2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 11, Verses 1-6

“Is Grace No Longer Grace?”

[3-3-19]

 

Review: “Believing the Gospel!”

Romans 10:14-21) [NIV] How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

15) And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

NOTE: Somebody has to tell an individual about before that individual can call out to Jesus.

16) But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

17) (ERV) So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

NOTE: Saving faith comes as a result of hearing the “message,” and the saving “message” comes from what the Lord Jesus taught us through His own words and the words of His Apostles.

NOTE: We can bring some other message to people, but the only message that will save them is the Gospel message.

NOTE: Any message outside of the one Paul preached is absolute HERESY!! It can’t, and won’t save anyone! The Good News is that Jesus did for me what I couldn’t do for myself! I couldn’t purchase my own salvation through good works, by keeping the rules better, by reading the Bible more, by praying more, or by any other way!!! Jesus purchased my salvation through the shedding of His blood as the remission for my sins!

18) But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

19) (NLT) But did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God had said, “I will rouse your jealousy by blessing other nations. I will make you angry by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”

20) (ERV) Then Isaiah is bold enough to say this for God: “The people who were not looking for me– they are the ones who found me. I made myself known to those who did not ask for me.”

21) But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

NOTE: The Jews heard the message from the Apostles, but they didn’t believe it; so God said He would make Israel jealous by moving in the lives of people who were not a nation. That’s referring to Christians. We are not a nation in the sense that Israel is a nation; rather, we are made up of people from all nations.

ANOTHER NOTE: People whose history had not been one of seeking the God of the Jews found Him.

 

This Week’s Lesson: “Is Grace No Longer Grace?”

Romans 11:1-6) [NIV] I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

QUESTION: What is Paul about to get into here?

ANSWER: God has never forsaken Israel.

2) God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah-how he appealed to God against Israel:

3) “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”?

4) And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

5) So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

QUESTION: What’s Paul’s point in the above verses?

ANSWER: God has always reserved at least a remnant of Israel unto Himself. There has never been a time in Israel’s history where there hasn’t been at least a remnant saved.

QUESTION: By what method had God reserved a remnant for Himself in Paul’s day?

ANSWER: Grace!

QUESTION: What does that imply?

ANSWER: If one believes in Divine Election then they will apply that doctrine to this passage. If one believes in free choice they will apply that doctrine to this passage.

**NOTE: In the first case it would mean that God chose the above-mentioned remnant through the vehicle of irresistible grace. In the second case it would mean that God chose that remnant because they had believed the Gospel of grace and accepted Christ through the vehicle of free choice. I believe the second.

6) And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

(KJV) And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

(GW) If they were chosen by God’s kindness, they weren’t chosen because of anything they did. Otherwise, God’s kindness wouldn’t be kindness.

QUESTION: What is Paul getting at here?

ANSWER: It’s either grace or works; it is not a combination of the two. If any works are involved then there is no grace involved.

Concerning this verse,

IMPORTANT NOTE BY JFB: “The general position here laid down is of vital importance: That there are but two possible sources of salvation–men’s works, and God’s grace; and that these are so essentially distinct and opposite, that salvation cannot be of any combination or mixture of both, but must be wholly either of the one or of the other” [JFB].

QUESTION: What does this verse tell you?

*ANSWER: If “works” are necessary for salvation then it is no longer a gift, but a paycheck, something that we have earned by our conduct.

WHAT ELSE DID PAUL SAY ABOUT THIS?

Romans 4:3-5) [KJV] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4) Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

***Galatians 2:21) [KJV] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

QUESTION: What does Paul reinforce in Romans 4:4?

ANSWER: He reinforces that if you’re required to do good things to get saved then that salvation is, in effect, a paycheck.

QUESTION: What is the point of Galatians 2:21?

ANSWER: Jesus died to save us!

QUESTION: Why did He do that?

**ANSWER: He did that because we couldn’t save ourselves.

WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT?

Romans 5:6) [NIV] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Philippians 2:13) [NIV] for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

QUESTION: When we were lost what else were we?

*ANSWER: We were powerless to do anything about it.

QUESTION: What did God do for us that we couldn’t do for ourselves?

ANSWER: He gave us the desire to become a Christian.

SO, WHAT ABOUT WORKS?

Ephesians 2:8-10) [KJV] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

QUESTION: What part do works play in our salvation?

ANSWER: Absolutely none!

***NOTE: We were saved without doing any good works whatsoever. When we were saved, however, we became new creations in Christ; and that new creation has been crafted/shaped to do good works.  Good works didn’t save us, but saved people ought to do good works.

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 11, Verses 7-15

“Because Some Were Rejected Others Were Accepted!”  

[3-17-19]

Review: “Is Grace No Longer Grace?”

Romans 11:1-6) [NIV] I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

NOTE: God has never forsaken Israel.

2) God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah-how he appealed to God against Israel:

3) “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”?

4) And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

5) So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

NOTE: If one believes in Divine Election then they will apply that doctrine to this passage. If one believes in free choice they will apply that doctrine to this passage.

**NOTE: In the first case it would mean that God chose the above-mentioned remnant through the vehicle of irresistible grace. In the second case it would mean that God chose that remnant because they had believed the Gospel of grace and accepted Christ through the vehicle of free choice. I believe the second.

6) And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

NOTE: It’s either grace or works; it is not a combination of the two. If any works are involved then there is no grace involved. If “works” are necessary for salvation then it is no longer a gift, but a paycheck, something that we have earned by our conduct.

Romans 4:3-5) [KJV] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

***4) Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

***Galatians 2:21) [KJV] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

NOTE: He reinforces that if you’re required to do good things to get saved then that salvation is, in effect, a paycheck.

Ephesians 2:8-10) [KJV] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

***NOTE: We were saved without doing any good works whatsoever. When we were saved, however, we became new creations in Christ; and that new creation has been crafted/shaped to do good works.  Good works didn’t save us, but saved people ought to do good works.

This Week’s Lesson: “Because Some Were Rejected Others Were Accepted!”

Romans 11:7-15) [NIV] What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,

“Therefore, God’s saving mercy has been extended not to Israel as a whole, but to the elect among Israel, who have received it” [Guzik].

8) as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”

QUESTION: What does the “others were hardened” mean?

ANSWER: Israel, as a whole, chose to reject Jesus in spite of His many miracles. God, Who first went to His own people, then went to the Gentiles. Israel hardened their collective hearts towards the One God sent, so God then declared that the hardening would last. Since that time only “a remnant” of Jews have believed in Christ in the various times of history from then to now.

9) And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

10) May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”

QUESTION: What happened next?

ANSWER: Israel’s history had been one of rebellion, then repentance; rebellion, then repentance, etc. In the times of rebellion, those times that they rejected their God and turned to idols, they were chastised by the Lord and given into the hands of oppressors. In the times of repentance they were renewed as a blessed nation. From the time they rejected Christ to the time of their emergence once again as a nation in these last days they were not blessed to be a nation. They walked for centuries as a scattered people.

11) Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.

Deuteronomy 32:21) [KJV] They have moved me to jealousy with [that which is] not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

NOTE When God judged Israel for their unbelief He then turned towards the non-Jews with the message of salvation through His Son Jesus.

QUESTION: Why did God do this?

ANSWER: For 2 reasons:

• In order to make Israel jealous so that they would return to Him;
• In order to save all who would come to Him through Christ, rather Jew or Gentile.

QUESTION: Would God have offered salvation to us Gentiles if Israel hadn’t rejected Christ?

ANSWER: The answer to this question is wrapped up in the doctrine of His foreknowledge. He always knew Israel would, as a people, reject Christ, and He always knew that He would then offer salvation to us Gentiles. How can we possibly dissect His will from His foreknowledge? He knew that you would be saved from before the foundation of the world!

2 Peter 3:9) [GW] The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act.

1 Timothy 2:4-6) [GNB] who wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth.

5) For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus,

6) who gave himself to redeem the whole human race. That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved,

QUESTION: Has God always wanted to save Gentiles?

ANSWER: Yes! This is why He sent His Son to die for our sins.

NOTE: The issue isn’t rather or not salvation would have come to the Gentiles if Israel hadn’t rejected Christ, but to understand that God wants to, and will save everyone who comes to Him. Israel did reject Christ! Salvation has come to us Gentiles!

12) But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

QUESTION: If Israel’s rejection of Christ predicated God’s inclusion of the Gentiles then what will the repentance of Israel cause?

ANSWER: It will cause the “manifestation of the sons of God” [Romans 8:19].

13) I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry

14) in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.

QUESTION: What is Paul going back to here?

ANSWER: He’s returning to the issue of his sorrow that the Jewish people haven’t accepted their Messiah [Romans 9:1-3], but also the knowledge that God hadn’t “cast away” his people [Romans 11:1]. He understood that even in the fact that God had sent him to evangelize the Gentiles God was at work in the Jews, causing envy in them that “some of them” would be saved [current verse].

15) For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

QUESTION: What does this verse tell us?

ANSWER: This verse, in essence, answers the question raised in verse 12.

NOTE: God will wrap up the current history of mankind and initiate the “glory which shall be revealed in us” [Romans 8:19], causing us to be “conformed to the image of his Son” [Romans 8:29]. IT WILL USHER IN THE THOUSAND YEAR MILENNIUM PERIOD, AND EVENTUALLY ETERNITY!

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 11, Verses 16-27

“The Root and the Branches!”  

[3-24-19]

 

Review: “Because Some Were Rejected Others Were Accepted!”

Romans 11:7-15) [NIV] What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,

“Therefore, God’s saving mercy has been extended not to Israel as a whole, but to the elect among Israel, who have received it” [Guzik].

NOTE: Israel’s history had been one of rebellion, then repentance; rebellion, then repentance, etc. In the times of rebellion, those times that they rejected their God and turned to idols, they were chastised by the Lord and given into the hands of oppressors. In the times of repentance they were renewed as a blessed nation. From the time they rejected Christ to the time of their emergence once again as a nation in these last days they were not enjoying the blessings of being a free nation. Rather, they walked for centuries as a scattered people.

11) Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.

12) But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

QUESTION: If Israel’s rejection of Christ predicated God’s inclusion of the Gentiles then what will the repentance of Israel cause?

ANSWER: It will cause the “manifestation of the sons of God” [Romans 8:19].

13) I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry

14) in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.

NOTE: He’s returning to the issue of his sorrow that the Jewish people haven’t accepted their Messiah [Romans 9:1-3], but also the knowledge that God hadn’t “cast away” his people [Romans 11:1]. He understood that even in the fact that God had sent him to evangelize the Gentiles God was at work in the Jews, causing envy in them that “some of them” would be saved [current verse].

15) For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

NOTE: God will wrap up the current history of mankind and initiate the “glory which shall be revealed in us” [Romans 8:19], causing us to be “conformed to the image of his Son” [Romans 8:29]. IT WILL USHER IN THE THOUSAND YEAR MILENNIUM PERIOD, AND EVENTUALLY ETERNITY!

 

This Week’s Lesson: “The Root and the Branches!”

Romans 11:16) [NIV] If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

QUESTION: Who is the root?

“In this place the reference is doubtless to Abraham and the patriarchs, as the root or founders of the Jewish nation” [Barnes]. 

“the chief reference is to the ancestors of the Jewish people, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and, as these were devoted to God and received into his covenant” [Clarke]. 

“Perhaps Abraham singly here” [Robertson]. 

NOTE: I believe the root is referring to Abraham. Isaac and Jacob are included only in the sense that they descended from Abraham, but the promise was given to Abraham.

 

 

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 11, Verses 17-27

“The Root and the Branches!” Part 2  

[3-31-19]

Review: “The Root and the Branches!”

Romans 11:16) [NIV] If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

QUESTION: Who is the root?

“In this place the reference is doubtless to Abraham and the patriarchs, as the root or founders of the Jewish nation” [Barnes]. 

“the chief reference is to the ancestors of the Jewish people, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and, as these were devoted to God and received into his covenant” [Clarke]. 

“Perhaps Abraham singly here” [Robertson]. 

NOTE: I believe the root is referring to Abraham. Isaac and Jacob are included only in the sense that they descended from Abraham, but the promise was given to Abraham.

 

This Week’s Lesson: “The Root and the Branches!” Part 2

Romans 11:17-27) [NIV] If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,

QUESTION: Who are the branches that were broken off?

ANSWER: The unsaved Jews are those branches in this analogy of Paul’s.

QUESTION: What “wild” branches have been grafted in?

ANSWER: The saved Gentiles have been grafted in.

“This word, used by Aristotle, occurs in an inscription. Ramsay (Pauline Studies, pp. 219ff.) shows that the ancients used the wild-olive graft upon an old olive tree to reinvigorate the tree precisely as Paul uses the figure here and that both the olive tree and the graft were influenced by each other, though the wild olive graft did not produce as good olives as the original stock. But it should be noted that in Rom_11:24 Paul expressly states that the grafting of Gentiles on to the stock of the spiritual Israel was “contrary to nature” (para phusin)” [Robertson].  

QUESTION: Who are the original branches that remained?

ANSWER: The saved Jews, such as Paul, were the natural branches that remained.

18) do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19) You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”

20) Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

21) For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

QUESTION: What should our attitude be in lieu of our being grafted in?

• Humble because God has chosen us by His grace,
• Alert because God already has shown that He “did not spare the natural branches,”
• Faithful because we don’t want to follow the example of the unbelieving Jews.

QUESTION: What was the determining factor when cutting some branches off and grafting others in?

**ANSWER: “Faith, not personal merit, is the decisive factor, and so all ground for boasting is cut away” [Serendipity Group Bible Study].

Romans 3:27-28) [KJV] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

22) Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

QUESTION: What did God do in His sternness to the unbelieving Jews?

ANSWER: They were “removed” from partaking of the New Covenant.

QUESTION: What did God do in His kindness to the believing Gentiles?

ANSWER: They were allowed to partake of the New Covenant which was promised to the Jewish people.

Jeremiah 31:33-34) [GNB] The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34) None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.

**23) And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

*24) After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

*25) I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

26) And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

QUESTION: What will God do for any Jew who gets saved?

ANSWER: He will graft them back into the tree they were cut off from. They will then partake of the New Covenant.

QUESTION: How long will this temporary “hardening in part” of Israel last?

ANSWER: It will last until every Gentile who God has “foreknown” comes into the fold of believers.

QUESTION: What will happen then?

ANSWER: Every living Jew will then be saved!

A CLOSING QUESTION: What does Abraham being the “root” have to do with this discussion?

**ANSWER: Abraham is the father of the circumcised/Jews and the father of those who have been saved by faith [Romans 4:9-12]; i.e., the believing Jews and Gentiles. His natural descendents, the Jews, represent the natural branches of this discussion. Of his spiritual descendents, the believing Jews and Gentiles, the believing Gentiles represent the wild branches that were grafted into the olive tree to partake of the nourishment of the root/Abraham.

***Genesis 22:17A) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore;

***Genesis 15:5-6) And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

***6) And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Romans 4:23-24) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

 

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 11, Verses 28-36

“Enemies For Our Sake; Beloved For the Fathers’ Sake:

[4-7-19]

Review: “The Root and the Branches!” Part 2

Romans 11:17-22, 26-27) [NIV] If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,

NOTE: Unsaved Jews = branches that were broken off. Saved Gentiles = branches grafted in. The saved Jews, such as Paul, = natural branches that remained.

18) do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19) You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”

20) Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

21) For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Romans 3:27-28) [KJV] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

22) Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

NOTE: The believing Gentiles were allowed to partake of the New Covenant which was promised to the Jewish people.

Jeremiah 31:33a-34b) [GNB] The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this:

34b) I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the LORD, have spoken.

“God made the New Covenant primarily with Israel and Judah (v. 31). Unlike the Mosaic Law, it was unconditional. It emphasized what God will do, not what man must do; notice the occurrences of “I will” in verses 33, 34. Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant because it is through Him that its blessings are secured (Heb_9:15). The Covenant was ratified by His blood (Luk_22:20). It will not become effective for Israel as a nation until Christ’s Second Coming. In the meantime, however, individual believers enjoy some of its benefits; e.g., their obedience is motivated by grace, not law; God is their God and they are His people; God no longer remembers their sins and iniquities. Universal knowledge of the Lord (v. 34a) awaits the Millennium” [BBC]. 

26) And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

**NOTE: Abraham is the father of the circumcised/Jews and the father of those who have been saved by faith [Romans 4:9-12]; i.e., the believing Jews and Gentiles. His natural descendents, the Jews, represent the natural branches of this discussion. Of his spiritual descendents, the believing Jews and Gentiles, the believing Gentiles represent the wild branches that were grafted into the olive tree to partake of the nourishment of the root/Abraham.

***Genesis 15:6) And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Romans 4:23-24) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

This Week’s Lesson: “Enemies For Our Sake; Beloved For the Fathers’ Sake:

Romans 11:28-36) [NIV] As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,

QUESTION: What does “they are enemies on your account” mean?

ANSWER: God turned the Jews’ rejection of Christ into an opportunity for the Gentiles. When they rejected Christ salvation was offered to the Gentiles.

QUESTION: What does “they are loved on account of the patriarchs” mean?

ANSWER: God entered into covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bless their descendents. Because of that covenant God will always love the people of Israel.

29) for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

QUESTION: What does Paul conclude from what he wrote in verse 28?

ANSWER: God never changes His mind! He entered into covenant with Abraham and his children; consequently, God is still in covenant with Israel today.

QUESTION: What does the fact of an unchanging God mean to us?

ANSWER God saved us because He wanted to! He’s not going to change His mind tomorrow!

God Never Changes:

Malachi 3:6) [NIV] I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

James 1:17) [NLT] Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows.

Hebrews 13:8) [KJV] Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.

What Does That Mean To Us?

Numbers 23:19) [KJV] God [is] not a 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?

Hebrews 6:18) [KJV] That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

(GNB) There are these two things, then, that cannot change and about which God cannot lie. So we who have found safety with him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope placed before us.

NOTE: God has never changed His mind about anything, and He never lies! That means we can count on everything He tells us in His Word.

Philippians 1:6) [NIV] being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Hebrew 12:2) [KJV] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Romans 8:29-30) [KJV] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

NOTE: God saved you; God will therefore complete/finish what He started; He will carry on the process He began until you are glorified in Heaven!

30) Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,

31) so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.

32) For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

QUESTION: What event caused us Gentiles to receive the mercy of God?

ANSWER It was the disobedience of the Jews when they rejected Christ.

QUESTION: Why will the Jews receive mercy again?

ANSWER God showed mercy to us disobedient Gentiles on this side of the cross, as a result of our trusting Jesus, and so He will now show mercy to the disobedient Jews as a result of their trusting Jesus.

QUESTION: What’s verse 32 reminding us of?

ANSWER Romans 1:18 through Romans 3:20 taught us that the Law of Moses brought condemnation to the Jews because they didn’t keep the commandments; consequently, since the Gentiles were already sinners, and the Jews were now found to be sinners, all have sinned and need a Savior!

33) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

34) “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”

35) “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”

36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

NOTE: Paul is amazed at the wisdom of God displayed in the plan of salvation.