God and Grasshoppers Pt 2

want to offend or give anybody
the wrong idea. When I entitled the sermon God
and grasshoppers, it almost sounds as if God is unconcerned with
people, as if he considers them as so many grasshoppers. That’s
not at all what Isaiah meant when he characterized the nations
before him as such. The illustration in Isaiah points
to the fact that the nations aren’t in control. God is in
control. And in a chapter on the sovereignty
of God, the capstone of this section, God and grasshoppers
is a great title. We began to consider this chapter,
chapter 11, last Lord’s Day. And we find ourselves in this
section on the sovereignty of God, which actually began back
in chapter nine, chapter nine, verse one, where Paul immediately
launches into a consideration of this subject of Israel. Why
have so many of the so-called people of God rejected Christ
outright? Why have they refused to place
their faith in him and on him? Why have they refused to submit
themselves to him and to come to his righteousness? Well, Paul
takes up that subject, and it grieves his own heart, and he
makes no small concern about it, that Israel is indeed in
peril. Israel is indeed in a dreadful
place. Israel is heading for judgment,
so much so that Paul wages his own salvation upon it. If it
were possible, he would switch places with them. Why are they
in such a predicament? Because, as chapter 10 lays out,
chapter 9, verse 30 and following, they pursued God on their terms. They pursued God by way of a
system of works. If they could only live a perfect
life according to God’s law, they would put God in a state
of owing them salvation. Well, Paul lays out That that
is quite a contrast from the lives of the Gentiles, who merely
when they heard the gospel, when they heard about this idea of
justification by faith and all we have to do is place our faith
in the Lord Jesus and our sins are forgiven. That’s all I have
to do. And the Gentiles came in droves, but Israel would have
none of it. Not as a nation. And so, when
Paul begins chapter 11, Paul has already laid the groundwork
that Israel is in peril. They are in deep, deep trouble.
They have literally rejected Christ, and God has given them
a spirit of stupor. He’s blinded their eyes. And yet, Paul immediately wants
to take up the question, is this forever? Is this a permanent
situation that Israel finds itself in? Has Israel squandered their
only opportunity for fellowship with God? Well, we began to look
at chapter 11 last Lord’s Day, and we saw that Israel’s condition
is one indeed, not an envious position. They indeed have rejected
Christ, and they have been hardened. Paul says in verse 1, But God has not rejected them.
We’ll go on to expand upon this idea and he will clarify it.
But he first and foremost pointed out last week that he himself
was a testimony to the fact that Israel had not been wiped off
the map as it were. They had not fallen out of complete
disfavor with God. It was also proven, as we saw,
by the nature of foreknowledge. God had set his electing love
upon the nation of Israel from eternity past. Look at verse
two. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. It doesn’t
depend on the faithfulness of Israel. It depends on the grace
of God. Paul also proves this point in
a third way in verses three through six. in essentially reminding
them of the principle of the remnants. Remember, from verse
9, or chapter 9, all of Israel, every Jew ever born into the
world, it was never God’s plan to save every single one of them. It never was. What he points
to is a faithful remnant. And what he points to in this
particular condition is that, look, If a portion of Israel
is saved, that becomes all of Israel. The principle of the
remnant points to the fact that God has been faithful. God is
seen through his plan, and God has not turned his back on the
Jews as a whole. That withstanding, God has indeed heartened the
nation. As the nation as a whole turned
its back on the Lord Jesus Christ, ultimately bringing him forth
to death. God would harden them. He would
blind their eyes. He would harden their hearts. And the obvious question becomes,
is that forever? Now that this sentence has been
passed, that they’ve rejected Christ and God has rejected them,
is it forever. And that’s the question that
Paul takes up in verses 11 through 24. If you would read along with
me beginning in verse 11 where Paul writes I say then they did
not stumble so as to fall did they. May it never be. But by their transgressions salvation
has come to the Gentiles to make them jealous. Now If their transgression
be riches for the world and their failure be riches for the Gentiles,
how much more will their fulfillment be? But I am speaking to you
who are Gentiles, and as much then as I am an apostle of Gentiles,
I magnify my ministry. If I somehow might move to jealousy
my fellow countrymen and save some of them, for if their rejection
be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance
be but life from the dead? And if the first piece of dough
be holy, the lump is also, and if the root be holy, the branches
are too. But if some of the branches were
broken off and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among
them and become a partaker with them of the rich root of the
olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. But if you
are arrogant, remember that it is not the root, not you who
supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say, then,
branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. Quite
right. They were broken off for their
unbelief. But you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but
fear. For if God did not spare the
natural branches, neither will he spare you. Behold, then, the
kindness. and severity of God to those
who fell severity, but to you, God’s kindness. If you continue
in his kindness, otherwise you will be cut off. And they also,
if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in.
For God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut
off from what is by nature a wild olive tree and were grafted into
nature into a cultivated olive tree. How much more shall these
who are the natural branches be grafted into their own tree. Paul begins this case of answering
the simple question. Is it forever as Israel squandered
their only opportunity for fellowship with God. When I entitled this God and
grasshoppers, we were looking at essentially God’s sovereignty
over the nations and sovereignty in the dispensation of his grace. The God didn’t own any nations. God didn’t put himself in debt
to any, and the mere fact that he gives grace to any nation
is due only to his goodness and his mercy. But he did extend
Grace. He did extend grace. To a variety
of people a variety of nations here broken up into two people
groups the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews being the nation of
Israel those Hebrews. There were gods chosen people
but not exclusively to them. Also to those who are completely
outside of the nation of Israel. what Paul repeatedly refers to
as Gentiles. The Gentiles were considered
as godless, and in that sense, you and I are no longer by God’s
grace Gentiles. The Jews hated the Gentiles,
they believed them to be outside the pale of God’s grace, beyond
hope, worthless people, dogs. That’s why I say if you placed
your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, You are one of God’s
people. You are no longer outside the
pale of God’s grace. You are no longer a Gentile in
that sense. It’s by God’s grace. And anything that is worthwhile
is only due to God’s grace. And Paul begins to lay out the incredible nature of this
grace that has been shown to the nations. purely by God’s
sovereignty. I noted in the course of this
passage, we won’t make it through all of them today, but I noted
in the course of this passage five beneficial aspects to God’s
gracious plan of redemption. It is a plan of redemption, but
it is a plan of redemption that is oriented in the grace of God.
It is God’s grace pouring forth from his very throne. five beneficial
aspects will try to make it through a number of them this morning.
The first one is that grace means hope for Israel. Grace means hope for Israel. Now, I would remind you that
when I started this study in chapter nine, I think it went
something like this. I used to, especially in my early
years as a Christian, I used to think that, you know, I actually
used to keep kind of a list, a running list, questions that
I intend to ask God when I get to heaven, right? Oh, you have
a list too, I guess. So over the years, what happened
is some of the questions fell by the wayside. I either came
to an understanding of what scripture taught on them, but also the
process of God beginning to humble me. Reminded me of this. When I get to heaven there’s
not going to be a legal path. There’s going to be a three by
five card with questions and notes crumpled from so many years
of being in my pocket. They’re not going to be any questions.
Everything’s going to come into perfect focus immediately when
we come into God’s glory. There aren’t going to be any
questions. The only thing that I reminded God’s people of as
we started chapter nine is I plan, I plan to be corrected. I plan
to have areas of my theology set straight. But I absolutely
believe, as I stand before you now, that God has a plan for
the nation of Israel. God absolutely has a people called
Israel, and it is distinct from the church. And that’s what Paul
is talking about here. The first point that Paul makes
In this section, verses 11 through 24, is that grace, the gracious
plan of redemption that God has conceived, means hope for Israel. And he essentially reiterates
Israel’s status. Look at verse 11. Where Paul
says, I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?
That’s kind of what stumbling is. The poll will clarify, he
says, I say that in essentially he begins a new section here.
Paul has already shown that the rejection. Of Israel was never
told there was a remnant. God didn’t wipe out every Jew
ever born. But now he declares that it is
not final. that this status that the nation
of Israel currently finds itself in, and it is a status of peril. It is a status of pending judgment. It’s no light matter that Paul
undertakes here to describe the condition of the nation of Israel.
Paul doesn’t say anything about it flippantly. He doesn’t say
it callously. It breaks his heart to declare
these things. to the church in Rome. But he
also points, not only here but throughout this section, to a
time when the nation of Israel as a body shall believe and indeed
be restored to Almighty God. The question comes from not only
these previous verses, the immediately preceding verses in chapter 11,
versus one through ten, but you could also go back into chapter
ten and even into chapter nine and Paul is essentially summarizing
the totality of what he’s already said. If we look at the data. Israel
didn’t stumble so as to fall. Did they? He had just quoted. and then quoting from Scripture
to show the terrible condition that the nation of Israel was
in. They were in dire situation, and they still are. The fact
that they had stumbled was clear and Paul had made it clear. Paul
had already said that they had stumbled. Back in chapter nine,
Paul said this. Why? Because they did not pursue
it by faith, but as it go by works, they stumbled over the
stumbling stone. Behold, I lay in Zion a stone
of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in him will
not be disappointed.” They stumbled over the Lord Jesus Christ. They stumbled over Him. They
couldn’t take it by faith that Christ alone was the means of
salvation. But this setting aside of Israel,
it was temporary. It wasn’t just do as one pastor
said to an afterthought, like God’s plan got fouled up when
Jesus wasn’t well received. Or an emotional outburst of anger
on God’s part. That’s not at all what happened. The situation is laid before
us. The Jews are in great peril, but it is not utter destruction.
It is not total ruin. And Paul, having already asked
a similar question in chapter one, God is not rejected. His people has he. Now he asks
another and related question. They did not stumble so as to
fall, did they? What he points to there that
stumbling was Israel as a nation when they rejected the Messiah.
When they did not receive the Lord Jesus Christ, who had come
first and foremost to them, they stumbled. But they didn’t stumble so as
to fall. And Paul takes two related words, two words that could both
be said to relate to one another, and Paul takes them and makes
a distinction. There is a stumbling. And the older I get, the more
often I do it. There is a stumbling where you catch yourself, right?
But there is also that stumbling where, occasionally, you take
a great fall. Down on all fours, right? Or
worse. That’s the second word. The stumbling we might refer
to, that little first word, we might refer to it as tripping.
Sometimes, depending on the context of our own words, we might refer
to having tripped and we don’t tell the rest of the story. We
tripped and we went all the way down. Face first. I stumbled
and I fell. So that’s the distinction that
Paul’s making here. What does he mean by it? Sometimes people stumble and
sometimes they stumble and fall and what Paul means is that Was Israel, did they just trip
up a little bit? Was it just a misstep? Or did they take a header? And
a header of such a nature that when they fell, they didn’t get
back up. Words are used throughout scripture. Hebrews 4.11 refers to that second
word. Let us be diligent to enter that
rest so that no one will fall. It is an utter fall. It is a
complete irreversible ruin that he points to. This stumbling
is more than just a misstep on Israel’s part. What Paul points
to is the fact that did Israel stumble so as to fall completely
from God’s grace? Did they fall right out of the
picture? Did they fall right out of the possibility of salvation? Israel didn’t stumble so as to
fall, did they? and Paul, as he’s answered so
many questions, six I believe thus far, may it never be. No way. No way. Paul absolutely, categorically
denies the fact that Israel, as a result of this transgression,
this sin of rejecting Christ, and Paul calls it what it is.
Their treatment of Christ was nothing short of absolute sin. But it didn’t take them out of
the potential of God’s favor, out of God’s grace. And Paul
doesn’t even tell us, he doesn’t give us any elaboration at this
point in the argument. All he says, he looks forward
and says, look, there’s hope. There’s hope. Grace means hope
for Israel. God’s gracious plan of redemption
means hope for Israel. They are not completely set aside. They are not beyond the hope.
They have not completely fallen. But there’s a second point that
he makes. The second out of five beneficial aspects of God’s gracious
plan of redemption is that grace means salvation for Gentiles. And he moves to it very quickly.
He doesn’t want to lose sight of the Gentiles, the majority
of which comprise the Church of Rome. He doesn’t want them
to lose sight of the fact that salvation has indeed come to
them. This is great news, glorious
news. He wants them to know of the
hope of Israel, but he absolutely wants to instill in them the
confidence that salvation has come to them. Yes. Look at verse 2. Grace means
salvation for the Gentiles when he says that by their transgression,
salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them, that is Israel,
jealous. There’s a purpose in God’s economy. But look at how the sentence
unfolds. Salvation has come to the Gentiles, but by a particular
means. by their transgression, and he
uses another word that essentially means to trip or to stray from
the path, to slip from out of a straight path. Some have characterized
this as a misstep. What Paul is really doing is
just extending the metaphor that he’s already begun. They didn’t
stumble, so as the Paul, did they? Yes, they stumbled. Yes, they left yes, they made
a misstep. Yes, they stepped out of the
straight path. Paul continues that metaphor,
but it’s an interesting thing here. New American translated
here transgression. That’s a good. It’s a good. translation of the word, because
in a number of cases where Paul uses it, that’s exactly how it’s
translated. That’s exactly based on the context. What you would do with it. Listen
to a few Romans 425. He that is Christ was delivered
over because of our transgressions. If you want to call it missteps,
as long as you keep in mind that your misstep would have sent
you to hell. As long as you keep in mind that
your little misstep, you couldn’t do anything to remedy it. As
long as you keep in mind that your misstep sent the Lord Jesus
Christ to the cross, if for nobody else, for you. It’s no small
word here. When Paul says that because of
the transgressions, the missteps of Israel, Romans 5 15, He uses
the same word, the free gift is not like the transgression
for it by the transgression, the one of transgression of the
one many died much more did the grace of God and the gifts by
the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, the balance of the many.
Do you know what he points to? He points back to Adam. He said,
you know, it was just an apple. It was just a little misstep. Well, if you keep in mind, Adam’s
little misstep, his little transgression, brought sin into the world, brought
death into the world, brought a spiritual death onto all mankind,
absolutely necessitating a plan of redemption, conceived of only
in the mind of God, and brought forth in time through the Lord
Jesus. If you keep that in mind, then go ahead and use misstep,
because it works. As long as you keep that in mind. Delation 61, Paul uses it there. Delation 61, brethren, even if
anyone is caught in any trespass, misstep. And we have a tendency
to gloss over some of these, don’t we? Oh, you know, I haven’t
gotten rid of a log in my own eyes, so I’m going to leave this
alone, right? That’s not what Paul tells you to do. Brethren,
even if anyone Do you love when brothers in
Christ love you enough to come and point out your missteps,
your trespasses? They come and tell you that you’ve
wronged not only them, but God. Don’t you love friends like that? Brethren, even if anyone is caught
in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one
in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, lest
you to be tempted. If you want to call it a misstep,
that’s fine. But in that particular situation,
a brother is coming to you, wanting to warn you about the seriousness
of your crime against himself and against God, that it needs
the blood of Christ to be applied to it. points made. Word essentially
means a slip or misstep if you will. But ultimately what Paul
is pointing to is Israel’s transgression their misstep with regards to
their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said that that
is the means that was the means by which the gospel was opened
up to the Gentiles. I mean it’s absolutely astounding
the line of reasoning here. Look at what he says. Salvation
has come to the Gentiles. And that was always part of God’s
plan. We’ll see that in a moment. It was always part of God’s plan.
It wasn’t, you know, plan B that God executed here. It was always
part of God’s plan to have Israel be a witness and to reach out
to the other nations. But it was by Israel’s transgression,
by their misstep with regards to the Lord Jesus that God finally
opens the gospel up in its completeness to the Gentiles. If you would
turn to the Book of Acts, we’re going to take a very rapid tour. Turn to the Book of Acts chapter
eight. We’ll take the first four verses
of chapter eight. You know, so is Paul before his
conversion, and it says that Saul was in hearty agreement
with putting him, that is, Stephen, to death. And on that day, a
great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and
they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria,
except the apostles. You know, it’s frightening to
think. Look at what it took here to get the apostles who had the
truth of God the gospel, look at what it took them to be disseminated
out into the world. What’s it going to take for us? It was scattered throughout the
reasons of Judea, Samaria, except the apostles, some devout men,
buried Stephen, made loud lamentations over him, but Saul began ravaging
the church, entering house after house, dragging off men, women,
and he would put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been
scattered went about preaching the word. It doesn’t say that
they went to the Gentiles, but they went out from Jerusalem.
They were scattered. Turn, if you will, to Acts chapter
11. In Acts chapter 11, we kind of
have a revisitation of that concept. Look at verse 19. So then, those
who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred
in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus
and Antioch. These are Gentile territories.
Now, there were Jews living in those cities, and whenever those
who brought the gospel, that was one of the first things they
would do, is enter the synagogues and preach to the Jews, to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
13, where we begin to see the picture change. Things are not going so well.
The crowds are getting rough and hostile, and in verse 45
of chapter 13, when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled
with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul and
were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly
and said it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to
you first, since you repudiated and judged yourselves unworthy
of eternal life. Behold, we are turning to the
Gentiles. This was the turning point. Paul
essentially says enough is enough. It’s not that Israel is set aside
forever, but I’m going to turn my attention to the Gentiles. With a fruitful pool of humanity
who are waiting so eagerly in faith for some kind of help,
some kind of help for their sinful condition. And they’re eager. That says, I’m turning to Gentiles.
Reiterated in 18. 6, jump all the way down to the
end of the book, Acts 28. I was talking to Jews, and in verse
24 of Acts chapter 28, this is how it always goes. So it goes
even down to this day. Some were being persuaded by
the things spoken, but others would not believe. And when they
did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul
had spoken one parting word. The Holy Spirit is spoken through
Isaiah, rightly spoken through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers.
And one of the most frequently quoted verses in scripture go
to this people and say, you will keep on hearing, but will not
understand. You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive.
For the heart of this people has become dull with their ears. They scarcely hear with their
eyes. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see
with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with
their heart and return. And I would heal them. That is
God’s judgment on the nation of Israel, blinding their eyes,
even as we considered last Lord’s day in verse 28. Therefore, let
it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent
to the Gentiles. They will also listen. See, salvation
had come to the Gentiles, and it had come by means of this
utter rejection on the nation of Israel, not to a person, but
the nation as a whole had turned its back on the Messiah that
was sent to them. It was the Jews rejection of
Christ that led to the gospel in our direction. But it was not without a purpose.
Glanced down, if you were jumping back into Romans 11 chapter 11
verse 2. Glanced down at that verse once
again. When Paul says that by their transgression, by their
misstep with regards to their treatment The rejection of the
Lord Jesus Christ salvation has come to the Gentiles. The image
that comes to mind remember the wedding feast where the king
kept going out and inviting people to the wedding feast and they
kept coming up with lame excuses and God kept sending more people
out and pleading with them. Please come to the wedding feast
and then he goes out into the highways and byways and he brings
in the straggly the unshaven the unkempt You and me. He brings in the Gentiles, but
it’s not without a purpose. Look at the verse. That by their
transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make
them jealous. See, Paul is pointing here to
the fact that the salvation of the Gentiles had a purpose. And
in God’s good providence, the purpose was to stir Israel up. first to make them irritated,
even angry. How, God, could you give our
relationship, the relationship that you said was ours and exclusive
with you, how can you give that now to heathens, the very godless
dogs? God had a purpose to stir them
up to jealousy. He wanted to awaken in them,
to remind them To show to them, if as never before, who the Messiah
was, and what the riches of knowing him is. God had, this idea had
already been uttered by Paul. This idea of jealousy, and it’s,
in Romans 10, 19, he quotes Deuteronomy, remember? Israel surely did not
know, did they? They did know. They knew exactly
who Christ was when he came. They knew! They had all the data
right in front of them. Because of that, Moses says,
I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation. There
are no brothers. There are no people. I will make
you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without
understanding. Just imbeciles. They’re village
idiots. That’s kind of the language of
Deuteronomy. So, they were provoked to jealousy. And in some cases, that just
produced bitterness between the two nationalities, the Jews and
the Gentiles. They hated the Gentiles before
Christ, and they hated them even more afterwards. Unfortunately,
it was a backlash. We’ll talk about that perhaps
next Lord’s Day, but it was a bitter pill. This was bitterness at
its core to have to face the fact that of all people, God
was giving his intimate relationship to the Gentiles. And he was bestowing
on this nobody race the blessings that were really supposed to
be theirs. It’s exactly what Paul’s doing. It’s exactly what
he’s pointing to. One pastor said the Jews have
not been cast off so that salvation might come to the Gentiles instead. There’s a lot of people that
believe that. A lot of people believe that
it’s an either or proposition. And because the Jews blew it,
now instead of them, the Gentiles are in focus. The Jews have not
been cast off so that salvation might come to the Gentiles instead,
but that through Gentile salvation, the Jews themselves might come
to find Jesus Christ as their Savior. That’s the point. As they begin to see what the
Gentiles have, and what they’ve lost, what they’ve forsaken,
what they’ve squandered, when they begin to see what they’ve
done, This people that have such a
precious and special relationship with God Almighty. All of the
things laid out there in Romans chapter 9. All the blessings. All the miracles. God’s Word. God’s Spirit among them. All
of those things. And now they’re gone. And now
they look to the church. And they’re jealous. and they
should be because they’ve lost an incredible blessing. The blessings of only just begun
will finish a good portion of this next day, but I want you
to look at the third. We’re looking at the five beneficial
aspects that flow from God’s gracious plan of redemption.
Not only does grace. mean hope for Israel, not only
does grace mean salvation for Gentiles, but thirdly, grace
means future blessings. And I’ll just tell you, I can’t
even begin to put my finger on exactly what they are, because
Paul doesn’t. Look at the passage, verse 12.
Now, if their transgression bewitches for the world, and their failure
bewitches for the Gentiles, How much more will their fulfillment
be. See the traces line of reason. Israel blew it. We know that it’s a misstep.
He uses it again here. Israel really blew it. They totally
messed up with regards to receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. They should
have fallen on their faces in repentance at the mere sight
of the Savior. And they didn’t. They rejected
him outright, ultimately having him crucified. But if that meant
an abundance of riches for the Gentiles, how much more will
the fulfillment be? In other words, Paul says, when
Israel does begin to enjoy its salvation, how much richer the
church, how much richer will God’s kingdom be as God begins
the great harvest of bringing back in the great numbers of
the Jews. to faith, not just faith. Faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. A reception, a proper reception,
this time of the Messiah himself. How much greater will the riches
be then? I’m beginning to put my finger on
it, can you? I kind of know what Paul is alluding to here. Just
the diversity that we have, alas, as a church. The stories that
we hear, the testimonies that are given of what God has done
in the lives of His people. What a powerful thing. What an
amazing thing. What an enriching thing. What
an encouraging thing. But Paul says, you haven’t seen
anything yet. When God begins to harvest the
great numbers of the Jews, Israel in its totality, how much greater
will the riches be then? so often that word riches and
that’s how Paul so often uses it is speaking of spiritual riches
and that’s what he’s pointing to here is those riches that will come
from the fulfillment the fullness of the Jews coming in that bitterness
will fade away for the Jews they will see what the Gentiles have
they will see that the Gentiles receive the Lord Jesus Christ
as he was meant to be received, there will be such repentance.
There will be such brokenness of heart. There will be such
a return in faith. James Boyce, whom I have the privilege of sitting under I would go to the
PCR conferences that used to be held in the springs. James
Boyce is just a godly man. The Lord took him, I think, about
eight or ten years ago. But James Boyce, looking at this
passage, this chapter, said this. And if you don’t know James Boyce,
a Presbyterian brother, the interesting thing about James Boyce, well,
you just have to hear him. Listen to this. In view of Paul’s
clear statements here, and throughout Romans 11, I cannot see how so
many Reformed theologians of our day reject the idea of a
future time of blessing for Israel. I know why they do it. They do
not like the details of prophecy that some have worked out, or
rather do I, which Israel seems to have a separate destiny from
the Church. to their way of thinking, any
future blessing of Israel as a nation must be a backward step,
a regression in God’s plan. The church has replaced Israel
in their thinking. This is what Boyce disagrees
with. He says, in this view, the church becomes the new Israel,
and the old Israel is superseded forever. But how can they affirm
that in view of Paul’s teaching here? Paul is not talking about
spiritual Israel in these chapters, he’s talking about the Jews as
a nation. It was inconceivable to Paul
that God would cast Israel off, because to do so would mean that
God would be breaking his covenant promises. Remember, that’s the
issue that Paul deals with in Romans 9, is God’s integrity. And if God brushed his hands
to the promises he made to that nation, how can we look up to
God with any kind of trust? We can’t. Grace continues and
says it’s inconceivable to Paul that God would cast Israel out,
because to do so would mean that God would be breaking his covenant
promises. And he could not do that and
remain a truth-keeping, faithful God. The interesting thing is, James
Boyce goes and quotes some of his own friends. And there’s
no doubt that during the time of the Reformation, when there
was no Israel, it was easy for the church to adopt this position,
but not all. Charles Hodge, solid covenantal
man, said Israel must mean the Jewish people in this passage.
All Israel points to the whole nation. The Jews as a people
are now rejected. But as a people, they will be
restored. Robert Holding, solid man of
God, whose commentary I frequently quote, said this, the rejection
is to continue until the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in.
Then the people of Israel, as a body, shall be brought to the
faith of the gospel. What a glorious truth. That’s
the third in the trilogy. The third, rather, of five. Not
only a hope for Israel’s salvation for the Gentiles, but salvation
for Israel as well. Future blessings that will come
into the church. The sad thing is, I wonder about
our Christianity sometimes. Is it enough to make Israel jealous?
Somebody said at one time that, you know, if it were a court
of law, and the evidence was presented before the court, would
they be enough to convict you that you were a Christian? It’s
an interesting way of putting it. Is there enough of our Christianity,
and I’m talking individually, look to your own heart. Is there
enough of your Christianity to come across a Jewish individual? And not just Jews, because you’re
accountable for how you live, but for anyone. But is your Christianity
stout enough? Is it solid enough? Do you have
a good enough testimony to bring them into a real conviction for
who Christ is, what Christ has done in your life. Is your passion
for Him? Is your love for God? Is your
service to humanity such that it is enough to prevent your
jealousy? Is your lifestyle different enough
to make Israel envious of the fact that you know God and they
don’t? Is your commitment to serve the
body of Christ in the unsafe community in which we live, is
it enough to provoke to jealousy those who were formerly known
as God’s people? The interesting thing is, that
is our problem. That’s our task as Gentiles. Remember, I told you that God
had a purpose, and the purpose is to make them jealous. Now,
in the meantime, we get to enjoy the full fruits of salvation.
We get to enjoy all the blessings of knowing Christ, and relating
with Him and communing with Him. We get to have our lives changed.
We have the Spirit dwelling within us. It’s all of this in Heaven
too. But in the meantime, our task,
our one great job as non-Jewish believers in the Lord Jesus Christ
is to live a life, to have a testimony that points others, especially
Jews, to the Lord Jesus Christ. They desperately need it. Let’s
go before the throne of grace. O merciful God, we humble ourselves
before you. And we know that there’s not
a lot of us that could suggest or take for a moment that we
have lived the perfect life. There are many ways where we
fell short. God give us the blessing of a
short account means to look to you for grace to continue to
eradicate the sin in our life that stands between us and you. It also taints our testimony
before a watching world. Lord, we thank you for the truth
expressed in this passage. We thank you for its richness
and its depth. We are humbled by it. We know,
Father, because we know our own hearts, that salvation is by
grace alone, through Christ alone. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray.
Amen.