Okay, back to the book of Romans.
Romans 11, we want to try to look at verse 26, 27, 28, 29.
But we will review for just a moment verse 25. For I would not brethren
that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should
be wise or lifted up with pride in your own high-mindedness conceits
that blindness in part has happened to the Jews until the fullness,
the fullness of God's elect among the Gentiles come in or be brought
in. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is often called a mystery, a mystery. There in Ephesians
chapter 5 when it talks about that union between Christ and
his church And he likens it unto a husband and a wife, Christ
and his church. He said this is a great mystery,
that vital union that the head has with the body. Another place
we read in scripture, 1 Timothy 3.16, we read of this mystery.
Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God
was manifest in the flesh. Figure that one out. It's a mystery. A mystery, great mystery. Justified
or vindicated by God the Holy Spirit, seen of angels at his
birth and at his resurrection, seen of angels, preached among
the Gentiles. This is a mystery. Even the gospel
being sent to the Gentile world is a mystery. Believed on in
the world? Well, that's a mystery, isn't
it? Any vile sinner would actually believe the gospel. And the Lord
Jesus Christ delivered far off fences and received up to glory. That's a mystery. must be revealed. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is a mystery. How God justifies the ungodly
in Christ without lowering His holy standard of justice. You remember in chapter 3 He
is called a just God or just and the justifier of those who
believe in the Lord Jesus. And Isaiah recorded that he is
both a just God and Savior. And then he said beside me, there
is no other. God must reveal the hidden things
of the gospel unto us or we shall never, never see. Let us never be wise in our own
conceits, thinking, well, I'm just a little bit better. I'm
a little bit smarter. I've really figured this thing
out. No, if you believe the gospel, God has revealed this mystery
unto you. We read in Matthew 11, he's hid
these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them, revealed
them unto his babes. Gospel is a revelation. Don't
turn, let me just read this to you, Galatians chapter one. But
when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me. The revelation of Christ in you
is the hope of glory. The mystery of God hiding the
gospel from the Jews, hardening their hearts, blinding their
eyes is a mystery, a mystery. Look back at the earlier part
of this chapter, remember verse eight. Romans 11 verse 8, according
as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes
that they should not see, notice God had given to them that they
should not see, ears that they should not hear unto this day.
David said, let your table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling
block. A recompense unto them, let their
eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow down their back
always. This is a mystery. The mystery
of God hiding the gospel from some and revealing it unto others
is by the purpose of God He worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. By the purpose of God this was
done that the blessings of the gospel might be sent unto us,
unto the Gentile world, unto the Gentile world. Who are we
to sit in judgment upon his purpose and his grace in Christ Jesus. Now look at verse 26, Romans
11. And so all, all Israel shall
be saved as it is written. Now here he's not talking about
the Jewish people per se, as they're a national people. There
is a country today called Israel. But he's not here talking about
the natural Jew, he's talking about the Israel of God, all
the elect of God. As it is written, there shall
come out of Zion the Deliverer, the Deliverer, there's only one.
He's the Savior, the Deliverer, he's the Redeemer, and shall
turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Even so, all the elect of God
shall be saved or justified among Jew or Gentile, God has a people
redeemed out of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue, and
people with the precious blood of Christ. All of God's spiritual
elect, all of God's spiritual covenant people shall be saved. All the spiritual sons of Abraham,
the true Israel of God. If we look back at chapter nine,
remember turn one page back to chapter nine, Verse 5, Who are the fathers,
of whom concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all,
God bless forever, Romans 9 verse 5. Not as though the word of
God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel, which
are Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abraham, or they
all children, but in Isaac, shall thy seed be called, that is,
they which are the children of flesh, these are not the children
of God, but the children of the promise. They're counted for
the seed for the covenant children. Notice, all Israel shall be saved. Reminds me of that verse over
in John 6, 37 where he says, All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and those that come to me I will in no wise
cast out. Now, who is this Israel of God? If you look back at chapter 2,
do you remember? Over in chapter 2 verse 28, who
is this Israel of God? Who is a true son of God? Romans
2 verse 28, for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he
is a Jew, a true son of Abraham, a true child of God, which is
one inwardly, And circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit,
not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. That is the Israel of God. Remember from Philippians chapter
Three, when Paul there describes who the true children of God
are, he said, we are the true circumcision which worship God
in the Spirit, that rejoice in Christ Jesus, and we have no
confidence in the flesh. God does have a covenant people. Now the reason that is given
that all Israel, the Israel of God, the elect of God shall be
saved, I love this statement here in verse 26, as it is written. The reason that God justified
his people is because God has determined to do it, as it is
written. In other words, as God has decreed
it to be so, as God has said, thus saith the Lord, it shall
be so. You remember from 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, We read that how Christ died for our sins according
as it is written. Boy, that's a very powerful statement. Everything God has done for us
is because God has from eternity decreed it to come to pass. Before there was a sinner, there
was a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was slain from the
foundation of the world. So all of God's elect shall be
redeemed, justified, saved, sanctified, made righteous in Christ, because
as it is written, there shall come out of Zion, the definite
article, capital D, he's our deliverer. He's our Redeemer. Now there's just one Deliverer.
How did He deliver us? Remember, He was delivered for
our offenses and raised again because He justified us. Remember
Romans 8.32, God who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all. How shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only Redeemer. He's the only Redeemer. He's
the only one that can put away our sin. And He did so with His
precious blood. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one and only Savior. He's the Savior. There is no
other Savior. He is a Redeemer who redeemed
all His people. He is a Savior who saved all
His people. Call His name Jesus, He shall
save His people from their sin. He is the only Mediator, one
God, one Mediator between God and men, not man, God and men,
that is the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one
who intercedes for us. We have one intercessor. He's
able to save them to the uttermost, all that come to God by him,
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. That's
good news, is it not? What if we had a deliverer that
tried to and failed? Well, he wouldn't be a deliverer,
he'd be a failure. What if we had a deliverer or
a savior that tried to save and couldn't? Oh, we wouldn't have
a savior, would we? We'd have a failure. But he's
no failed savior. He's no failed redeemer. He is
no failed deliverer. He successfully 100% saved all
his people from all their sin. And he's done it forever. With
his own blood he put away our sin. Our Deliverer shall turn
us away from the ungodliness of Jacob. What was Jacob's name
by nature? What was Jacob by nature? You
remember he was a cheat and a supplanter. What did God name him? And that's
where the name Israel comes from. Jacob's name, Jacob met the Savior,
and they had that confrontation, and the Lord came out the victor
and said, Jacob, what's your name? He said, well, my name's
Jacob. A cheat, a supplanter, a sinner. God said, your name will no more
be called Jacob, because I've made you Israel. Israel means,
Israel means a prince. As a prince, thou has power with
God. He's made us kings and priests
unto our God. He's taken sons of Jacob and
made us kings and priests unto our God. That is the good news
of the gospel. And he shall turn us away from
trusting ourselves. He shall turn us away from looking
to ourselves. He causes us to look unto Him
who is the author and finisher of our faith. For the joy that
was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. And He sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Now, look at verse 27. I love
this. And this is my covenant. This
is my covenant unto them. unto them, he's able to say them
to the uttermost. This is my covenant unto them. God has a covenant people. We call this covenant the covenant
of grace. We call this covenant the covenant
of mercy. God said, I will have mercy upon
whom I will have mercy. This is my covenant, saith the
Lord. Our God is a covenant God. You
want a good reading book, pick up that book out on the table
by John Warburton called The Mercies of a Covenant God. It
is very, very good, good reading material. But notice in, I'll
just read this to you, this is in Hebrews 13, now the God of
peace, verse 20, that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing
in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and
ever and ever. And then he says, amen. So be
it. This is my covenant unto them
when I shall take away their sins. Now that's pretty plain
language, is it not? How did he take away their sin? The sin of his covenant children.
Now not all the sin of all men everywhere. That's not so. If there's anybody in hell for
whom the Lord Jesus Christ died, he's a failure. There's nobody
going to perish for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died. Why?
He shall take away their sin. Hebrews 1 verse 3 says this,
when he had by himself When He had by Himself purged our sin,
He sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. He appeared
once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. He obtained eternal redemption
for us, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His
own blood He obtained eternal redemption for us, when I shall
take away their sin. You know, sin is pretty hard
to deal with. The blood of bulls and goats cannot put away sin.
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should put
away sin. Sin is hard to put away. It's only put away by the
precious blood of Christ. He said, I shall take away their
sin. Now, they're all gone. They're
all gone. God said, their sin and their
iniquity will I remember no more. He separated our sin from us
as far as the east is from the west. In Jeremiah 50 verse 20,
listen to this scripture. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none. And the sins of Judah, they shall
be not found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve. Good news, I shall take away
their sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanses us from all our sin. Now, look at verse 28. As concerning the gospel, every man by nature, Jew or Gentile,
Every man by nature is an enemy of God and a hater of God. Every man by nature. Concerning
the gospel, the carnal mind, you remember we studied in Romans
8, 7. The carnal mind is enmity, deep-seated,
deep-rooted hatred against God. We love darkness. We hate the
light. because our deeds were evil.
By nature we're all enemies against God, enemies and opposed to the
gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. That's every
man by nature, that's you, that's me, that's everybody. Man's natural
response to the gospel is hatred against God. When it's clearly
defined and set forth in the sovereignty of its character,
God is God, Men are sinners. God chose a people. He will have
mercy on whom He will. The response of the natural man
is enmity. I don't like that. I won't have
that. I will not have that man to reign
over me. That's man's natural response. We read again, that
the carnal mind receiveth not, the carnal mind receiveth not
the things of God. If you're a lover of the gospel
of Christ, it's because you by nature are an enemy, and he's
reconciled you unto God. He's reconciled you to the blood
atonement of Christ. As concerning the gospel, Jew
or Gentile, man by nature, is at enmity against God. But concerning
the election, that word touching is also the same exact word that
is rendered in verse 28 concerning. But as concerning the election,
they're beloved of God. You remember over here in Romans
chapter 11 verse 5, Even so, then, at this present
time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And
if by grace, then it is no more of works. But as touching the
election, you cannot read this book and deny the plain truth
that God chose a people unto salvation, and he did so from
all eternity. We call that the Bible doctrine
of election. Now can't we just skip that part?
Can't we just say, well, God elected every man, and then by
faith, they make the decision whether they are saved or not. A lot of people say, well I believe
in election, that is God voted for me, the devil voted against
me, and then I have the deciding vote. What nonsense, what foolishness. There is the election of grace. God from all eternity unconditionally
chose a people unto salvation. Now why do we preach these things?
Because that's what the book teaches. You cannot, and I believe
Brother Mahan always made this statement, and I believe it's
so. You cannot preach the gospel and not preach God who elected
a people unto salvation. You cannot preach the gospel
without preaching that Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, laid down
his life for his sheep. You can't do it. To try to dismiss
that and pass over it is to reveal that you're a false prophet. Sometimes a false prophet is
not known so much by what he says, but by what he does not
say. What he does not say. You see,
these things are offensive to the natural man, are they not? As concerning the gospel, We
are all enemies by nature, children of wrath even as others, but
God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he has
loved us in Christ. They are beloved of God. Now
when did God start loving his people? When did God start loving
his people? Beloved, we are bound to give
thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, Because
God has from the beginning chosen you unto salvation. He has loved
his people with an everlasting salvation. Therefore with loving
kindness does he draw them. They are beloved of God. Remember
we studied over here in Romans 8 that about the love of God. that nothing can separate us
from the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. God
has loved his people. We call this love sovereign love,
but I love the term also electing love. Electing love. I elected to choose my wife,
and I elected to love her and to marry her. What if I told
her, well, you know, I elected to love every woman. and to bury
every woman. That wouldn't fly too good in
our household. And yet that's what false preachers
are saying. You see, God elected his covenant
people. God loves his own in Christ. As I love that woman, like I
love no other woman. God loves his people with an
everlasting love. with an everlasting love. He's
loved them. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ, here in his love. Not
that we love God, but that he loved us. And that he sent his
son to be the sacrifice for our sin. We do love him, right? We do love him. We love him because
he first loved us. We love him because he first
loved us. They are beloved for the Father's
sake, because God chose a people unto salvation. Now, let's take
a quick look at verse 29. For the gifts, notice that's
plural, the gifts and the calling of God, that's singular. God
called his people out of darkness into his marvelous light, the
gifts of God The gift of, we have the gift of faith, the gift
of repentance, all these different gifts that God gives, all the
blessed gifts of God. What God gives, they're without
change. They're without change. God doesn't
give us salvation, that's the gift of God. God doesn't give
salvation one day, and then, well, you know, you've been a
bad little boy. I'm gonna take that gift away
from you. You know, your children, when they're disobedient, your
children and your grandchildren, you don't stop loving them because
they're disobedient. You correct them because you
love them. Whom the Father loveth, he chasteneth. But God loves
his people without change. The gift of faith that God gives
is without change. The gift of repentance that God
gives to his children are without change. God never takes these
things back once he gives eternal life. And they shall never, never
perish. Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above. Cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Faith
is the precious gift of God. Without faith it is impossible
to please God. And then he mentions the calling
of God. The calling of God. You remember, I am the Lord,
I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob, you are not consumed.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the same. The same yesterday, today,
and forever. The Lord's gifts and his blessings
of the gospel and the calling of sinners out of darkness unto
his marvelous light shall never, never change. They are immutable. They're unalterable. God never
revokes them or calls them back or takes them away. He gives
us everlasting salvation. He saves us with an everlasting
salvation. He gives us the gift of faith,
the gift of repentance, the gift of salvation, the gift of eternal
life. That's good news, is it not?
The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. They do not change. They are never altered. They are the immutable precious
promises given of God. Now, next week we'll pick up
with verse 30, down to verse 36. Verse 36 is one of my favorite
verses. in the book of Romans, for of
him, and through him, and to him, for all things, to whom
be glory, both now and forever. And then he says, amen.