If you want to, you can go ahead
and turn to Romans chapter 11. Our verses this morning are going
to be 16 through 21, when we get into the verse-by-verse study
here. The title of the message this
morning is, Salvation is of the Jews. The title here is taken
from John 4, 22, where Christ had that conversation with the
Samaritan woman in which Christ told her that salvation is of
the Jews. The first question that might
come to your mind here concerning this title is, how is salvation
of or from the Jews? It is not that salvation is only
for the Jews. It is also not that salvation
has anything to do with being a Jew. We'll see this as we look
into some of the scriptures here a little later. Salvation is
of the Jews is only as the Jews where the instruments of God
are the conduits used by God, used of God, to bring salvation
to all of his people, his elect, out of every nation, tribe, kindred,
and tongue. How is this so? Well, it is so
because it was through the Jews here that God brought Christ
into the world, Christ who is our salvation. Christ who in,
in his sinless nature, was a Jew. Romans 1, beginning at verse
1, where Paul says, a servant of Jesus Christ called to be
an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised
to for by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his
son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of
David, according to the flesh. He was a Jew. It was also through
the Jews that God gave the world His revelation of the truth of
salvation. And it was through them that
it was preserved for all those hundreds of years, over 1,500
years. He used them to record the Old
Testament and the New Testament. And it was through these Jews
that the gospel was brought to the Gentiles in the very beginnings
of the New Testament church. Therefore, every believing Gentile
ought to thank God for the nation Israel by which he brought Christ
into the world and brought the gospel to the Gentiles. Every
believing Gentile ought to sorrow over the unbelief of these Jews
and pray for their salvation. As the Apostle Paul did back
in Romans 9, beginning at verse 1, where he says, I say the truth
in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bear me witness
in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were accursed
for Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the
flesh." Now, let's go ahead and begin our looking at some scriptures
here. We're going to begin, we're going
to start reading at verse 13 here of Romans 11. to give you
a couple of verses background as we go forward this morning. Verse 13, for I speak to you
Gentiles inasmuch that I am the apostle of the Gentile, I magnify
mine office. If by any means I may provoke
to immolation them which are my flesh, and might save some
of them. Now Paul, as I said in my last
lesson, knew that he couldn't save any sinner. But God used
Apostle Paul to preach this gospel whereby God saves sinners. This
gospel that reveals Christ and his righteousness alone is our
only hope of salvation. Then verse 15 says, for if the
cast in the way of them, speaking of the Jews here, the nation
Israel as a whole, be the reconciling of the world, what shall the
receiving of them be but life from the dead? For if the first
fruit, begin at verse 16, which is the verse that we'll begin
with this morning, for if the first fruits be holy, the lump
is also holy. And if the root be holy, so are
the branches. And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree were grafted in among
them, and with them partakers of the root and the fatness of
the olive tree, boast not against the branches, but if thou boast,
Thou debarest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say
then, the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.
Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest
by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear.
For if God spare not the natural branches, take he, lest he also
spare not thee. Now, some of these verses here
are a little difficult. to see the full meaning of and
everything, but I spoke to different men at the church and other men
and also different commentators that I have a lot of confidence
in. In doing that, I believe that
we'll see the true meaning in the entire context of what Paul
is talking about here. Now, let's begin our study here
with verse 16. For the firstfruits be holy,
the lump is also holy, and if a root be holy, so are the branches. Now, holy here, speaking of the
firstfruit, does not describe any inherent or imparted moral
quality of an individual. It literally means separated
or consecrated for a specific use, as an offering to or in
the service of God as distinguished from that which is common or
for the common use. And you know, in God had given
the nation Israel, so many ordinances and so many things that they
should do that pictured and typified Christ, and that they should
do in order to honor Him. And they had a lot of offerings
that they submitted to the Lord, and He told them exactly what
to do when they submitted these offerings to Him. And one of
the things that's used in the Old Testament is it talks about
first fruit. And in an offering, for example,
it would be like a bread offering that they would submit to the
Lord, and they should use, out of the dough that they used for
this bread offering, they should take the first part of that dough
and offer it unto the Lord as the first fruit, separate it
out from the rest of the dough, and use for a particular purpose,
and that is to honor God. And they had different ones.
They had the heave offering, which was an offering when they
took the bread, they would just lift it up, offering it to God. And the other one was a wave
offering, where they just wave here, one of them signifying
the God of heaven, and the other one the God of all the earth. But this first fruit here, as
I look at it and look at the entire context of scripture,
is referring to Abraham, who had both a physical and a spiritual
seed. Those first fruits were men of
God, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Physically, Abraham was
set apart by God, and that through him and his physical seed, the
nation Israel and specifically the tribe of Judah of which the
Messiah would come into the world. They were separated for that
purpose. Now the nation Israel was set apart for this specific
use. So in Abraham, the first fruit
was holy or set apart by God and the whole physical nation
of Israel, which would be the lump, was holy or set apart by
God for a specific purpose. And this purpose was that through
that nation, through that nation, the Jews, the gospel should be
preached and that the Messiah should come in time and save
his people from their sins. Now, Matthew 1.1, speaking of Christ being a Jew,
the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David,
the son of Abraham. Galatians 3.16, another scripture,
says, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
He saith not unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy
seed, which is Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ was a Jew. And it was through this nation
that he was born into this world. Now, the last part of verse 16
here, so in Abraham, the first fruits are holy, are set apart
by God, and the whole physical nation of Israel, which would
be the lump. They were holy or set apart by
God for this specific use and specific purpose. Then in the
last part of this verse 16, which says, if the root be holy, so
are the branches. The root here, as it relates
to the entire context of what Apostle Paul is speaking of here
in chapter 11, the root here also refers to Abraham, the first
fruit and the father of the faith. Abraham being the root and the
first fruit of not only the physical nation of Israel, but Abraham
also is said in scripture to be the father of our faith. Now,
as we continue on here in verse 17, which states, and if some
of the branches be broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree
were grafted in among them, and with them partakers of the root
and the fatness of that olive tree. The first part of verse
17 says, and if some of the branches be broken off. This refers to
that part of the physical nation of Israel which perished in unbelief. unbelieving Israel. As Roman
1115 says, for if the casting away of them be the reconciling
of the world, these that were cast away or broken off, they
were the partakers of the physical benefits of God's covenant with
Abraham, but not the spiritual benefits, which were and are
in Christ whom they rejected. They being cast off by God, and
neglected by his ministers, the gospel being removed from them
and left them without any means of grace and salvation. The same
way as happened to the Gentiles in the beginning of all those
hundreds of years. The Gentiles did not know God. They did not
have God. As far as the majority of them,
God saved some Gentiles, but the vast majority of them were
idol worshipers. They were without God in this
world. God left them alone. Now, this was the case of the
vast majority of the nation Israel as they being cast off and broken
off. As we have talked about in some
of our previous studies, even though God did forsake the majority
of the nation Israel as a whole, there were a few. There was a
seed, a remnant, that were taken into the gospel church and the
rest were blinded. hardened, rejected, and left
out for their own belief, for their unbelief. Now, in order
to see why God cast them off and why they were broken off,
let's look at Romans 9.31. It says, But Israel, which followed
after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law
of righteousness. They followed after righteousness, but as we
look in Romans 10.4, it says, For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Well, they rejected
the Messiah. They went about trying to establish
a righteousness of their own. They followed after righteousness,
but they attempted to establish one of their own, not submitting
themselves to the righteousness of Christ. As we'll see a little
later in verse 20, these Jews were broken off because of their
unbelief. They chose to ignore the only
hope of salvation. which is Christ's righteousness
alone, and they chose rather to attempt to establish their
own righteousness. The vast majority of the Jews
and the nation Israel rejected the Messiah. Then it says in
the next part of Romans 11, 17, the last part, and thou being
a wild olive tree. Speaking of these Gentiles. The
olive tree is a metaphor for spiritual Israel. of which the
physical nation of Israel was a picture and a type. We see
this in Romans 9, beginning at verse 6. It says, Not as though
the word of God had taken none effect, 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. That is, Paul says, they which
are the children of the flesh, These are not the children of
God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Just because that you're a physical Jew of the physical nation of
Israel does not make you a child of God. Paul is saying here,
this spiritual nation came to its fruition by means of God
using the physical nation of Israel. First in bringing Christ
into the world through them, Secondly, by bringing the gospel
to the world through them, the law, the prophets, the apostles. Now, in this verse 17, referring
to the Gentiles being a wild olive tree, in this sense, Gentile
believers were not part of the process of which God used to
reveal himself and to bring the Messiah into the world. They
were a wild olive. tree. But the Gentiles were,
as it were, a wild olive tree that was grafted into the nation
of spiritual Israel. Before the Jews were broken off,
the Gentiles grafted in. The Gentiles did not know God.
They were without God in this world. Look at Ephesians 2, beginning
at verse 11. Wherefore, remember that ye being
in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who were called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ
Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ." Now, verse 17, we as Gentiles, We as Gentile
believers are therefore partaking of the spiritual benefits. As
we look at the last part of verse 17 where it says, with them partakers
of the root and the fatness of the olive tree. We as Gentile
believers are therefore partaking of the spiritual benefits that
came to us through Abraham and the nation Israel. Look at Galatians
3 beginning at verse 26. For ye all for ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ Jesus have put on Christ, there is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
or female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be
Christ, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. All of our spiritual benefits and blessings or of
God's grace in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. But God used the
means of Abraham and the nation Israel to bring these spiritual
gifts to us. Look at John 4, 22 as we look
back at Christ speaking to the Samaritan woman. Ye worship ye,
know not why. We know what we worship, for
salvation is of the Jews. That is, God used the nation
Israel at first to reveal himself to this world. And in this sense,
salvation is of the Jew. Now, the Apostle Paul goes on
here in verse 18, speaking to the Gentile believers here at
the church at Rome, when he says in verse 18, Boast not against
the branches, but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but
the root thee. We Gentiles, who have been saved
by God's grace in Christ, have nothing in which to boast because
we are all the recipients of a salvation that we didn't earn
and we don't deserve. It's by grace. Christ himself,
his blood, and his righteousness alone are our only right and
title to eternal life and final glory. Having been saved by God's
grace, we have nothing in which to boast over and against these
unbelieving Jews. It is God who has made us to
differ, and if God had left us to ourselves, we would perish
in unbelief, as did the unbelieving Jews. The faith by which we lay
hold of Christ is a gift from God, according to Ephesians 2,
beginning at verse 8. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. So any Gentile believer who takes
pride in himself because he is saved and the unbelieving Jews
are not, must remember, thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee. We must realize that at the time
that Paul wrote this letter, the Jews received no benefits
nor advantages from the Gentiles. But the Gentiles received much
from the Jews. Our Savior, according to the
flesh, was a Jew, and the first believers were Jews. Look at
Romans 1.16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first. and also to the Greeks. The gospel
first come to the Jews. The nation Israel was God's people
in a national sense, not in an eternal sense, but in a national
sense. They were God's people for all
these hundreds of years. He revealed himself in picture
and type to this nation. They were the only ones that
worshipped the true and living God. Now, we know that the majority
of them perish, but as a whole, God revealed himself through
this nation. Our whole salvation is of the Lord, and we are to
recognize that no man or nation could save any of us. We are,
however, to thank God for the means he uses to bring the gospel
to us and us to the gospel. Now, so the warning here The
warning here in verse 18, which was boasts not against the branches,
is that we as Gentile believers should not be puffed up and arrogant
against the Jews on the account of our blessings and their being
blinded. The root and foundation of all
of the Gentiles' enjoyments were from the Jews. On the other hand,
all of the Jews' enjoyments of the gospel did not come from
the Gentiles, And for this reason, there was no room or reason for
the Gentile believers to boast or brag against the Jews. We
should always thank God for his grace in saving such wretched
sinners as ourselves and pray for salvation of both Jews and
Gentiles, knowing that it's God who makes us to differ and that
Christ's righteousness alone is the difference. I imagine
that Paul, in writing this letter here, and saying these things
here concerning Jews and Gentiles, that more than likely there was
a lot of problems going on in the church here having to do
with the Jews and the Gentiles. You know, for all those hundreds
of years, the Jews looked down on these Gentiles, called them
dogs and everything else. They thought more highly of themselves
than they should have. But they looked down on these
Gentiles. Now that God had broken off the nation Israel and carried
gospel to the Gentile world, some of these Gentiles probably
had a bad taste in their mouth because of the way they had been
treated all those hundreds of years. But they should not have
I felt like that, but naturally, we're sinners. And I'm sure you
had a lot of that going on. And so I'm sure this is the reason
that Paul is writing these things here, having to do with the Jews
and the Gentiles and admonishing the Gentiles as they looked at
those Jews that were unbelievers or even the believing Jews in
the church. Now, Romans 11, 19 and 20 says,
Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off that I might
be grafted in. This is Paul, kind of like he
does a lot, a lot of times, kind of speaking, putting forth an
argument that maybe the Gentiles would use. Paul says, Well, because
of unbelief they were broken off, and Thou standest by faith.
Be not high-minded, but fear. If any Gentile who claimed to
believe that the scripture states that the unbelieving Jews fell
and were cast off, that he might be grafted in into the spiritual
nation of Israel, this would definitely be a true statement.
But we must understand, however, that the Jews were not cast off
simply because they were Jews. And Gentiles were not grafted
in simply because they were Gentiles. The Jews were cast off because
of their unbelief. They rejected the Messiah. Gentile
believers, on the other hand, they stand by faith. This faith is not of ourselves.
It is the gift of God. This faith acknowledges from
the heart our sinfulness and the fact that by nature, as we
are born into this world and based on our best works that
we do, we deserve nothing but eternal damnation. If it were
not for Christ and His righteousness alone, This faith looks to Christ
and pleads His righteousness alone for all of our salvation. This faith looks to Christ and
pleads His righteousness alone, and this faith results in humility,
not pride. This faith results in fear, which
is respect and reverence for the God of all grace who justifies
the ungodly by the blood and by the righteousness of Christ
alone. Look at Hebrews 4 beginning at verse 1. Let us therefore fear, lest the
promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them, as well as to them that fell in the wilderness,
which the majority of Israel did. But the word preached did
not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it. For we which have believed do enter into the rest, as he
said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest,
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Now, our last verse that we'll look at this morning, verse 21,
says, For if God spared the natural branches, take he lest he also
spare not thee. If God spared not the natural
branches, take heed, lest he also spare not thee. God did
not spare the natural branches, the physical nation of Israel,
which, as a whole, insisted on salvation by their works, and
were lifted up with pride over these Gentiles, whom they considered
sinful, and they considered deserving of damnation. As a whole, they
rejected Christ and God's way of salvation by grace, that grace
that reigns through righteousness, the righteousness of Christ.
If God did not spare them because of their unbelief, their pride
in their unbelief, take heed lest he also spare not thee,
Paul tells the Gentiles. This is spoken to Gentiles who
claim to believe the gospel of God's grace in Christ. but who
revealed that they were actually in unbelief due to their pride
and their self-righteousness that was demonstrated in their
attitude toward those unbelieving Jews. As I stated at the beginning
of this message, every believing Gentile ought to thank God for
the nation Israel by which he brought Christ into the world
and brought the gospel to the Gentile. Every believing Gentile
ought to sorrow over the unbelief of these Jews and pray for their
salvation, as Paul did back in Romans 10 verse 1, where Paul
was a Jew. He was an Israelite. Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. He said they were ignorant of
the righteousness of God, of Christ's righteousness, and going
about to establish one of their own. They were in unbelief. In closing, remember what I said
at the beginning of the message. Salvation is of the Jews only,
as the Jews were the instruments of God and the conduits used
of God to bring salvation to all his people, his elect out
of every kindred tribe and nation, both Jews and Gentile. I thought
that Gentile believers should not be in any way of a boastful
nature, but rather being thankful that God chose to use the physical
nation Israel to reveal Himself to us by His grace and in and
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, those things that the Apostle
Paul is writing here to the church at Rome should also be an encouragement
to the church of our day. This verse 21 here, it reads,
For if God spared not the natural branches, take He lest He also
spare not thee. The first thing that I think
of when I think of how God has taken the gospel from certain
people and from certain areas as he did with the nation Israel.
I think of how we now have so many good writings that we use,
good writings that men of old wrote down the gospel plain and
clear. I think of how we now have all these good writings
of men that God raised up, and a lot of them were over in Europe. these men that we're familiar
with. But now as we look over in Europe, it's hard to find
where the gospel is being preached at all. God has chosen to take
the gospel from certain areas. And he does it as he sees fit,
and he does it according to his will. Now, every believer Every believer
should take Paul's statement here in verse 21 as an encouragement,
an encouragement to continue to spread the gospel that we
cherish so much and pray that God will use, continue to use
our little group here in this area as he sees fit. Also, every
believer here in this area should take note of how blessed we are
as a congregation. and that God has kept the gospel
here in this place for so many years. To our young people here,
I encourage you to attend to the means that God has given
you by placing the gospel here in this place. I encourage you,
don't neglect these means that God has given us here. Think
about your family, your wives, your family, your children. Until
Christ returns, God is going to continue to bring his sheep
into the fold. And he does it by the preaching of the gospel,
the gospel that's preached out from this pulpit here. This gospel
of the salvation that's sure and is certain, not based on
the works of men, but based entirely on the righteousness of Christ
alone, His righteousness alone. Therefore, I encourage each and
every one of us in the study of God's Word that the church
that the church body here may be edified, that we may grow
in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is an
encouragement. This should be an encouragement
to all of us as we continue to preach the gospel here in this
place.