savior. I like that. Someone has said
that the doctrine of election is a doctrine of pride. God chose
a people before the foundation of the world. That's what the
Bible teaches. You can't get away from that.
You can go through your life denying it. You can stand in
a religious service denying it. But the Bible says it, and you
can't change it. Somebody says, well, that's a
doctrine of pride. Well, it can be. It was for the Jews who imagined
that they were the elect of God because of their physical connection
with Abraham, because of their circumcision, and because of
their law keeping. It is for many today who imagine
that they are elect because God looked down through a telescope
of time and foresaw their future faith and or obedience. That
makes election a doctrine of pride. God foresaw what I would
do and therefore he chose me. Is that right? Is that so? We'll go around bragging about
it. He foresaw what somebody else wouldn't do and I guess
left them behind because that's not what the Bible teaches. Here's
what the Bible teaches. God's election is an election
of grace, period. Listen to it in Romans chapter
9, talking about Jacob and Esau, we studied several weeks ago.
He says in verse 13 of Romans 9, as it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? What
are we going to say? Now, what are you going to say to that?
What am I going to say to that? I've heard a lot said about that.
How about you? Well, here's what God the Holy Spirit says about
it. He said, is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair? Is God
unjust? God forbid, may it never be.
Now remember I told you, when you see that God forbid, that
is the strongest negative that can be set forth in the Bible.
It's kind of like when you parents come to the end of the rope with
your children and you really give them a no. You know, the
first no means this, the second no means, and then there's that
third no. I've told you three times, no. That really means
no. And you know they learn that.
You know what you've taught them when you say, I'm going to give
you three chances. You've taught them to disobey two times. You can disobey twice, but not
three times now. Three times is no. Well, this
is the strongest negative that God can ever give. God forbid,
there is no unrighteousness or unfairness with God. Four, verse
15, he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy, and I will have compassion. It's translated grace back in
the Old Testament in Exodus 33, the same thing, on whom I will
have compassion. God has that right. Man does not have that right.
For man to think he has that right is pride. But for God to
have that right and to know he has that right is just right
for him to do so. So he says in verse 16, so then
it's not of him that willeth. It's not of the will of man.
It's pride for man to think it is. It's not of him that runneth. Remember, pride of pace. Salvation
is not for those who get there the quickest, run the fastest,
do the most. It's not of works. but of God
that showeth mercy. Look back over in Romans 11.
Look at verse 5. Election is an election of grace.
The wise and the wherefores of election are left only to God.
You know, that's what that means. Why did God choose? Why did God
do this? That's left only to God. It's
not to you. You can't find it in this book.
And any philosopher or theologian who tries to convince you otherwise
is a false preacher, false prophet. It's for the glory of his grace.
He says in verse five, even so at this present time, there is
a remnant, there is a small piece of Israel that believes. That's
what he's talking about there. There's a small part of the nation
Israel that believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what that
remnant is. That's not hard to understand.
There's a small piece of this nation that believes in the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's a big piece that says
it believes in him, but there's a small piece that really does.
And he says, a remnant, according to what? The election of grace. Verse six, and if by grace, then
it's no more works. It's not based upon anything
they do. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. If it's based
on anything they do or on their will, it's not grace. Stop calling
it grace, call it what it is, it's works. Somebody said that
preacher mixes works and grace. Oh no, you can't do that. Look
at it. But if it be of works, then it's no more grace. Otherwise,
work is no more work. You can't mix it. They don't
mix. It may seem so in the minds of unbelievers, but you can't
do it. You can't mix it. God's election
is the election of grace. And we read there in Romans chapter
5 that grace reigns through righteousness. unto eternal life, not by our
works, but by Jesus Christ our Lord. It's by his righteousness,
that's his obedience unto death. And what Paul is showing here,
look here in Romans 11, he's showing Gentile believers here
that any sinner, every sinner, who truly knows by experience
in the heart, convicted by the Holy Spirit, who truly knows
God's electing grace, also knows they have nothing to be proud
of and nothing to brag about. Mark it down. Well, you remember
he began chapter 11 by asking this question. He asked this
question in light of the fact that the nation Israel as a whole,
even over the 1500 year period of the old covenant, from Sinai
to the cross, The majority of that nation rejected the gospel
of God's grace. The majority did. There was always
a remnant now. There was a remnant in each generation.
But the majority of them as a nation rejected. So he says in verse
one, I say, then have God cast away his people. Notice what
he said. God forbid. No, God's not cast
away his people. God has. Who are God's people?
Simply put, the people of God are the people of grace. The people who know they have
nothing to brag about and run to Christ come crawling and begging
for mercy to the Lord Jesus Christ for all salvation, all life,
all righteousness, all forgiveness, all glory. That's the people
of God. That's the spiritual seed of
Abraham, right there. That's a spiritual Jew, whether
they be a Gentile or a national Jew. They're the people of God.
He says in verse 2, God hath not cast away his people, which
he foreknew. But God rejected the nation of
Israel for their unbelief. Well, he asked another question
here, verse 11. I say then, have they stumbled, this nation Israel,
that God rejected, who stumbled, Now, you remember what they stumbled
at over in Romans chapter 9, verse 30, 31, 32? What'd they
stumble at? They stumbled at the stumbling
stone. And who was that stumbling stone? Isaiah 28 tells us plainly,
that's the Lord Jesus Christ. They stumbled at the preaching
of salvation by God's grace in Christ. They didn't want salvation
by grace. That's what man by nature won't
have. Free, sovereign grace. that God gives it to whom he
will, and he does it by his grace through Christ. That's what man
by nature won't have, does not want. That's what Israel didn't
want. They stumbled at that message.
When they heard about the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, that
Christ is the end, the fulfillment of the law, for righteousness
to everyone, they didn't want that. Wait a minute! We're Abraham's
seed. That's part of my righteousness.
I've been circumcised, that's part of my righteousness. We
keep the law of Moses, that's part of my righteousness. That's
got to make me better than the Gentile, even a believing Gentile.
Remember over in Acts chapter 15, they wanted to keep them
separate. In the temple of that day, the
temple of the day of our Lord, they had a wall. It was called
a middle wall of partition that separated the inner court where
the Jewish people could go from the outer court where the Gentiles
had to say, oh, they could worship God, but they couldn't get as
close as the Jews. Is that separation? That's what
Paul's talking about in Ephesians chapter 2 when he talks about
how Christ had broken down the middle wall of partition. There
is no separation. In Christ Jesus there is neither
Jew nor Gentile. You know what there is? Sinners
saved by the grace of God. And if you were a Jew and God
saved you, you don't have anything to be proud of because you were
a Jew. And if you were a Gentile and God saved you, you don't
have anything to be proud of because you're a Gentile. Makes
no difference. There is neither Jew nor Gentile. So he asked, verse 11, I say
then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Now, is the
reason that Israel as a nation stumbled Was it just so they
could fall? I mean, in other words, what
was God's purpose in his rejection of the Jews and in their rejection
of him? And make no mistake about this
now. God has a purpose for everything. He's working all things after
the counsel of his own will. This is not just a glitch in
God's matrix. This was on purpose. This was
all according to the sovereign will of God. Make no mistake
about it. I wrote that article, I think
it was in last week's book. God's not playing chess with us. He's
not some cosmic chess player up there making his moves and
then we make ours and then he has to counter move. No sir,
God's in control. Well, have they stumbled that
they should fall? What purpose did God have in
his rejection of the Jewish nation because of their unbelief? Was
it only that they as a nation should fall? Did God deal with
the nation Israel for all those hundreds of years only to destroy
them? Was that his only purpose, just
to obliterate that nation? Was that his ultimate goal? Have
they stumbled so that they should fall irretrievably, so that it's
now impossible for any ethnic or national Israelite to be saved? Well, listen to what he says
again. Verse 11, God forbid. Absolutely not. Why did they
fall? Well, we know God's purpose in
all things is his own glory, isn't it? He's going to glorify
himself in Christ. And he does so in the highest,
his Shekinah glory, as the old writers used to say. The highest
manifestation of his glory is in the salvation of his people,
who are his people, alright? His people. by his grace through
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not cast away his people.
But why did they fall? God is not cast away his people.
God's ultimate design in the rejection of the Jewish nation
was twofold. And here's what he says. Number
one, but rather, verse 11, but rather through their fall, salvation
is come to the Gentiles. This was God's appointed means
to get the gospel out to the world. You say, well, why didn't he
do it some other way? I don't know. You take it up
with him. I don't think you even have a
chance to. To get the gospel out to the Gentiles. And then
he goes on. Here's the second. To provoke
them, Israelites, to jealousy. Jealousy? Think about that. Number one, that through their
fall, salvation has come to the Gentiles. The national Israelites
would have confined all of God's promises to themselves, and they
wouldn't allow any Gentile into the fullness of these promises,
except that Gentile become a Jew. They must be circumcised, they
said. What was their problem? They didn't see and believe salvation
by grace. God's purpose to save all Israel
was to save all his people who come to Christ, Jew and Gentile,
by grace. But God wouldn't have it confined
to Judaism, had nothing to do with Judaism. This gospel message,
this gospel message is older than Judaism. That's why I told
you before, that fella who said that Christianity has its roots
in Judaism, that's like saying, I'll tell you another way of
saying it, grace has its roots in works. Not such. Christianity is older than this
world. Did you know that? You can read
about it in the book of Revelation. when it talks about Christ, the
lamb slain from the foundation of the world. What is Christianity?
It's the lamb slain. It's the death of Christ for
the salvation and the forgiveness and the righteousness of his
people. Paul spoke of it in 2 Timothy chapter 1 when he talked about
salvation which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Salvation, Christianity, is older
than this world. It's a product of an everlasting,
eternal covenant of grace. Christianity doesn't have its
roots in Judaism or anything to do with man. It has its roots
in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit before
the foundation of the world. But then he says, secondly, to
provoke them to jealousy. Now, Paul mentions that three
times in this passage. And, well, once in Romans 10
and then twice in Romans 11. That God's purpose was to bring
some of them to jealousy. Now, here's what he's saying.
God's going to save all spiritual Israel. His people. He has not
cast away His people, which He foreknew. But He uses means. Sometimes those means involve
the overcoming of our sin. That's right. Think about that. You don't believe that? Read
the Bible. Read the Bible. How did God overcome the fall
of man into sin, our ruination in sin? He'd already set up the
way in Christ by his grace. And that was prophesied in Genesis
3, 15 when he promised to send the seed of woman. That's Christ.
And the way Christ would accomplish it was typified in the sacrificial
system which God established in Genesis chapter 3 when he
removed those fig leaf aprons from Adam and Eve and slew an
animal, a lamb, and shed blood and made coats of skin. That's the way it was. He overcame
man's sin. Think about Joseph's brothers.
Do you suppose that they kidnapped their brother Joseph and sold
him into slavery because they were just a bunch of good moral
fellas? No. They did it because they
hated him. They were jealous of him. They
were proud. And you know when they finally
were brought face to face with Joseph later on, you know the
story of Joseph, how he became second to Pharaoh in the land
of Egypt and had power. He had power to kill his brothers,
and they knew they deserved to be killed because of what they'd
done. And what Joseph said, he said,
don't be afraid. You meant it for evil, but what?
God meant it for good, to save much people alive. And then what
about the death of our Savior? What did Peter say at Pentecost
in Acts chapter 2 when he spoke to Israel and their role in that? It's not that, listen, it's not
that they had the only role in it, but he spoke of their role
and he said, you with wicked hands have crucified the Lord
of glory. But you did no more than what
God before determined to be done. God overruled. Even the jealousy
of some of these Jewish unbelievers, God would use to bring them to
Christ through the preaching of the gospel. The thought here
is that many of the Jews, in seeing the blessings of God's
grace in Christ upon Gentile believers, that they'd be provoked
to jealousy, which would incite them to seek salvation in and
by the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of their self-righteousness
and their idolatry. Come to Christ. Oh, don't you
wish that everybody could have what we have in Christ? Look
at verse 12. He says, Now if the fall of them
be the riches of the world, their fall, their rejection, their
diminishing. The diminishing of them, the
riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness. Their fall
and their diminishing of the Jews as a nation was and is the
riches of the world, the riches of the Gentiles. What's that
mean? Because of their fall, God overruled that and he brought
salvation to the Gentile nations. The gospel was catapulted out
from the world. to the world, rather, out from
the confines of Judea and catapulted out into the world. And you know
how it happened? Look over at Acts chapter 8 with
me. Let me show you this. This is after the death of Stephen.
You remember Stephen stood and preached the gospel in Jerusalem? And after Stephen, Stephen was
killed. Now Peter had preached before,
probably about three and a half years before Peter preached at
Pentecost, and 3,000 souls were saved, and then 5,000 souls were
saved, but then Stephen preached and what happened? They all rejected
him and he was stoned to death. And it says in verse one of chapter
eight, listen, and Saul, that's the one who later became Paul,
Saul was consenting unto his death, and at that time there
was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem,
and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea
and Samaria except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen
to his burial and made great lamentation over him. As for
Saul, he made havoc of the church. Saul, a Jew, made havoc of the
church, entering into every house and hailing men and women committed
to them to prison. Now look at verse 4. Therefore
they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the
word Catapulted out into the Gentile
world That's what Paul means over here in in in Romans chapter
11 verse 12 that their fall was the riches of the world the riches
of the Gentiles now what he's saying here is this that their
fall if God in his sovereignty overruled their fall to bring
salvation the riches of Christ the riches of God's grace to
the Gentiles then you Gentiles need to think like this how much
of a richness and fullness would it be if God brought them to
know Christ that's their fullness there Oh, if God would bring
them to know Christ, bring them to Christ for salvation. Wouldn't
that be a great thing? Would you resent that? Think
about this. Here's Saul of Tarsus making
havoc of the church. And you resent that? I would.
Somebody coming in and coming into your... What if somebody
could come into your home today, take you out and put you in jail
because you believe in Christ? That's what Saul was doing. And
we'd pray God kill him, wouldn't we? God take care of him, knock
his legs out from under him. But what if God saved him? Well, you know what happened?
He did. And used that man more than any other apostle to write
more than half of the New Testament. Think of the fullness that came
out of all that. Think about it. It's like saying
there's more joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repentance
than the 99 that need no repentance. And that's what Paul's doing.
He's laying the groundwork to say, Gentiles, listen, the Jews
were puffed up and proud and God rejected them. Now you've
received Christ. You've received the gospel. Now
don't you be puffed up and proud over the Jews. Look at verse
13, he said, for I speak to you Gentiles in as much as I'm the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. Now in showing the
greatness and the fullness of God saving his people among the
Jews, I'm not rejecting or diminishing or dishonoring my office as the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify that. I thank God that he's given
me that ministry to preach to the Gentiles. But he says in
verse 14, if by any means I may provoke to emulation, that's
jealousy, them which are my flesh, his brethren according to the
flesh. You remember what Paul said in
Romans 10? My heart's desire and prayer to God for my brethren,
talking about his brethren in the flesh, that they might be
saved. He said, I bear them record they
have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge for they being ignorant
of God's righteousness and going about to establish a righteousness
of their own have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of God for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. His desire was that they come
to Christ, he said, and might save some of them. I want to
provoke them to jealousy. I want them to see what you Gentiles
have in Christ. I want them to see the glory
of Christ. I want them to get jealous, and through that sinful
jealousy, God overruling that, bring them to seek the true and
living God in Christ. That's my desire. When Paul says
that he might save some of them, he's not saying I'm the Savior
or he was the Savior. He knew he couldn't save anybody.
But he wanted to be an instrument used of God to bring sinners
to Christ for salvation. Isn't that what we want? If it's not, that's what we ought
to want. Oh, I want to be used of God, not to turn people away,
but to bring point sinners to Christ. I can't save you. You
can't save anybody, but we can point sinners to the Savior.
That's our mission here on earth. That's what the church is all
about. point sinners to Christ now look at verse 15 he says
for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world
now what the world there's not every individual without exception
the reconciling they're talking about sinners who've been reconciled
to God that's believers And the casting away of the Jews because
of their unbelief, it was the reconciling of the world. He's
referring to God's people all over the world. What shall the
receiving of them be but life from the dead? Listen, if they
come to know Christ and are united to us in fellowship, what's happened? They've been born again by the
Spirit. Life from the dead. That shows they were united to
Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. They've been
washed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness. They've
been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. They've been brought
into the kingdom of God. They're a new creation in Christ.
It's life from the dead. What did God do when he brought
you to Christ? That was life from the dead.
That's why Christ told Nicodemus in John 3, you must be born again
or you can't see or enter the kingdom of heaven. Wouldn't you be impressed if
God brought somebody from the dead? I would be. That's what
the new birth is. It's God bringing a dead sinner
to spiritual life, giving him ears to hear, eyes to see, a
heart to know and love and believe and understand the preaching
of God's gospel in Christ, grace, grace, what's been freely given.
What's been freely given to God's people? Everything we have that
recommends us unto God. Everything we have that is a
fruit of God's grace. The forgiveness of our sins,
freely given through the blood of Christ. Our justification
before God, freely given based upon the righteousness of Christ
imputed to us. Life from the dead. We didn't
make ourselves alive. That was freely given through
Christ who is our life by the power of the Spirit. Now, verse
16 is where the language gets a little difficult. But listen
to what he's saying. For if the first fruit be holy, holy meaning
separated, the lump is also holy. And if the root be holy, so are
the branches. What's he talking about? Well,
another way of saying that in verse 16 is this. If the dough,
the fruit, the dough, that's a lump of dough. If you ever
make bread, you have a lump of dough. If the dough offered as
first fruits is holy, or separated unto God, so is the whole lump. And if the root is holy, separated
unto God, so are the branches. Well, what's he talking about?
Well, back in the old covenant, and you can read about this in
Leviticus 23 and Numbers 15, whenever they had a grain harvest,
they would take that first fruits of that grain, the first harvest,
And they'd grind it down and they'd use it and they'd make
a lump of dough and make bread. And that first lump, that first
loaf of bread, basically, from the grain harvest was separated
from the rest of it, the rest of that lump of dough, and it
was presented to God as a thank offering. Thank you, Lord, for
this harvest. It was given to God. It was an
expression, you know, in the old covenant, they had different
offerings. They had atonement offerings. That was the blood.
That means that forgets the ground of salvation. That's the blood
and righteousness of Christ. That's what that represented.
And then you had the grain offerings, which were thank offerings. Thank
you, Lord. That pictures the service and
the obedience of a believer to God. And that's what that was,
that first lump of dough was presented to God as an offering,
a thank offering, an expression of dependence, means separated,
consecrated to God. Now that first fruit and the
root, I want you to think on this line, Abraham, he had both
a spiritual and a physical seed, didn't he? Physically, Abraham
was set apart by God in that through him the physical nation
of Israel, specifically the tribe of Judah, that the Messiah would
come through them. So in Abraham, he's the first
fruit, he's the root. The whole physical nation of
Israel, the lump, they were all separated. You see, what he's
saying is simply this. God used that whole nation, that
whole lump in a special way. He separated, he consecrated
them from other nations for his purpose. What was his purpose?
Mainly to bring Christ through that nation. But look at verse
17. Now some of the branches be broken
off. Now who are the branches that
are broken off? That's the unbelievers in Israel. He said, and thou
being a wild olive tree. The olive tree is a picture of
spiritual Israel. That's the people of God. Well,
with a wild olive tree, who's he referring to? He's referring
to Gentiles who weren't physically brought up from Abraham. You
were grafted in among them. How were we grafted in? By the
grace of God, through the Spirit of God in Christ. And with them
we partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree. What's the
root and fatness of the olive tree? That's the blessings of
Abraham that's spoken of in Galatians chapter 3. What are the blessings
of Abraham? Salvation by the grace of God
in Christ. He says, verse 19, he said in
verse 18, he said, boast not against the branches. Don't brag
if God saved you and those unbelievers in Israel weren't saved. Don't
brag, don't boast. But if thou boast, thou bearest
not the fruit, the root, but the root fee. In other words,
you did, listen. Listen to what he's saying. Don't
brag. If you're saved and a Jew that's unbelieving is broken
off, don't brag. You have nothing to brag about.
It's by the grace of God we are what we are. But realize this.
You didn't, the Jews didn't receive any benefits from us. But we
received a lot of benefit from them. How so? Well, the main one is obvious.
It was through that nation that our Savior came into this world.
That's right. He was born of the seed of David,
according to the flesh. God used them. He separated them,
consecrated them, and used them, even in spite of themselves,
to bring his son. And God sent forth his son, made
of a woman, a Jewish woman. made of the seed of David, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law. And
he did it in Galatians 3 that the Gentiles, even the Gentiles,
might receive the blessing of Abraham, salvation by the grace
of God. The first believers were Jews.
The apostles were Jews. We're reading Romans that God
used a Jew to write this. Thank God for Israel. That's what he said. Don't brag
don't boast No, sir. He says in verse 20 He said our
verse 19 that would say then the branches were broken off
that I might be graft in well That means you're right. That's
right Because of unbelief they were broken off Realize that
and thou standest by faith my friend faith is the gift of God
We stand by faith, which we didn't have by nature. It was given
us by God. So don't be high-minded, but
be humble. Fear. For if God spared not the
natural branches, take heed, lest he also spare not thee.
Who's he talking to there? Those who are proud of their
grace. Don't be proud of grace. There's nothing to be proud of.
We're proud of Christ. We boast in Him. We had nothing
to glory in but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. All right,
let's sing as our closing hymn, hymn number 58, Jesus, The Very
Thought of Thee.