Romans 1, 16 and 17, For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the
just shall live by faith. Now flipping to chapter 11, and
there, verse 11 through verse 15, remembering our subject is
the unbelief of Israel. So in verse 11 of chapter 11,
I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid. But rather through their fall
salvation is come unto the Gentiles for to provoke them to jealousy. Now, if the fall of them be the
riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches
of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to
you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I magnify my office, if by any means I might provoke to emulation
them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For
if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world,
what shall the receiving be but life from the dead? Now fall
down to verse 25 through verse 29, please, for our final portion. 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, Thou shalt come out of Zion the
deliverer, and shalt turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this
is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sin. Now watch verse 28. 29, as concerning the gospel, enemies
for your sakes, but as touching the election, beloved, for the
Father's sakes, for the gifts and the calling of God are without
repentance. I begin by saying it might be
next to impossible for us to consider and understand this
part of the Roman epistle without us having a special introduction
onto this part of Romans and taking a general overview of
this section of this great epistle called Romans written by Paul
and sent to the saints of God which were at Rome. Now it seems
beyond dispute as we look how the book of Romans is laid out. The chapter 9, chapter 10 and
chapter 11 are a distinct section of this great epistle written
and included therein to address a specific question that begged
for an answer, and Paul knew that. And for this reason, it
will take us some time to work our way up to the verses that
we have read this morning over in chapter 11. Now, for all practical
purposes, the doctrinal section of the Roman epistle comes to
a close at the end of chapter 8. The subject throughout that
being the justifying righteousness of God that is revealed in the
gospel as we read in Romans 1, 16 and 17. Now, it was Paul's
practice in his epistle to follow this order. First of all, the
doctrinal part. Almost all of it centered around
the justification that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And this
is so in the Roman epistle. Laying out the doctrinal part
first and then to lay out and to lay upon the people the practical
instruction, exhortations that he deemed were necessary unto
them, any rebukes or any corrections, any faults or any errors would
be addressed, and special greetings and such like would be included
in the second half of the epistle. so that the apostle, had he gone
from the end of chapter 8 directly to the beginning of chapter 12,
it would not surprise us, for it would be that usual transition
with Paul from the heavy doctrinal part onto the practical part
of the epistle. But all Scripture, all of it,
is given by the inspiration of God so that we confess Paul is
led, not by his intuition, but by the Spirit of God to inject
chapter 9, chapter 10, and chapter 11 as much as the other part
of this epistle. And these chapters serve, I want
to emphasize again, a very important purpose, and they expound at
great length upon a question that was particularly perplexing
in regard to the Jew and the Jew of that day. And this question
Paul deals with at length. giving a full three chapters
in our English Bible to the subject and broaching it from several
angles that it might be well understood. Now, the subject
of these three chapters is for all intents and purposes twofold. It has two parts. Our two great
truths are carried along here together. Number one, how to
explain, how to account for the great unbelief of Israel. If Christ is the Messiah, if
He is the Jewish Messiah promised of old, why then are so few Jews
believing and so many of them perishing in their unbelief. And secondly, how is it that
so many Gentiles are brought into the Christian movement or
into the Christian church and are believing upon Christ as
the Messiah? And these things are put in their
proper perspective, especially in chapter 11 that we might come
to. How and why the transition came
about that Israel is cast off, many Gentiles are brought in. Now, let us remember earlier
in this same epistle what Paul had written setting forth the
theme. In verse 16 of chapter 1 we read
it. The gospel is the power of God
to salvation unto them that believe," listen, "...to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek." As early as chapter 1 and verse 16, he
mentions that, "...and also unto the Greek." Now, in chapter 3
and verse 29 and 30, Paul had raised this question. Is he the
God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the
Gentiles? Paul says yes. of the Gentiles
also, seeing that it is one God who shall justify the circumcision,
meaning the Jews, by faith, and the uncircumcision, referring
unto the Gentiles, through faith. That is evident. Now, the Jews,
and I will put it quaintly, had first claims upon the gospel,
if I may say it that way. To them, Messiah was promised. To them, Messiah appeared in
the flesh among them. And he did many great works. To them first was announced the
arrival of the kingdom of God, heaven. Romans 2 and verse 9
said, Trouble will come to all that do evil, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. Romans 2 verse 10 said, Glory,
honor, and peace. to everyone that does good, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. Remember Paul telling
the Jews at Antioch in Acts 13 and verse 46, and this will come
before us again later, it was necessary that the Word of God
first be preached unto you, that is, unto you Jews. The necessity
being the sovereign purpose of God. and the very high honor
given to them of old as being the covenant people of God and
the offspring of Abraham they being, to them first the word
of the Good News was to be proclaimed. And in chapters 9 through chapter
11, the apostle traits upon Two things, as I said. Number one,
the unbelief of Israel and the calling of the Gentile. Number two, the unbelief of Israel
rather than frustrate the purpose of God, rather than throw the
purpose of God off track, actually serve to implement the purpose
of God concerning Jew and Gentile. Paul goes so far as to say, and
to confirm it from the Old Testament scripture, that God blinded their
eyes. And that what the Old Testament
had predicted in Isaiah chapter 6 and Isaiah chapter 29 and verse
10 and Psalm 69 verse 22 and verse 23 had actually come to
pass. We see that in Romans 11 verses
7 through 10. So look at the first few verses
of chapter 9 of Romans and how wisely it is that Paul takes
up this subject, most painful it was, as to the situation of
the Jew rejecting the gospel blessing. Paul terms it a mystery
in chapter 11 and verse 25. For a longer explanation of this
mystery, you might read Ephesians chapter 3 verse 1 through 12. But here in chapter 9 verse 1
and 2, Paul begins this section with a solemn declaration. that
what he was about to say was the truth, and it was the truth
in connection with Christ. He emphasized it. It is not a
lie. His conscience also bearing him
witness of the Spirit of God. That what he felt was true, and
that is in verse 2. I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart, and see the emphatic words, you. Great, underline
that, great heaviness, as to degree, and continual sorrow. as to the duration. Ceaseless,
incessant, He says unto them the meaning of the Word. And
in verse 3, there is a confirmation of His love and His concern for
His Jewish kinsmen according unto the flesh. And this is an
unusual verse And it has so many interpretations and applications,
we will not look at them. Some say that Paul is saying
he would be willing to forfeit his salvation and go to hell
for the salvation of the Jew. But whatever it means, it is
a way of expressing his love and his concern for the Jew. Then look at verse 4 and verse
5. He recalls the privileges which
they had been given as the chosen nation or people of the Lord. They're Israelite. They had the
adoption They had the glory, the giving of the law, the service
of God, the promises, the Father. As concerning the flesh, Christ
came. So that was their privileges
that God had bestowed upon them. What's more, in Romans chapter
3 and verse 2, they had been entrusted with the oracles of
God. William G. T. Shedd wrote on
Romans chapter 3 and verse 2, I'm quoting, the possession of
the written revelation is the principal prerogative of the
theocracy, unquote. And Israel was a theocracy and
to them was committed what Paul calls the oracles of God. Oracles refer to divine sayings. And with these, Israel were entrusted. They were the special and the
inspired words and sayings of God. In other words, these were
the sacred oracle contained in them supernatural instruction
under the people of God. And they included the law, the
five books of Moses, the holy law of God given at Mount Sinai. It included the prophet, major
and minor, and it included the psalm, the prophecies of Messiah,
and as Paul tells them, an advantage unto them. Still, not all believe. In spite of all of this that
could be said of them, not all of them believe. And this is
an aggravation of their sin. Yet this does not mean that God
who promised has been unfaithful. The lack of faith slash belief
of some does not nullify in any way the faithfulness of God. For God is counted true if every
man is proved to be a liar. As Gil wrote, the faithfulness
of God is in no way affected by the unbelief of the many. And the question in Romans 3
and verse 3, shall their unbelief bring God's faithfulness to none
effect? And it's raised again in chapter
9 and verse 8. that the unbelief of Israel and
even the reprobation of many of the descendants of Abraham
does not mean that the Word of God has failed or His purpose
been frustrated. And why this is so is summed
up very well in Romans chapter 9 and verse 6 through verse 8. And Paul makes his point here
in triplicate. In verse 6, that not all the
ones of Israel are of Israel. This is why the word of God's
promise has not fallen to the ground, has not failed, even
though some or many Jews are not blessed with faithful Abraham. So could we say there was a spiritual
Israel within ethnic or national Israel? Just as I think all must
agree that there are in Christendom, not everyone is a Christian.
All that are in church are not a part of that mystical body
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not all that say, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom. So Paul's point, as John Murray
noted, the promises are not inherited by mere natural descent from
Abraham. The Jews thought that and Paul
thought it in almost every epistle. Now Paul proceeds to confirm
from the history of Abraham saying in Romans 9 and verse 7, neither
because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. He cites Genesis 21 and verse
12. God's word toward Abraham was
Let Ishmael be cast out, for in Isaac shall your seed be called. In verse 8 of Romans 9, he distinguishes
between the children of the flesh, as was Ishmael, and the children
of the promise, as was Isaac, both of them fathered by Abraham. There's another example in Romans
9, verse 10 through verse 13, of Esau and of Jacob. Esau being a reprobate from the
womb, hated by God, his heritage laid waste, and so forth. But coming to chapter 10, verses
1 through 3, where Paul again in verse 1, expresses his goodwill
towards his kinsmen according to the flesh, desiring that they
be saved and that they believe in Christ and come to know him
before In Romans 9, verses 4 and 5, he spoke of their natural
privileges, and even that Christ as to the flesh came out of Israel. Now in Romans 10 and 2, he acknowledges
their zeal for God. He acknowledges that they were
zealous about religion. They have a zeal. What do they do? They defend
the law of God and they gave lip service to the infallible
scriptural canon. They hail to one and only one
God. They condemn paganism as false. They compass sea and land that
they might make one proselyte. They tie the very smallest item
that came into their possession. Paul understood this very well. He understood their zeal, and
he understood it very well, for he himself at one time had been
the premier zealot of the Jews' religion. See that in Philippians
3, verse 6, he writes, concerning zeal persecuting the church. Also, in Acts 26 and 9, I once
thought I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus. Galatians 1, 13 and 14, I persecuted
the church. 1 Timothy 1 and 13, I before
was a blasphemer. And yet, as it had been with
Paul, so it was with his present countrymen. Their zeal was badly
misdirected. Their zeal was not according
to knowledge. They have a zeal of God. They
are zealous. But it is not exercise. It's
not based upon truth and upon knowledge. Their zeal was not
guided by knowledge. And this can be a very dangerous
sort of zeal. For as the Lord said, when you
make a proselyte, he is twofold more the child of hell than yourself. Matthew 23. And verse 15, now
the opposite of knowledge, of course, is ignorant. And in verse 3 of Romans chapter
10, Paul gives the crux, that is, here is the crucial point
of the situation of his kinsmen. For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Verse 3 explains in verse 2 how that it was not according to
knowledge, being ignorant of God's righteousness. Now, this righteousness of which
they were ignorant was not God's personal attribute of righteousness,
but that set forth in Romans 1, 16 and 17 in the gospel, where
a saving, justifying righteousness is proclaimed in the gospel. Paul refers to it repeatedly
as the righteousness of faith, the righteousness which is by
faith. Here are some places quickly.
Romans 3, 22, 4, 13. 9, 30, 10 and 6, and Philippians 3 and
9, and you'll find it in Hebrews 11 and verse 7, and you'll find
it in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 5. All of these references
to the righteousness which is by faith. Paul has already said
in Romans 9, 30 through 32, He has declared why some Gentiles
were saved And some Jews were not. And if we look back at that
in Romans chapter 9 and verse 31 and 32, but Israel which followed
after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law
of righteousness. Wherefore? Why? On what account? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law. Now there are
two cases here that call for an explanation. Number one, that
Gentiles who did not follow, who were not interested, who
did not pursue this righteousness have attained it. They did not
seek it and yet they have come to possess a righteousness. While secondly, the Jews which
followed, and in some cases assiduously, pursued a law of righteousness,
did completely and absolutely miss the mark. They did not arrive
at the mark. And why? Flipping to Romans 11
and verse 7. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded. And here are three things. that
a non-seeker finds, and a seeker finds not." Romans 9.32. Wherefore? Why? How is it? Why
did this occur? Why this seeming contradiction
of things? Because the Jew sought it by
the works of law and not by faith, and they stumbled over that rock
which was the Lord. and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, not to labor the point,
but this pretty well describes much or most of what is in present-day
Christendom. When we look out upon the church,
they are ignorant of the true method of righteousness and go
about to establish or set up some other. And they do not believe,
rather, in grace and grace alone, believing to be an easy matter
that anyone can do at any time. Believing that they have a part
in their salvation and their zeal. Look at it, going from
house to house. walking the street and the sidewalks
of the neighborhood, riding bikes in the cold and in the sweltering
heat, having the door closed in their faith again and again,
and yet they have a zeal, but they will not endure sound doctrine. And at this point in our study,
Romans 9, 10, and 11, let's be sure to take note of something
that Paul does, which is he confirms everything he says from the Old
Testament Scripture. Everything that he tells him
here, he draws upon the Old Testament Scripture to confirm it and as
an example. See how frequently he quotes
from the oracles of God that had been committed unto them
and which they confessed were canonical. Their own scripture
had predicted the two things that Paul is asserting. A, the unbelief and the stumbling
of the Jew was predicted, foretold in the Old Testament scripture.
And B, the ingathering of the Gentiles was also predicted and
foretold in the Scripture. And if you look very quickly
at the end of chapter 10 and the question in verse 19, I say,
did not Israel know? What was it that Israel did or
did not know? that they should have known.
It should have been known by them or knew but did not understand
and did not believe it. Now let me give you an example.
Nicodemus, a ruler slash teacher of Israel, did not understand
the new birth or regeneration even though it was written up
in the Old Testament Scripture. Now often do we read of a speaker
or of an author saying this to their hearers, what saith the
scripture, what saith the scripture, or the scripture say it. Now the Jews knew of a Messiah,
but they took him to be more political than spiritual and
sought from him more a politicized Messiah than a spiritual one. Now in Romans 10, 19 through
21, it shows what Paul referred to in asking, did not Israel
know as the scriptures here which he cites confirm that which Paul
is at the present time saying. The cutting away of the natural
branches and the grafting in of a wild stock and which Paul
says is contrary to nature in Romans 11 and verse 24. And the apostle to the Gentile
in the end of chapter 10 If you look, it refers to a couple of
places in the Old Testament Scripture. First, Paul cites Deuteronomy
32 and verse 21 saying, Did not Israel know For first, Moses spoke of it. Moses, the author of the first
five books of the Scripture and of the Old Testament, and one
of the most revered names in the ear of any Israelite from
their past. He, Moses, did warn Israel that
their wickedness would result in God showing favor to the heathen,
in that passage in Deuteronomy. And also in Romans 10 and verse
20, Paul says, and Isaiah, on the other hand, made a very bold
prophecy, probably referring to Isaiah 65, verse 1, stated
in Romans 10 and verse 20, I am found of them that sought not
after me. I am found of them not called
by My name. While in verse 21, Israel is
called a disobedient and gainsaying people. So Isaiah predicted,
I'm found of them that sought Me not. Of them that did not
go by My name. Now all of this raises a serious
question. And it is dealt with in chapter
11. In verse 1, look, does this mean
that God has cast away His people? That's the question that must
be dealt with and that must be answered. So many of you are
not believing and are perishing. Does this mean that God has cast
away His people? And then look in the second verse. He refers to it this way, His
people which He foreknew. Now the question is twofold. Number one, has God cast them
away completely? That is the whole nation, all
Jews. Number two, has God cast them
away forever? Forever. Now, as to the first
question, Paul uses himself as a proof of his point that not
all are cast away. For Paul's pedigree was as pure
as you could get in Israel, and he uses himself. In other words,
though Israel was cast away, yet there was a remnant even
then. And this Paul examples by the
experience of Elijah way back under in the book of 1 Kings
chapter 19 when the prophet hid and said, Lord, they've all turned
to idolatry. Nigh only I am left alone. You see that again in Isaiah
chapter 1 and verse 9. Here in Romans chapter 2, 11
through verse 4, and in the fifth verse, Paul speaks of his present
day or present time, where he says at this present time there
is a remnant also according to the election of grace." And what
he means in that verse is, even then, at that time, there was
a remnant of Jews according to the election of grace. Isaiah chapter 10, verse 22 and
23 ought to be read in conjunction with that. It's quoted by Paul
in Romans 9, and 27 concerning Israel, though they be as the
sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved." Now, a remnant is
a remainder, a small number, a small portion, what is left
over beside. So if we look at Romans 11 and
verse 7, What then? The question is raised. Here is the summation, and we
read verse 7 again. What then? You know what has
happened. What's the cause? What is the
end of this? Israel has not obtained that
which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and
the rest were blinded. Now what they sought and failed
to find what was it? Well, righteousness in Romans
chapter 9 and verse 31. And here Paul divides Israel
into two groups, the elect and the remainder. The remainder
were blinded and were hardened. And this Paul confirms from Old
Testament Scripture in verse 8 through verse 10 of the chapter
and yet assigns the hardening to God. God is the hardener. So looking at verse 11, in Romans
11 and following, God has made the unbelief and the apostasy
of a large part of Israel to serve his purpose in regard unto
the calling of the Gentiles. The fall of Israel served a dual
purpose. Paul is telling us here. One,
in verse 11, through their fall, and you might find this word
translated trespass or failure, through their fall or trespass
or failure, salvation is come to the Gentile. The good news
of the gospel of salvation, the word of salvation has been declared
among the Gentiles. There's a good example of this
in Acts 13, 44 through verse 46. And the book of Acts closes
with another in Acts 28, 25 through verse 29. Now, this great extension of
the gospel and this transition is played out in the book of
Acts for us, beginning in Jerusalem with the Jew. And it ends with
Paul declaring in the closing verses of Acts, that the salvation
of God is sent unto the Gentiles and they will hear it. So great was this transition. So great was this work of God
that God deemed it wise. to establish a special Gentile
apostle to keep the Jews from Judaizing Christianity. God pitched upon a special apostle
under the Gentile, and he says that in verse 13. There is, however,
another purpose under this, the blessing of the Gentile, and
that is the provoking of Israel unto jealousy, because Gentiles
are called to be the children of God. And this came to pass
when Israel fell into general unbelief. Through their unbelief
If salvation come unto the Gentile, verse 11, therefore enrich the
world, their defection, their decay, their failure resounded
in the riches of the Gentile, verse 12, and the casting away
of them the reconciling of the world, in verse 11. All of that
right here in Romans chapter 11. And Gentiles obtained mercy
through Jewish unbelief, down in verse 30. Now, in verse 13,
Paul directly addresses his instruction unto the Gentiles. I speak unto
the Gentiles concerning this matter. He addresses instruction
unto them, and soon we find him using a figure or an allegory
of an olive tree. to illustrate the casting away
of the Jew and the receiving of the Gentiles, he said, some
branches were broken off. Paul calls these natural branches,
Jew. And wild branches were grafted
in the Gentile. And Paul bids the Gentile to
consider something. It was for unbelief. that the natural branches were
broken off. And verse 20, And be not high-minded,
he says to them. Don't be high-minded, as if some
merit or goodness on your part brought you to this position.
For he cautions them, If God spared not the natural branches,
lest He spare not you, in verse 21. Otherwise, thou shalt be
cut off, in verse 22. He says that partial blindness
is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become
end. You look in Luke 21 and verse
24, the Lord mentions that very thing, the fullness of the Gentile. Now, let's note some things that
Paul says to Israel as contrasts. Chapter 11 and verse 12. their
fullness. Verse 15, the receiving of life
from the dead. Verse 23, God is able to graft
them in again. And that statement in verse 26
that has a hundred interpretations, so all Israel shall be saved. Certainly not every last one
of them, all Israel have been saved. And verse 28, as touching
election, they are beloved for the Father's sake. Now, there
seems to be here in this chapter very, very strong testimony that
some sort of blessing is to come yet upon them. What that is,
we have not yet to see. But one thing is evident. I want to make this point in
closing. Paul warned the Gentiles, He's
able to break you off. He's able to cut you off. He's
able to take you out if you fall into unbelief. And I just want
to make this point in connection with that. Christendom is far,
far, as a whole, apostatized from the Word of God and the
truth of the Gospel. Will God break off the dead branches? If so, they are ripe. The cup
of iniquity is filled, it would seem, to overflowing. Look at
all of the unbelief and all of the ignorance, all of the heresy. nor of the perversion of the
gospel in Christendom today. Look out upon it and see that
indeed it is full of unbelief. Oh, it's called Christianity,
and they call it the gospel, and they speak about Jesus, but
it is another one altogether, but that's another subject.