And this morning, we're going
to begin in chapter 11, verse 28. And we're going to see if
we can't go through the end of this particular chapter that
we've been on for a few studies. The title of the message is The
Gifts and Calling of God. And it's taken from verse 29
of chapter 11. Paul here, he begins this chapter,
chapter 11, that we've been studying. He begins the chapter with a
question. In verse one, hath God cast away his people? That's how Paul began this particular
chapter. Hath God cast away his people? Talking about Israel, talking
about the Jews. And so then in verse two, It
states, God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Now, I'll begin by stating once
again that God's Israel, God's Israel, which is all Israel,
stated back in verse 26 of Romans chapter 11, whom he promised
to save, and God promised to save all Israel, they're Jews
and they're Gentiles, not just the Jews. not just the physical
nation Israel, but they're Jews and Gentiles. And when I say
Gentiles, that includes all other nationalities. As God says, he
saves all of his elect out of every tribe, kindred, tongue,
and nation. And that includes Gentiles as
well as Jews. They have the same faith that
Abraham had. Abraham was a Jew. He was a physical
Jew But God's all Israel have the same faith that Abraham had
The same faith and it says that all Israel has All Israel God
promised and coveted to save includes both Jews and Gentiles.
They are all part of spiritual Israel spiritual Israel not just
the physical nation Israel. Look at Galatians 12 beginning
at verse 14 here, where it says, but God forbid, this is Paul
speaking, for God forbid that I should glory save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me
and I unto the world. For in Christ neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, whether you a Jew, circumcised
Jew, or uncircumcision being any other nationality, but a
new creature. And as many as walk according
to this rule, what rule? God forbid that I should glory
in anything except the cross, except Christ and him crucified.
Peace be on them and mercy, and watch this, and upon the Israel
of God. The Israel of God is God's elect
out of every tribe, kindred, and nation and tongue. Not just
the Jews, not just the physical nation Israel. God has an elect
out of the physical nation Israel. He has a remnant out of that
nation and out of all nations. a remnant according to the election
of grace. God made an everlasting covenant
before the creation of this world. God the Father elected a people
for his own glory and for his own purpose. God the Father gave
and entrusted those individuals to his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. Christ became
totally responsible in that everlasting covenant, that covenant that
was made between the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Christ became totally responsible
for those that the Father gave him. Christ obligated himself
to be the surety for those individuals called his sheep, his elect,
He became surety for the sin debt that each one of them would
incur because of their fallen Adam, because of the fall of
Adam. And we became sinners based on
that, because of that. And in the fullness of time,
in time, Christ came to this earth and fulfilled all the obligations
and responsibilities to the Father. for the sin-dead of all of God's
elect. Christ was faithful to His promise
to the Father. In that, He did all things that
were pleasing to the Father, even to the death on the cross
of Calvary, as He paid that sin-debt. Let's look at a scripture that
tells us what the Father thought of the Son. Look at Matthew 3,
beginning at verse 16. It says, And Jesus, when he was
baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And, lo, a voice from
heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The Father was pleased with the
Son and that work that he did in the place of all those that
the Father had given from eternity, from old eternity. And brethren,
we always remember, always remember this. If God the Father is well
pleased with His Son, He's well pleased with all those that the
Son represents. All those that the Father gave
Him. That He came in time and did all those things necessary
for their salvation. If He's pleased with His Son,
He's pleased with those that the Son represented. All those
that are in the Son. Now, The Son of the Living God
did all these things in the place of sinners, God's elect. Now, because of what Christ did in
the place of God's elect, the Apostle Paul is able to say in
the first verse in our study this morning that we're gonna
look at, but it's touching the election they are beloved for
the Father's sake. All of God's elect are beloved
for the Father's sake, not only the elect Jews, but also the
elect Gentiles, all other nationalities. Paul begins in verse 28 with
a response to those that might have objection to the call and
conversion of the Jews because of their total rejection of God's
gospel and their enmity and hatred toward the gospel of Christ.
the Messiah, sin of God, the Messiah that was rejected by
the majority of the nation Israel when they crucified him on the
cross. The apostle replies to such a response by stating the
following as we begin our study this morning in verse 28 of Romans
11. Paul says, as concerning the
gospel, now he's speaking to these Gentile believers here,
these Gentile believers that God had carried the gospel to
the Gentiles. Up until this point, you know,
the Gentiles or the rest of the world, they didn't know God. There was a few Gentiles that
were saving for some over 1,500 years, but the majority of them
didn't know God. God chose that, temporarily chose that physical
nation Israel to reveal himself. And because of that, all the
other nations, They didn't know the true and living God. But
it says here, as concerning the gospel, there are enemies for
your sake, speaking of the unbelieving Jews at that time, but as touching
the election, they are beloved for the Father's sake. The Apostle
Paul says here that they, the elect Jews, are enemies for your
sake or for the Gentile believers' sake. These unbelieving Jews
were enemies to God and Christ, and they were enemies to the
gospel and to the ministers of the gospel, and particularly
they were enemies of Paul, the preacher of that gospel. The
Gentiles to whom the gospel was preached and by whom it was received
greatly angered and provoked the Jews. so much so that they
rejected and hated the gospel. Because of this unbelief of the
majority of the Jewish nation, the gospel was taken from them
and carried to the Gentiles. Because of this hatred and hostility
of the Jews toward the gospel, their unbelief actually served
to be an advantage to the Gentiles, and that God sent the Gentiles
the gospel, which is something that hadn't happened for over
1,500 years in that old covenant. As I've said earlier in earlier
messages, that even though the gospel was taken to the Jews
and carried to the Gentiles, we should always remember that
that doesn't mean that no Jew in the future will be able to
come to faith and repentance. It doesn't mean that God's not
going to save any Jew, because he has an elect Jew, a remnant
according to the election of grace, even out of this, the
nation Israel, the Jews. God has a remnant among them,
and that according to the election of grace. Israel's unbelief and
hostility toward Christ and his church was the occasion for the
preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. But God will eventually
save all Israel that the scripture talks about, all of God's elect,
out of every tribe, kindred, and nation. God had promised
to save the spiritual seed of Abraham. This was a promise given
to Abraham in the beginning. And the faithfulness and power
of God to fulfill his promise could not be made void through
the physical nation Israel's unbelief. Because scripture says
in verse 28 here, but it's touching the election. This refers to
God's elect among the Jews. And then it says that they are
beloved for the Father's sake. They, speaking of the elect Jews,
are beloved of God in accordance with the promise made to their
fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God will remember the
covenant of promise he had made with their fathers and in each
successive generation as they're born into this world. He will
save his elect, a remnant, among the Jews. Now, then it says here
in verse 29, our next verse here, for the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance. God's covenant of promise toward
all his elect, both Jew and Gentile, all nationalities, is immutable. Immutable meaning it's absolute
and it's unchangeable. God doesn't change. He doesn't
change his mind. His love which He has set upon
His elect is infinite and it's everlasting, it's eternal. It's
the everlasting love of God. If God loved you from the beginning
and it said that it was from eternal, if He loved you, He
never changed His mind about it. He doesn't love you and then
not love you and then love you again. He doesn't save you and
then cast you out and then save you again. That love is everlasting. It's immutable. It's unchangeable.
It never varies and it doesn't waver in any way. Now, verse
29, here that we're looking at, a reference to that is back in
Numbers 23, 19 concerning the statement that God, the calling
of God, or without repentance. It says, God is not man that
he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent.
Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and
shall he not make it good? God's unchangeable love has provided
all that his holiness and his troops demanded, and that is
the salvation of all those that he give Christ from eternity.
Now, speaking of that everlasting love that God has for his people,
his elect, his sheep, let's look at what Paul says back in Romans
8, beginning at verse 35. Paul says, who shall separate
us from the love of Christ, that love that's in Christ for his
people? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. And Paul goes through
a lot of different things that if possible would separate a
sinner from the love of God. But it's not possible, and he
kind of says toward the end there, that neither death nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, and he covers everything
here, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus, our Lord. When God promises to save a sinner,
he will not repent of it or take it back. And what God freely
gives to His people through the Lord Jesus Christ, He calls them
to it in time. This is the calling of God that
this verse is talking about. He calls them by the power of
the Holy Spirit in the new birth. You must be born again. Every
sinner chosen by God and justified in Christ, every sinner that's
redeemed by the blood of Christ, in time, in time, they shall
be called unto the gospel. Christ's work on the cross demands
it. It is the fruit and effect of
what Christ accomplished at the cross. These gifts of God, of
God's grace in Christ and the calling of the Holy Spirit and
the preaching of the gospel, are the spiritual gifts of God's
free grace, which do relate to the spiritual and eternal welfare
of God's elect. These are the blessings of grace
which were given to God's elect in Christ and that before the
world began. These are spiritual blessings
wherein God's elect were then blessed in Christ in old eternity,
even before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1, beginning
at verse 3, tells us that. It says, blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us, all those
that God chose from eternity, has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according that He,
God, hath chosen us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation
of the world. That we should be holy and separated. That's a holy is separated, sanctified. And without blame before Him
in love. How are you going to be without blame before God in
love? Unless you have a righteousness
that meets what the demands of God, what He requires. God's
holy. He requires perfection in everything.
Total holiness. And how are you going to be without
blame before Him in love unless Christ represented you and worked
out a righteousness for you and imputed it, charged it to your
account? Well, you can stand before God
without blame. That's the only way I can stand
before God without blame. I've got to have a righteousness.
Christ worked it out and He freely charged it in my account. And
that's the only way I can stand before Him without blame. I'm
a sinner. I'm a sinner. I need mercy. But this is how
I can stand before God without blame, having predestinated us
into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will. After telling them in Romans
8, 11, 28, he says, in 11, 28, it says, as concerning the gospel,
they're enemies for your sake, but as touching the election,
they're beloved for the Father's sake. Speaking of these elect
Jews, And in Romans 29, for the gifts and the calling of God
without repentance, God's not going to change His mind in this
matter. Paul says in verse 30, speaking of these gifts and calling
of God, he says, for as ye in time past have not believed God,
speaking of the Gentiles there, yet have now obtained mercy through
their unbelief, through the unbelief of these Jews, even so have these
also. now believe that through your
mercy, they also may obtain mercy in time. From the beginning of
the old covenant made with the nation Israel, God had given
up the vast majority of all other nations, all Gentiles. He'd given them up to walk in
their own ways for over 1,500 years. As a whole, these Gentiles, all
these other nations, other than the nation Israel, whom God revealed
himself to this nation, even though the majority of them didn't
believe. As a whole, these Gentiles were
steeped in ignorance, superstition, idolatry, and disobedience. That it was evident that if they
were to be saved, it would be by God's free and sovereign mercy. Therefore, the believing Gentiles
obtain mercy from God, God's compassion, and they obtain God's
mercy by means of the Jews' unbelief. It's plain, scripture tells us
here. Now that the Jews' unbelief is apparent, now that the Jews'
unbelief is apparent to these Gentiles, and it was apparent
even at the cross, Paul was a Jew, he believed the gospel, and there
were many other ones that believed the gospel, but the vast majority
of the Jewish nation, the nation Israel, rejected the Messiah.
And they put him on a cross. And we'd done the same thing,
we'd been there too, if God hadn't revealed Christ to us. Now that
the Jews' unbelief is apparent to these Gentiles, we ought to
have compassion on them. and seeking and praying for their
salvation, just as much as we do our own loved ones and our
close friends and relatives. We as believing Gentiles ought
to be the instruments of love and mercy and compassion toward
the Jews, so that, as it says in verse 31, that through your,
or the Gentiles, mercy, they, the Jews, also may obtain mercy.
Our desire for every Jew is that God will save them and bring
them into the fellowship of Christ and his people, the citizens
of spiritual Israel. So now, having been given all
of the evidence concerning all men by nature, and when I say
all men by nature, I mean as we're born into this world, sinners,
ungodly, ignorant of the true God, Even though you have all
kinds of religions out there and churches on every corner,
but the majority of them are ignorant of the true God and
how he saved the sinner. Now, all of them have been found in
unbelief and all being in need of God's mercy. Paul gives God's
conclusion in the matter in this next verse that we're gonna look
at, 32, verse 32, where Paul says, for God hath concluded
them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. This
refers to God's elect among the Jews and among the Gentiles,
all other nationalities. No matter what race you come
from, no matter what culture, He says he concluded them all
in unbelief. Whether the sinners are Jew or Gentile, all men by
nature are born in unbelief. God has concluded them all in
unbelief. No sinner is born, no sinner
is born saved and born a believer. He's just not born that way. We're all fallen in Adam, born
in sin, and in need of grace, God's grace and salvation in
Christ. However, all of God's elect among the Jews and among
the Gentiles shall obtain mercy in time. All Israel shall be saved, and
not all the physical nation of Israel, but all the spiritual
nation of Israel, all those. that have the same faith Abraham
had, all those that look to Christ and Christ alone for salvation.
When this whole thing is over, there'll be no excuse by any
man that will be able to withstand the judgment seat of God. No
excuse from Jews and no excuse from any other nationality. It
will be proven that all by nature is born into this world sinners,
deserving damnation, and eternal torment. It will be proven that
we all by nature are born in unbelief and will remain there
unless or until God does a work in our heart, making His elect
willing in the day of His power, willing to believe the gospel,
willing to believe the gospel of God's grace in Christ, willing
to trust Christ alone for all of our salvation. willing to
side with God and against ourselves in this matter of sin and of
righteousness, and willing to give God all the glory and the
full, free salvation, not based on the sinner's works, their
deeds of law, but based entirely on Christ's righteousness alone.
That work he did, that perfect work that he did, as he obeyed
the law in every jot and He was the only perfect man that ever
lived. Obeyed the law and then went to that cross and paid the
sin debt for all those that he represented. Fully satisfying
God in every way. Now, next verse here in verse
33. It says, Oh, the debt of the riches, both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways
past finding out. Paul concludes this part of the
epistle by expressing his praise and adoration of God. Once regenerated
and converted, not only Paul but all of God's elect are able
to see a great part of God's ultimate design that illustrates
the infinite perfections of his redemptive character and the
full free salvation of sinners conditioned and based entirely
on Christ alone, his work alone. The riches of God's infinite
wisdom and knowledge are beyond us. We will stand amazed forever
and ever in the light of God's glory. But believers do see a
glimpse of God's glory. even now in the face of our Lord
Jesus Christ in his person and work. The salvation of a sinner
is to the praise of the glory of God's grace in Christ. Whenever
God saves a sinner, it is by his free and his sovereign grace. We're saved by grace alone. The
account just given here in chapter 11 of the call of the Gentiles,
by God and the rejection of the Jews is an amazing plan and scheme
of God. A plan of infinite wisdom that
on the one hand salvation should come to the Gentiles through
the fall of the Jews and that the Gentiles should obtain mercy
through the Jews unbelief and on the other hand that the restoration
of the elect Jews in time, that remnant according to the election
of grace, should be as life from the dead to the Jews. And because
God has enabled the Gentiles to show mercy toward these Jews
by preaching the gospel to them, and in time, in each successive
generation, these elect Jews will obtain God's mercy. He'll
save them. And because of God's great love
and mercy, both Jew and Gentile, in their time and in their turn
should be shut up in unbelief by God, all in unbelief, that
in time God might have mercy upon them all, all of his elect
out of the nation Israel, all of God's elect out of every nation,
kindred, tribe, and tongue, all of God's elect out of all these
nations. Now, verse 34. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? Paul says. The wisest
of men need counsel from others, and the angels desire to look
into the works of their creator. But the eternality of God and
the perfections of his nature reveal that he needs no counselor,
no advisor. Look at what King Nebuchadnezzar
was taught concerning who was ultimately in control of all
things. Scripture says that King Nebuchadnezzar had grown and
become strong and that his greatness had grown and that his dominion
was to the end of the earth. Most of you remember the account
of Daniel here who interpreted the king's dream. which he had
other soothsayers and men that he asked to interpret, but never
was satisfied with any of it, so he called Daniel. And Daniel
here, interpreting his dream, told him that he would be driven,
speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar, that he would be driven from
men, and that his dwelling should be as the beast of the field,
and that he should be made to eat grass as oxen, and that he
should continue in this until he came to know that the Most
High God ruleth the kingdom of men." Look at this account in
Daniel 4, beginning at verse 34. It says, and at the end of
the days, which means that is the days that God had determined
that he should be in the field, and eating grass like oxen. At
the end of these days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes into heaven,
and my understanding returned to me. And I blessed the Most
High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation
to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed or accounted
as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will, in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth. And none can stay his hand and say unto him, what doest
thou? God's sovereign, he's a sovereign
God. And he does as he will in all the heaven and earth. And
no one is of higher knowledge and is able to give him counsel
in any way. We can't even know the mysteries
of God unless he reveals them to us through his word. Thank
God for revealing Himself to us, and He does it by revealing
the Gospel to us, the preaching of the Gospel, the Gospel that
reveals Christ and His redemptive work on the behalf of all of
God's elect. Look at Matthew 11, verse 27. It says, This is Christ speaking,
"...all things are delivered unto me of my Father." And no
man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal
him." And again, look at what Christ says in John 14, verse
6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. There's only one way to come
to the Father, and that's by Christ alone. There's not two
or three or four or five different ways through all these other
religions that are out there today. There's only one way,
and Christ is that way. Concerning how God reveals himself
to his elect, look at what the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians
4, verse 6. Says, for God who commandeth
the light to shine out of darkness. This is speaking of that light
of the gospel. That light in that gospel message
that reveals who God is and how he saves a sinner. The light
shining out of darkness, that's shining out of our dark mind. We don't know. We don't know
the gospel unless he reveals it to us. Paul says, my heart's
in desire and prayer for Israel, they might be saved. He says,
but they're ignorant. They're ignorant of something.
They're ignorant of that righteousness. The only way that God saves a
sinner. And they're going about to establish one of their own.
That's how you can tell whether somebody knows the gospel or
not. Are they looking to a righteousness
outside of themselves? Or are they looking to a righteousness
that they can produce? One that they work out with God's
help or without God's help. They're looking to something
else. But this is that light that's shining in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And when it says in the face
of Jesus Christ, that means in his entire work. That's what
he did. After Paul says in verse 34, for who hath known the mind
of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor, he continues in
verse 35 here. or who hath first given to him, and it shall be
recompensed to him again. God is neither dependent upon
nor indebted in any way to any of his creatures. It is utter
nonsense to talk about creature merit before God. God's will
is our law, our standard of responsibility. And if we could do all things
in perfect conformity, to this will, to God's will. We would
still be unprofitable servants, according to what Christ says
here in Luke 17, where Christ says, but which of you, having
a servant, plying and feeding cattle, will say unto him by
and by, when he is come from the field, go and sit down to
meet? And will not rather say unto
him, make ready wherewith I may sup? and gird myself and serve
me, till I have eaten and drunken, and afterward thou shalt eat
and drink." This is what he's saying to a servant. And then
it said, does he thank that servant because he did the things that
were commanded him? Did he thank the servant because
of all these things that he did? He says, I trove not, I think
not. So likewise, ye, when you shall
have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are
unprofitable servants. We have done that which was our
duty to do. Even if we were able to do everything
perfectly, which we can't, but even if we were able to do, So
God would not be indebted to us because we would have done
only what we're responsible to do. Because God says, be ye holy
for I am holy. God can't say anything less than
that. He can't say, well, you do the best you can. And somehow
or another, we'll make up, the rest will be made up somehow
or another. No, He's holy and He requires perfection in every
way. And the only way we can have it is one has to be charged,
legally imputed and charged, credited to our account. Christ's
righteousness, what he worked out in his life and his death,
credited and charged, legally charged to our account. I have
a righteousness to stand before God. Not my works, it's Christ's
righteousness that's been charged to my account. This proves that
our salvation is not what we deserve or what we earn. It is not what God owes us. God
doesn't owe us anything. But it is what God freely gives
us by His grace in Christ alone. Now, our last verse here that
we're going to look at this morning, verse 36, says, For of Him, of
God, and through Him, and to Him are all things to whom be
glory forever. Amen. Sinful creatures, all full
of self-love, and we all have that self-love by nature, all
born that way, we're sinners. They just cannot imagine that
God must love himself supremely and infinitely more than the
whole creation. God alone is right in all that
he does. Therefore, God must prefer his
own glory to everything else. It's only right that His will
should be the law and His glory the supreme goal of everything
since He has created everything and ordained it toward that end. Happy and blessed are those who
see the glory of God revealed in Christ. Look again at 2 Corinthians
4. where it says again, for God
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness have shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Whenever sinners are enlightened
to see that the goal of all things in this universe is God's glory,
not man's glory, and that the greatest view of his glory is
in the salvation of sinners through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they
will be enabled to truly rejoice in God our Savior. Then and only then will God be
glorified in the sinner's heart, in our minds, in our affections,
in our will. Christ will be exalted and all
grounds of boasting in the sinner will be excluded. We don't boast
in ourself. There's nothing that we can do,
nothing that the sinner can do to recommend himself unto God.
Christ alone is who we boast in. God alone will be glorified
in all these things. And then finally, Paul says,
amen. Or so be it, as Paul is ascending
to it and confirming it, and is in total agreement with all
that he has said and that he has wrote concerning God's sovereignty
in all things, whether in nature, whether in creation, or whether
in salvation. To God be the glory and the honor
in all things. Amen.