Now in verse 17 of Romans 11, if some of the branches be broken
off, now this is to be understood of these branches, the Jewish
people being left out of the gospel church. Now they rejected
and crucified the Messiah They rejected Christ. The scripture
says he came unto his own, talking about the Jews, and they received
him not. He was despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And they
nailed him to a cross. They rejected their Messiah.
They said, Let his blood be on us and our children. And then
though the gospel was preached unto them first, Paul said, I
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of
God unto salvation to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. And Christ said salvation is
of the Jews. It was preached to them first,
but they rejected the gospel. They despised it, they contradicted
it, they blasphemed it, so it pleased God. And this is true,
there is no question about it. We see evidence of it all about
us. In every Jewish person that we
meet, we see evidence of this judicial blindness, that God
hath cut off the Jew. God hath blinded the Jews. It
pleased God to take the gospel completely away from them. That's
what he's saying here. They were broken off. They were
cut off. They were broken off from the
gospel church. Now read on. And thou, now this
is talking to the Gentiles. If they, the branches, were broken
off, and you, being a wild olive tree, and that's what we were. If you'll turn to Ephesians chapter
2, we'll show you exactly what we were. When he talks about
this natural tree, he's talking about the tree of Israel. He's
talking about the fact that Abraham was called out, and God said
he'd make of him a great nation, and through him nations of the
world would be blessed. And to the Jew was given the
prophets, to the Jew was given the law, to the Jew was given
the ceremonies, to the Jew was given the apostles, to the Jew
was given Christ, for Christ was a Jew. And that's the tree
that goes all the way back to the Jewish nation. Now, we're
not a part of that tree. In Ephesians 2, verse 12, it
says there, verse 12 says, At that time, you Gentiles were
without Christ. You were aliens. An alien is
a foreigner. You were aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel. The Gentiles weren't even in
that tree. And you were strangers from the
covenant, the covenants of promise. And you had no hope, and you
were without God in this world. Now that's the wild olive tree. Now read on. And if you, a wild
olive tree, were grafted in among the Jews, among them, and with
them made partaker of the root of the whole tree, of all the
benefits and blessings from the whole system, from the whole
covenant, and fatness of the olive tree, all the nourishment,
all the sap, all the life, as if you had been part of the tree
all the time, Now listen to this. The Jews were the first believers.
A remnant of them did believe, and they were the first fruits
in the Church. The apostles were Jews. The Gentiles
were then received in among them. And the names Jews and Gentiles,
those names were dropped, and they became Christians, and we
became partakers with them of the root and the fatness of the
whole tree. The Gentiles and Jews became
partakers of the same foundation of the Apostles and Prophets,
and they enjoyed the same privileges, and they received the same promises
as if they had been in that tree all the way back to Abraham.
Now verse 18, "...boast not thyself against these natural branches."
There was a little friction between the Jews and the Gentiles, and
Paul is saying to the Gentiles, The Jews have been cut off, they've
been blinded, they've been judicially blinded. They've been cut off
from the gospel church. But you be careful that you don't
boast against them, nor despise them, or any unbeliever for that
matter. You know, I constantly have to
rebuke myself about this. Turn to 1 Corinthians 4. And
you're probably guilty of the same thing. We are believers
and we love the gospel and we love the word of God and we love
the preaching of the word. And sometimes we get a little
bit impatient with people who don't love it like we do. Well,
there was a time when we didn't love it. We get a little impatient
with people that don't believe the doctrines as we believe them. There was one time when we didn't
believe them. We get a little impatient sometimes with people
when they don't see things exactly as we see them. There was a time
when we were blind and didn't see them at all. And that's what
Paul is saying here. He's saying, be careful that
you don't boast against these that have been cut off and are
now in blindness. There was a time when you were
in blindness. You'd been grafted in as a wild olive branch into
a tree from which you didn't even spring or didn't even come.
You're a visitor, you're a guest. Read 1 Corinthians 4, 7. Who
makeeth thee to differ from another? If you've got a little knowledge,
who gave it to you? If you've got a little grace,
who gave it to you? If you've got a little insight
into the kingdom of God, a little love for Christ, who gave it
to you? You have faith? Who gave you that gift of faith?
Who made you to differ? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive?" Verse 7, 1 Corinthians 4. Now, if you received it, why
do you glory as if you didn't receive it? And so in verse 18
of Romans 11, Paul says, don't be proud and boast against these
Jews. If you boast, remember that you
don't bear the root, the root bears you. Pity the Jew. Pray for him. And thank God he
didn't blind you and me and pass us by. Thank God for his grace
who gave Christ to us. You know, actually, if anybody's
got anything to boast about, it's not the Gentiles. It's the
Jews. The prophets were Jews, the fathers
were Jews, the writers of Scripture were Jews, the ceremonies were
continued by Jews when you and I were out worshiping four-footed
beasts. and idols of stone and wood.
The Jews were in the tabernacle offering atonements to God Almighty. If anybody's got anything to
boast about, it's not the Gentile, it's the Jew. Jesus Christ was
a Jew. And then verse 19, perhaps someone
will say, Well, they were broken off, they were cut off, they're
under God's judgment that I might be grafted in. The Jew was cast
aside that the Gentile might be grafted in, so we are to assume
that we're more worthy than they are. They're being punished for
crucifying Christ. We crucified Christ just as much
as they did. And verse 20 tells you something.
Listen. Because of unbelief they were
broken off. That's why they were broken off.
The same sin that excluded their fathers from the land of Canaan
was the sin that excluded them from the gospel church, the same
sin. They could not enter in because
of unbelief. And you stand by faith and face
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. So
be not high-minded, but fear. Faith is not a personal merit. Faith is not a personal merit
or personal righteousness. It's a gift of God. I want you
to turn to 1 Corinthians 10.11. I read this scripture in connection
with that one there, 1 Corinthians 10.11. Now listen to this. Let
me go back and read this verse again. It says in verse 20, Because
of unbelief these Jews were cut off, blinded, broken off, and
you were grafted in." Now, 1 Corinthians 10, verse 11. Now, all these
things happen to them for examples or examples or types, and they're
written for our learning, our admonition. "...upon whom the
ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed, lest he Beware of an evil heart of unbelief." Because of unbelief, they were
broken off. And we stand not by personal
merit, we stand by faith. And it was a failure of faith
that cut them off. So we'd better not be so high-minded,
but would have walked in fear before God, lest we fail in the
same area. Look at verse 20. for if God,
and this is a verse that rings like that verse over in Hebrews
that says it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living
God. Listen, if God spared not the natural branches, the Jews,
the Jews who were his people all the way back, if he didn't
spare them when it came to the question of unbelief, take heed
lest he spare not you. a wild olive branch that wasn't
even there to start with. And of that verse, John Gill
wrote this. Now, I want you to listen to
this. And I really think we're on the threshold of the fulfillment
of that verse right there. He's saying, You Gentiles, it
was unbelief that cut the Jew off, it was unbelief that broke
him off from the tree, it was unbelief that blinded him, it
was unbelief that plunged that nation, that religious nation,
into darkness. It was unbelief that made their
table a snare, that made their ceremonies a stumbling block.
It was unbelief that sent them into the religion of just walking
on a treadmill and marking time and ever learning and never coming
to knowledge of truth. You'd better take heed, for if
God spared not the natural his own sons and daughters by national
covenant and distinction. Take heed that he spare not thee.
And John Gill said, God unchurched the Jew and stripped him of the
privileges he enjoyed. The Jews were the natural descendants
of Abraham. The Jews were in the national
church state The Jews were included in the covenant, the adoption.
They were called the people of God. They were chosen of God
for special privileges. They were Christ's own to whom
he came. He came to them according to
the flesh, and of them according to the flesh. He walked among
them. He lived among them. They did
not believe, and therefore they were cut off, and they fell under
his wrath. Now take heed lest he spare not
thee. If the natural branches are cut
off, shall not the wild ones also be cut off? Shall not the
wild ones also be cut off? Verse 22, Behold, therefore,
the goodness and severity of God. Paul is saying the consideration
of the grace of God to some and God's justice to others. That's
the goodness of God and the severity of God, the grace of God and
the wrath of God. And to consider God's goodness
and God's severity is recommended as a prevention against pride,
against haughtiness of spirit, against vainglory. Read on, "...behold,
therefore, the goodness and severity of God on them that fell, on
the Jew, on those who were cut off because of unbelief." Severity! The Jewish people today are standing
monuments of God's severity. For nineteen hundred years, scattered
all over this world, without a nation, without a home,
unbelievers, without a gospel. They are standing monuments of
God's severity and God's justice, and they ought to excite in us
the fear of God and encourage us to faith. And then he says,
Behold God's severity on those that fail, and toward you, you
Gentiles, goodness. That's what we're talking about,
Jews and Gentiles. and toward you Gentiles, goodness,
if you continue in his goodness." Now, here's what he's saying.
God has given us his grace, and God has given us his gospel,
and God has made us a part of his gospel church. We must continue
in the means of grace. We must walk in faith. We must
continue in the ministration of the word of God and the ordinances
of God in faith, or else be cut off. Now, this has been fulfilled
right here in Africa. Did you know that several hundred
years ago some of the strongest gospel churches in the world
were in North Africa? Did you know this has been also
fulfilled in Europe, countries like Switzerland? Switzerland
was a revival camp meeting during the days of Calvin and his friends. France, did you know France at
one time produced the greatest preachers in the world? This
was true of Scotland, this was true of England. And those countries
now, I've traveled to those countries, I've tried to preach in churches
in those countries, and they're dead, cold, modern, liberal. In some of those churches, in
one where the great Joseph Irons preached, it seats almost a thousand,
I preached to ninety people. Dead, cold, lifeless. And it's that way all over England.
It's that way all over France. There's only one Baptist church
in the city of Marseilles, France. A million people. I don't know
of any in Paris. Several million people. And that's
the country that produced great preachers and great churches.
And it's that way all over Europe. And it's going to happen right
here. Because our emphasis has ceased
to be Christ in the gospel, and it's become something else. We're
not continuing in grace, we're not continuing in the gospel,
we're not continuing in the glory of God, we're not continuing
to be faithful to the truth of his word. We are not. There are
people right here in the city of Ashland who listen to our
broadcast, who tell me that on Sunday they get nothing whatsoever
from their pulpit. My daughter's been in Lexington
going to school now for several months. She's a junior in college
down there. She's been looking in Lexington for a place to go
and hear the gospel. She drives almost 25 miles to
get to a church where the gospel's played, in Lexington, Kentucky.
I said, Well, honey, go on Sunday morning and listen to the Bible
read. She said, I don't read it. I
said, Well, you can go and open the hymn book and you can listen
to the words of the hymns. She said, They don't sing hymns,
they sing other things. They don't glorify Christ, it's
just not there. And he says here, if you continue
in his grace, if you continue in his word, if you don't, you'll
be cut off, and that's what's going to happen. Same thing that
happened in Africa and in Asia and in Europe and in Great Britain. The same thing is going to happen
right here, and it may happen in your lifetime, when the Gentiles
are going to be cut off. Verse 23. And they, and here's
what we're looking for now, and don't be surprised if we're not
on the threshold of the fulfillment of this prophecy right here.
And they also, here's the possibility of it, and they also, the Jews,
If they abide not still in unbelief, they'll be grafted in. They'll be grafted in. The Jew,
he's saying, might be recovered. The Jew might yet be brought
into the church state. We believe they will. I I don't
believe the Jews going back to the old doctrines, the old sacrifices,
the old types. I believe they're going to come
into Christ by faith. They're going to be grafted in.
Here's the possibility of it. God's able, that's what he says
here in this verse, God's able to graft them in. God's able. God can remove their unbelief
tomorrow. God can lift the scales from
their eyes tomorrow. God can unstop their deaf ears
tomorrow. God can make those prophecies
jump out before those Jewish eyes tomorrow. He can bring them
in, verse 24. For if you were cut out of the
wild olive tree, the olive tree which is wild by nature, and
you were grafted in contrary to nature into the good olive
tree, how much easier, huh? How much more shall these which
be the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? You say God can't open the eye
of the Jew? He opened your eye, and you were
a wild branch. And Paul is saying it will be
a lot easier for God to open the eye of the religious Jew
who has the foundation, who has the background, who has the heritage
that it would be for him to open your eyes. If God, here's what
he's saying, if God brought the wild savage out of worshiping ignorant Gentile to faith, how
much more shall these Jews who have a history of faith in the
one living God, who have a history of worship to the one living
God, how much easier it would be to graft them into their own
tree. That's what he's saying there.
Now then, verse 25. Back there in verse 23, you heard
me keep talking about the possibility of their being grafted back in.
Well, verse 25 gives you the dead certainty of it. Paul then
talks about possibility. What is he saying? He's just
warning the Gentiles. He knows that the time of the
Gentiles wasn't up in his day. That was when the Gentile churches
were flourishing in Africa and Asia and around the Holy Land
and those places. They were flourishing. And Paul
was talking about warning them, be not high-minded, but fear
it. It was unbelief that cast off the Jew, and the same thing
that happened to the Gentiles. And he says it will be a whole
lot easier for God to graft the natural branches in than it is
for him to pick up wild branches like you and graft them in. Now
watch it. Brethren, and I want us to watch
these next two verses. They are the key of the whole
study tonight. I would not, brethren, that you
should be ignorant of this mystery. Paul calls for our attention.
The Gentile is in the Church, and he tells us he wants to acquaint
us with a mystery, a secret thing, a hidden thing, at least not
understood, as he's about to reveal it. He's just about to
reveal it. He says, Brethren, I don't want
you to be ignorant, lest you be wise in your own conceits,
lest you be puffed up, and lest you look with contempt on the
Jew. You say, Brethren, we don't look with contempt on the Jew.
You don't at 13th Street, but I've been a lot of places where
they do. A lot of places where they do. And he says, you watch
it now and be careful. You don't be puffed up as if
to think that these Jews are going to remain in a state of
darkness. They're not. Don't you think
they're going to remain in unbelief? They're not. For he says, blindness
in part, and I don't have my amplified version up here, but
Eddie, you got one in your lap back there in the back? Doesn't
it say temporary? I don't have, but I think the word is temporary.
Blindness in part, or temporarily, has happened to Israel until
what? Until the fullness of the Gentile
become in. Now, here's what he's saying.
The blindness of Israel is their unbelief. The blindness of Israel
is their darkness with respect to Christ. with respect to God
as he's revealed in Christ. They know not Christ. They believe
not Christ. They know not the nature and
use of their own law. They know not the scriptural
promises concerning the Messiah. They can't understand them. They
can't understand Isaiah 53, that's so simple for us. They knew not
Christ when he came, but he says this blindness is temporary,
and it will last until the last elect Gentile is saved. That's what he's saying, "...until
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." And then, as soon as
the whole number of the Gentile Church is complete, the veil
is going to be taken from Israel, and that's going to wind it up
with the Gentiles. And the Gentiles and the Jews
are going to turn to Christ. That's what he's saying. Now,
let's read that verse again. I don't want you to be ignorant
of the mystery, lest you be puffed up in your own pride and vainglory. Blindness, judicial blindness,
in part, or temporary, is happening to Israel until a day dawns,
and that day will be the fullness of the Gentile. That's when the
Gentile church will be complete. God's already wound it up in
Africa, Asia, Europe, and it's going to be wound up here. And
when that's all completed, verse 26, all Israel shall be saved. Now, brethren, I've heard, I
love Dr. Fletcher, he's a precious man,
but he preached on this verse about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years ago,
all Israel shall be saved. And he made it spiritual Israel,
consisting of the Church, the Jew and the Gentile. But this
verse is talking about nobody But Jews, that's exactly what
this is talking about. When the fullness of the Gentiles
be come in, then Israel is going to be saved. And it relates to
the latter day, when a nation shall be born at once. It relates
to that day when they'll come out of the lands where they are
dispersed, where they shall turn to Christ where they shall seek
the Lord God, where they shall acknowledge the Christ their
Messiah, the Lord Jesus, and they shall believe on him, and
they shall be S-A-V-E-D. Not sacrificing animals in a
tabernacle on the spot of the dome of the rock, but believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that may spur a little revival
among the Gentiles. I don't know, but I kind of suspect
the Gentile days are going to be over. And God is going to,
for he gives a prophecy here in verse 26 from Isaiah 59. He says, "...there shall come
out of Zion," now watch this, "...there shall come out of Zion
the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." This prophecy is taken from Isaiah
59. Now, the Redeemer has already
come, and Paul knew that his mighty work of of redeeming sinners
was already done, but the way Paul uses it here is a future
work for the Jew. Christ has already died and sin
is already put away, but Paul is using this as a prophecy.
For he says, that day and that latter day a nation shall be
born at once, because it's written. There shall come out of Zion
and to Zion the deliverer, the redeemer. That scripture over
in Isaiah 59 uses the word redeemer. And he shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. And this is what he means by
that. This is what he promised. For verse 27, this is the covenant
unto them, when I shall take away their sins. Now, hasn't
Christ already taken away the sins of the elect? Yes. He has
taken away our sins by Christ's sacrifice. But here he's talking
about removing their sins from their own consciences, which
the sacrifices couldn't do. He's talking about a revelation
of Christ to them as their Savior and the removal of their unbelief. And then they're going to enter
into his rest. And that's when he'll take away their sins. Israel's
sins are still on them. Even elect Israel have no relief
from their conscience and from grief and from remorse and from
despair. But in that day when their eyes
are opened, and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced,
and they are going to rejoice in Christ. That is going to be
a day. Verse 28, he says, As concerning
the gospel, from the point of view of the gospel. They, or
the Jews, are enemies. They are enemies of God, it looks
like, from the point of view of the gospel. And that's to
your advantage, he says in verse 28, for your sakes. That is,
this is for your advantage and benefit, for when they were cut
off, we were grafted in. But now watch this next line.
It looks like concerning the gospel they are enemies, but
as touching the election, from the point of view of God's covenant
of mercy, for the Father's sake, made to
Abraham, these promises, they are beloved. From the point of
view of God's election, they are still dear to him. The Jewish
people are still dear to him, and for the sake of their forefathers, When God restores them again,
he is going to show his love for them. Turn to Ezekiel 36. I want you
to turn to Ezekiel 36 and watch something here. Ezekiel 36, verse
24. Go back to Romans 11. Now verse 28, Paul says, from
the point of view of the gospel, it looks like the Jew is an enemy
and always will be. But from the point of view of
the election, God's choice back in eternity, they are beloved
for the Father's sake. Now look at verse 29. For God's
gifts and God's calling are without repentance, without change. Whatever
God promises, he's going to accomplish. God's promises are never withdrawn
after they're given, right? God does not change his mind.
And the promise given to Abraham and the promise given to David
of his throne lasting forever, and the promises made to Isaiah
and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, these promises are made concerning
Israel. And here's one of them over in
Ezekiel 33, verse 24. God says, I'll take you from among the
heathen, I'll gather you out of all countries, I'll bring
you into your own land, and then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from
all your idols will I cleanse you. That hasn't happened yet.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I
put within you, and I'll take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I'll give you a heart of flesh. and I'll put my Spirit
within you, and I'll cause you to walk in my statutes, and you
shall keep my judgments and do them, and you shall dwell in
the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my
people, and I'll be your God." That hadn't happened yet. And
I could read you dozens of scriptures like that. This shall be your
land forever, God says. he shall sit upon the throne
of his father David, and of his throne and kingdom there shall
be no end." Yes, sir, we are living in interesting days. I'm
not making any predictions, I'm not marking any calendars, I'm
not setting any dates, but I'm simply saying that what Paul
is declaring here is that the time of the Gentile is running
out. And when that time runs out and
the fullness of the Gentile comes in, God's going to open Israel's
eyes and God's going to send a deliverer out of Zion to turn
away Israel from their sins. For he said, that's my covenant.
That's my covenant, when I shall take away their sin. As touching
the gospel, they're enemies for your sakes, but as touching the
election, they're not enemies, they're God's beloved. God's
beloved. for the gifts and calling of
God are without change." God never changes his mind. 1900
years have come and gone, but the promise is still made to
Israel. Look at verse 30, "...for as you in times past have not
believed God, yet have now obtained mercy." You did, didn't you? The Gentiles, how many thousands
of years were we in darkness? We didn't believe God, and yet
the Gentiles have obtained mercy." Look at the next verse. "...even
so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they
also may obtain mercy." Here's what he's saying. Just as the
Gentiles were once disobedient and rebellious toward God, but
they've obtained through the unbelief of the Jew, for their
unbelief was not the cause of our obtaining mercy, but when
they did not believe and they rejected the gospel, it was given
to us. They were cut off and we were
grafted in, even so. They also now are disobedient,
they also now are unbelieving, but one day, through the same
mercy that you and I now enjoy, they are going to be brought
to Christ. Paul insinuates here that the Jews are going to be
to reconsider the gospel because of the blessings of God upon
the Gentiles through Christ. Verse 32, For God hath concluded
them all in unbelief, Jew and Gentile, all men in unbelief. They are all in unbelief. They
are all in the same boat, they are all in the same prison house,
they are all in that he may show mercy to both Jew and Gentile,
that he may have mercy upon all, that he may display the riches
of his grace to all of us. Verse 33, O the depths of the
riches! And I wish we could see the depths
of this mystery and the word of God. It seems like people
become Masters of the Bible so quickly, so easily. It's the
most difficult book in the world to master. It can't be mastered.
It's the Word of God. Oh, the depths of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments. Why did God cut off the Jews?
He could have opened their eyes 100 years ago, 1900 years ago,
but it didn't please him. Why did God break off the natural
branches and graft in the wild olive branches? I don't know.
Why did God permit nations like Africa and Asia and Europe to
fall by the wayside? These gospel churches that used
to be powerhouses for the glory of God are now nothing. Why does
God permit it? I don't know. How unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out? Who has known
the mind of the Lord? You? I don't. Who has been his
counselor? Did he call you into the boardroom
and ask your opinion about how this ought to be done? But of
him and through him and to him are all things. That's the essence
of it. That's the summary of it. I tell
you how to test preaching. I tell you how to determine whether
or not preaching is real preaching. You put it to this test. If it
glorifies God and abases man, it's real preaching. If it dignifies
the flesh and abases God, it's not of the Lord. Don't pay attention
to that. Just the most unlearned believer
can take that test with him. Everything Paul says here glorifies
God. It doesn't glorify the flesh.
It doesn't dignify the flesh, it doesn't exalt the flesh, it
glorifies God. Oh, when it comes to the conclusion
of this whole matter, we accept it by faith. I don't understand
it. We accept it by faith, and we say, oh, the depths of the
riches of the wisdom and the power of God, how unsearchable
are His judgments, His ways past finding out. But this I know.
This I know, the conclusion of the whole matter. Of Him, through
Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. That's bowing in prayer. Brother
Payne, you lead us in our prayer, please.