Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
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for today's program. Welcome to our program today,
I'm glad you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'll be preaching from Romans chapter 11. And I'm
following up on a subject that I started last week as I preached
from the Old Testament, Isaiah 45, entitled Israel Shall Be
Saved. Israel shall be saved. And the
point that I've been making as I go through these scriptures
is just, for example, in Isaiah 45 there, it talks about how
Israel shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. That's
talking about eternal salvation. It's not talking about physical
deliverance, temporary deliverance, but it's talking about eternal
life, salvation that comes by the grace of God based on the
blood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
God, manifest in the flesh. And the Israel that he's speaking
of there is not a physical nation, and it's not an ethnic group,
but it's the chosen people of God, called the election of grace,
whom God chose before the foundation of the world, out of every tribe,
kindred, tongue, and nation, and gave to Christ, made Christ
to be their surety, and sent Christ into the world to save
them." What he's talking about is believers, those who have
been brought by the grace and power of God to hear and believe
the gospel of Christ, the gospel of God's grace, and to repent
of their dead works. And here in Romans chapter 11,
he begins, I read these last week, but let's read them again.
If you didn't hear last week's message, call or write or email
us and get the message or listen to it on our website. Israel
shall be saved, part one. This is part two. And he says
in chapter 11 of Romans, now let's look at this again, verse
one. He says, I say then, hath God cast away his people? Why
was Paul asking that question or anticipating it? He was talking
about, in Romans chapter 8 and 9, how that all of God's people,
all whom God chose in Christ before the salvation of the world,
shall be saved and This includes God's elect among Israel, but
if you go back and you look at certain passages of Scripture
in the Old Testament, you see passages like we read last week
in Isaiah 45. It says there, Israel shall be
saved. But if you look at the history
of the nation Israel, the physical nation, it's not a history of
faith, it's a history of rebellion, unbelief, even idolatry. Now,
if you don't believe me on that, go back and look at Isaiah chapter
one, how he begins his prophetic message, talking about his indictment
against Israel for their sins, for their disobedience, for their
rebellion, for their idolatry, even calls them, likens them
to Sodom and Gomorrah. And anytime I say this, or I
use this example, I always caution people now, don't get puffed
up, because what that shows is all of us by nature, as we are
fallen in Adam, ruined by the fall, and as we are born into
this world, not again, but born into this world, spiritually
dead. We're all sinners, and You could
look at Israel and you say, well, all those awful people wanna
look. If God were to give any of us what we deserve or what
we've earned, it would be eternal damnation. Now, if you don't
believe that, you don't believe the Bible, and you think too
highly of yourself. You see, my prayer is God don't
ever give me what I deserve or what I've earned. I need grace,
I need mercy, and that comes in Christ. Outside of Christ,
no love from God, no grace from God, no mercy from God. And so
he says, I say then, have God cast away his people? Because
the majority of Israel were lost. He says, God forbid, chapter
11, verse one, God forbid, for I also am an Israelite, the seed
of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. Paul was an Israelite by birth,
an ethnic Jew, But now, he was a believer, and he says in verse
two, God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. That
foreknow there is foreordained. God chose a people, gave them
to Christ. Christ said in John 6, 37, all
that the Father giveth to me shall come to me. and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Verse two of Romans
11, what, that word W-O-T means no, know you not what the scriptures
saith of Elias, or Elijah, how he maketh intercession to God
against Israel. You see he was being opposed
by everybody. And he interceded with God to
destroy them, and he says, verse three, Lord, they have killed
thy prophets, dig down thine altars, and I am left alone,
and they seek my life. He's in essence saying, God,
would you please destroy them, get them. He thought he was the
only one. And so in verse four, it says,
but what saith the answer of God unto him? This is recorded
over in 1 Kings 19. God said, I have reserved to
myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of
Baal. Many times true believers can think or feel like they're
by themselves. But God has a people. And he
says, he told Elijah, I've reserved 7,000 to myself who've not bowed
the knee to the image of Baal. All the rest of Israel had. But
look at verse five, now this is key. Romans 11, even so then
at this present time also there is a remnant according to the
election of grace. Now that's Israel there. That's
the true Israel of God. That's spiritual Israel. This
remnant according to the election of grace. It's a small part.
They've been chosen by God and their election was not by their
works. It was not God, as some say,
looking down through a telescope of time and foreseeing what they
would do, God reacting to some future crystal ball gazing, no,
it was of grace. And grace always reigns through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. God
chose them in Christ. And he says, verse six, if it's
by grace, then it's no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no
more grace. You can't mix the two. But if
it be of works, then it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is
no more works. I've heard people say about certain
preachers say, well, they mix grace and works. You can't do
that. In other words, if you say they
mix grace and works, you know what they're doing? They're preaching
works. That's all they're doing. Salvation conditioned on the
sinner. But look at verse seven. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for. Now he's talking about national
Israel there. How do you know? Because they
didn't obtain that which he seeketh for. They didn't obtain it. Now
what were they seeking? I'm gonna show you in just a
minute. But the election hath obtained it. and the rest were
blinded. The election obtained it. So
here's people who didn't attain it, and here's people who did.
The nation Israel didn't, but the election did. And who are
the elect? Verse 26 of Romans 11 says, and
so all Israel shall be saved. They're gonna obtain it. As it
is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and
shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. They're not gonna obtain
it based upon their works or who they are or their law keeping.
It's gonna be a deliverer who comes out of Zion and turn away
ungodliness. That's Christ, you see. Verse 27, for this is my covenant
unto them when I shall take away their sins. And that's referring
to the new covenant in Christ, where God will not impute sin
to his people, but impute righteousness to them. And he says in verse
28, as concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake,
but as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's
sake, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Now, what did Israel seek for as a nation? And understand now,
as we read these verses, there was always a remnant of true
believers. And he says in verse 31 of chapter
nine, now look at Romans 9, 31. He says, but Israel, which followed
after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law
of righteousness. Now Israel was seeking the perfection
of righteousness found in the law. but they didn't attain it. They didn't make it. Now verse
32, Romans 9, wherefore or why did they not attain it? Because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of
the law. That's why they didn't obtain
it. Now what is it to seek righteousness by faith? It's to seek it in
Christ. You see, it's not to seek it
in ourselves or our decision or our believing even. We believe
unto righteousness. With the heart, we believe unto
righteousness. That means we look to Christ.
And it says in verse 32 of Romans, for they stumbled at that stumbling
stone, that's Christ. Verse 33, as it is written, he
quotes from Isaiah here. Isaiah eight, behold, I lay in
Zion, a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. We read in Isaiah 45 and Romans
where they'll be ashamed, they'll be confounded because they're
not looking to Christ. They're not pleading his blood
and his righteousness as their only ground of salvation and
justification before God. You remember those whom Christ
looked at in Matthew 7, the Sermon on the Mount? He said, depart
from me. You that work iniquity, I never
know you. What were they pleading? They
said, we preach in your name, we cast out demons, we did many
wonderful works. Is that what you plead before
God as your righteousness? He'll never knew you. That is,
he never had a loving relationship with you. His wrath abides on
you. That's what that means. Well,
look at Romans 10, look at verse one. It says, brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. Paul's praying for physical Israel, his kinsmen according
to the flesh. Verse two, for 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 their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Now what is the righteousness
of God? Verse four, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believe it. It's Christ. They've not submitted
to Christ. They've not believed in him.
He came unto his own and his own received him not. Now, what
does it take for a sinner to receive and believe in Christ?
I'll tell you what it takes. You must be born again by the
Holy Spirit. That's what Christ said in John
3. You must be born again or you cannot see or enter the kingdom
of heaven. Jeremiah 31 talks about it. He said, I'll give them a new
heart. Or Ezekiel 36 says that. And Jeremiah says, I'll put my
spirit within them. I'll write my law in their hearts.
It takes a sovereign, powerful, invincible work of God, the Holy
Spirit, to bring a sinner to believe in Christ. The natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Neither
can he know them. They're spiritually discerned. And that's the case. No man can come to me, Christ
said, except the Father which has sent me draw him and I will
raise it up again at the last day. So it takes a new heart. We'll look at Romans chapter
two and look at verse 28. It says here in verse 28 of Romans
two, for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is
that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. Verse 29, but he
is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is
not of men, but of God. Now, here's a person who is a
natural born child of Abraham, a Jew, but he doesn't believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. which means he hasn't been circumcised
in heart. Circumcision of the heart is
the new birth. That's the cutting away the filth
of the flesh. That refers to repentance of
dead works. Paul said, I count it all but
dung that I may win Christ. That's circumcision of the heart.
That's a sinner being brought to faith in Christ because he's
been given a new heart, the Bible says. That's circumcision of
the heart. So here's a natural born descended
of Abraham, a Jew, but he doesn't believe in Christ. Well, he's
a Jew physically, but he's not a spiritual Jew. And that's what
Paul's saying here. He's a Jew which is one inwardly.
Circumcision is that of the heart. Well, how do you know that circumcision?
They believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look over in Romans chapter
nine again. Romans nine, look at verse six.
Now we've already established, if you look at the history of
Israel, the nation Israel, the ethnic Jews, they on the whole
rejected the gospel. They rejected the message of
the prophets and they rejected Jesus of Nazareth when he came,
as we all do by nature now. Now understand, I'm not saying
we're, anybody who believes, if you're a believer, You have
to say with the Apostle Paul, by the grace of God, I am what
I am. I have nothing to boast in or
to be proud of. And I'll show you that in just
a moment. But it says, well, because the
majority of the nation Israel rejected, verse six, and God
promised to save all Israel. Well, was the word of God not
good enough? Was God not powerful enough?
Well, it says in verse six, not as though the word of God hath
taken none effect. It's not as though the word of
God were impotent, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. And that's a prophecy of Christ.
Christ came through this lineage of Isaac. Verse eight, that is,
they which are the children of the flesh, Physical Jews, these
are not the children of God, but the children of the promise
are counted for the seed. Now, what's the promise? Well,
the promise is salvation by God's grace through the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what the promise is. Now,
you'll notice there that he mentioned the seed of Abraham. Now Abraham
has a natural seed, that's all the physical descendants of him,
both Arab and Jews, Arab and Israelites. But Abraham has a
spiritual seed. Abraham is called the father
of the faithful, the father of them that believe. Not because
Abraham is the source of their faith or their salvation, it's
because Abraham was a prime example as appointed by God. of a sinner
saved by grace, justified based on the imputed righteousness
of Christ, brought to faith by God the Holy Spirit. And listen
what it says here in verse 26 of Galatians 3 about the seed
of Abraham. And this is talking about his
spiritual seed, spiritual Israel. Galatians 3, 26, for you are
all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Now, what that
means is this, you don't become a child of God by faith in Christ,
you give evidence that you are a child of God by faith in Christ. Now, how do you know that? Well,
look down at Galatians 4 in verse 4. He says, but when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman,
made under the law, that's Christ, Verse five, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Now look at verse six. And because you are sons, not
in order to become sons, but because you are sons, God has
sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. Now that's how. Now go back to
Galatians three, verse 26. for you're all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. Verse 27, for as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ, that's placed into Christ, have
put on Christ, to put him on is to believe in him. Verse 28,
in this state, there's neither Jew nor Greek, see no distinction,
there's neither bond nor free, there's neither male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Verse 29, And if you be
Christ, or if you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham's seed and
heirs according to the promise. Do you see that? That's pretty
plain, isn't it? Who are the spiritual seed of
Abraham? Well, they're the elect of God.
They're the chosen of God. They're the ones who are redeemed
by the blood of Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. They're the
Israel of God. They prevailed, I mentioned last
week, the name Israel means those who have prevailed with God.
And how do you prevail with God? By looking to, resting in, believing
in Christ as our whole salvation. Look over at Galatians chapter
six and verse 14. Here's the true Israel of God.
Paul writes in Galatians 6.14, but God forbid that I should
glory, save, or accept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. To glory there means to boast.
How can I boast of any right relationship with God? Well,
only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross there
is not just talking about a symbol or a piece of wood or a piece
of jewelry that you, it's talking about his finished work on the
cross to put away the sins of his people, the sins of his people
imputed charge to him and whereby he died and satisfied justice
and brought forth righteousness to enable God to be both a just
God and a savior. And so we boast in the cross,
the finished work of Christ, the glorious person of Christ,
God in human flesh, without sin, in the finished work of Christ,
by whom, verse 14, by whom the world is crucified unto me and
I unto the world. Now look at verse 15. For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature, a new creation. Now what he's talking about circumcision
there is physical circumcision. In other words, if you're a believer,
if you're washed in the blood of Christ and clothed in his
righteousness, whether you're a Jew or Gentile does not matter.
What matters is have you been made a new creature, a new creation? Now what is a new creation? Well,
listen to the words of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul
in Ephesians chapter two, verse eight. He says, for by grace
are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. See,
it's grace, all grace. Even our believing is of grace.
Ephesians 2.10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, not because of, but unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. That's
the new creature, the new creation. A new creation, a new creature
is one who's been regenerated by, they've been given a new
heart, been circumcised in heart and in ears. They know the gospel. So physical circumcision, whether
you're a Jew or a Gentile, doesn't matter. But a new creature, and
look at verse 16 of Galatians 6. It says, and as many as walk
according to this rule, this canon is the literal word there,
this doctrine, this teaching, this word. Well, what rule? God forbid that I should glory
except in the glorious person and finished work of Christ.
Peace be on them. They are the ones who prevail
with God and have peace with God through Christ, the blood
of his cross. And mercy, God's being compassionate
towards them, evidenced by their belief in Christ and upon the
Israel of God. That's the Israel of God, my
friend. They say, God forbid that I should
glory, saving the cross. Every prophecy of the future
eternal regathering of Israel in the Old Testament, that is
talking about the millennium as people say, which is okay,
is Israel coming together under the headship of Christ. believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some people say, well, that's
still future. That's going to come about. There'll
come a time when the whole physical nation of Israel will be turned
to Christ. Well, I don't believe the Bible
teaches that, but I'll tell you what, if I'm wrong, I'll be glad
to be wrong. I would love to see the whole
physical nation of Israel come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Let me tell you something, I'd
love to see the whole Arab world come to a saving knowledge of
Christ. I'd love to see the United States
of America come to a saving knowledge of Christ, that God would be
pleased to work His sovereign grace, His sovereign power in
all. Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. That's what we're, what are we
doing? We're seeking His sheep. We're seeking, Paul said, I do
it for the elect's sake. That's what it's about. Now go
back to Romans 11 and listen to it again. This is verse 26. And here's what he's been talking
about up to this point. That the majority of the nation
Israel rejected, but God has a remnant. And there is a remnant
according to the election of grace. It's made up of God's
people all over the world to the ends of the earth. Jew and
Gentile, all who are brought to faith. And he says in verse
20, 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. How do we know who all Israel?
They are brought to faith in Christ and they repent of their
dead works. They'll be delivered and he'll
turn away the iniquity of Jake. Their sins will be taken away.
They're righteous in him. Hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
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today and may the Lord be with you.