ROMANS, CHAPTER 11
[Verses 28-36]
(2-1-12)
Review:
Romans 11:26) [NIV] 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) [NIV] And 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!
Closing Question:
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;
On To This Week’s Lesson:
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) [NIV] 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.
QUESTION: Again, what does the fact of an unchanging God mean to us?
ANSWER 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) [KJV] 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.
QUESTION: What are the above verses telling us?
ANSWER 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) [NIV] Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,
31) [NIV] 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) [NIV] 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) [NIV] Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
34) [NIV] “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
35) [NIV] “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”
36) [NIV] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
QUESTION: Why is Paul so excited at the end of this chapter?
ANSWER He is amazed at the wisdom of God displayed in the plan of salvation.