God and Grasshoppers Pt 5

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back once again to Romans chapter 11. Romans
chapter 11. We are a curious people. We have
a tendency to try to make a contract out of almost everything that
we do. We have a tendency to Try to keep accounts, and to
keep accounts even. We have a tendency to do favors
so that favors might be returned. How often have you heard it said
that it’s our turn to have you over for dinner? Or perhaps you
go to reach in your wallet to pay for someone’s cup of coffee
and they say, you bought last time, it’s my turn. We have a
tendency to build those accounts. A person who was very dear to
me actually used to keep a card in his wallet of things that
he had done for people, of people that owed him favors. We have
this tendency to build accounts, to maintain accounts, to hold
people But the interesting thing is that God has never been held
into account by anybody. God doesn’t operate that way.
God doesn’t owe anyone anything. And the passage before us makes
it explicitly clear that not the Gentiles had obligated God. and not even the nation of Israel
had obligated God in one iota to the exercise of His mercy
and grace. We find ourselves winding down
in this fascinating chapter of Scripture, which some would fight
and wrangle over, which seems to us so plain and clear. Paul is discussing the sovereignty
of God in chapters 9 through 11. Specifically, he begins to
zero in in chapter 11 as he wraps up this discussion on God’s sovereignty. He begins to discuss Israel’s
purpose and their restoration. It’s a lengthy, detailed chapter
as we found it to be. Paul begins by pointing out Israel’s
condition, and it is a perilous plight that they find themselves
in. Paul began that discussion in pointing out the seriousness
of Israel’s condition in chapter 9. Their situation was perilous
indeed. They are already under judgment. But Paul asks the question in
chapter 11, verse 1, is this rejection by God permanent? Paul just says simply, may it
never be. No, it is not permanent. Paul
details that lengthy section pointing to Israel’s perilous
condition, but it’s not a permanent condition. It is not hopeless
for Israel. What Paul points to in the second
major section there, beginning verses 11 through 24, is that
there are implications to Israel’s condition. There are situations
that must be reconciled, and Paul takes a lengthy section
to do that. It’s grace. It’s God’s grace
that must be reconciled. And we discovered that, first
of all, grace means a hope for Israel. But Paul leaves it undefined
there in verse 11. He just speaks of a hope, that
they did not stumble so as to fall. They are not completely
outside of We saw the grace means salvation
for Gentiles. The grace means future blessings
for the world. Very undefined. Paul leaves it
there in verse 12. Grace means not only salvation
for the Gentiles and future blessings, but verses 13 through 21 point
out that grace means salvation for Israel. and Paul finally
lays it out explicitly, that not only is there a hope for
Israel, not only is he willing to pray for Israel, not only
are they not rejected forever in some sense, but here he says
quite explicitly that Israel will be saved. Not every person,
as he has already made abundantly clear, but then finally the fifth mark
of God’s grace, as we look at God’s grace to the nations, is
that grace allows no double standard. And verses 22 and following point
out the fact that the same standard that God applied to Israel applies
to the church, and the same standard that applies to the church applies
to Israel. no double standards with God.
God is not capricious. God is not unjust or unfair. He uses two little garden illustrations,
if you were, if you will. He used first the element of
pruning that Israel was literally pruned off, torn off of the tree. But he also uses another illustration
to point out the facts that Israel may be restored by the element
of grafting. Well, Paul has almost wrapped
up this discussion on the nation of Israel, on Israel’s purpose
and restoration, but he has two final points in verses 25 through
32 that he uses to clarify beyond all doubt what God’s intentions
are towards the nations. If you would join with me as
we read through verses twenty-five through thirty-two. Where Paul
says, for I do not want you to be, pardon me, for I do not want
you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be
wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened
to Israel. until the fullness of the Gentiles
has come in and does all Israel will be saved. Just as it is
written, the deliverer will come from Zion. He will remove ungodliness
from Jacob, and this is my covenant with them when I take away their
sins. From the standpoint of the gospel,
they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s
choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers, for
the gifts and the callings of God are irrevocable. For just
as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown
mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient,
in order that because of the mercy shown to you, they also
may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience,
that he might show mercy to all. God has never, as we’ve already
pointed out, been on the other side of the ledger. God has never
been owing of anything to anyone. And what Paul uses here, as he
closes, to make absolutely explicit that salvation is by mercy and
by mercy alone, whether to the Gentiles or to the Jews. Paul
has completed that illustration that we spent no little time
on, the olive tree, which he used for a specific purpose,
to point out the possibility of the restoration of the nation
of Israel to the church. And now Paul, in very plain terms,
reveals and lays out God’s plan for this nation. Until now, Paul
had pointed to the idea of a remnant of Israel. It was kind of trickling
into the church, and people were being saved occasionally, Jewish
people. But the bulk of the nation had
rejected Christ and had been hardened to the gospel, hardened
to the things of God, and ultimately, in a very real sense, rejected
by God. Paul brings this discussion of
justification by faith to a close here in this chapter, with one
of my favorite sections of Scripture in all of Scripture, Romans 11,
33 and following. But as Paul points out before
he arrives there at that doorstep, he points out that there will
be a time when all Israel will be saved, and we’ll look at what
that means. There will be a time at the end of the age when the
whole nation of Israel, in God’s terms, will be saved. Not every individual, mind you,
but according to God himself, God
would testify that all Israel has come into salvation. If you would, I want to look
at just these two final points. We’ve looked at two already.
We’re considering Israel’s purpose in restoration. We looked at
Israel’s condition. We looked at the implication
of Israel’s condition. This morning, we’re just going
to look at two quick points. Point number three is Israel’s
ultimate plan in God’s… Israel’s ultimate place, rather,
in God’s plan. And for that, if you would glance
just down at verse 25. where Paul says to the Gentile
readers, for I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of
this mystery, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel. Paul has a formula that he uses,
and he uses it again here. He uses a number of different
formulas. Paul, like us, was a creature
of habit. One of the fascinating things
that I’ve had the privilege of studying is when they take a
writing and begin to look and to see tendencies of the writer,
not knowing for sure the author, and studying the tendencies of
a writer to discover the possibilities of his identity. Paul uses a
lot of formulas. Paul uses a formula here. I do
not want you to be uninformed, Brethren. Or as the NAS has it,
I do not want you, Brethren, to be uninformed. When he uses
this formula, Paul always addresses his brothers in Christ, Brethren. And he does so with the purpose
of making this occasion very solemn. In a sense, bringing
them in to the very throne room of God to impart to them some
deep biblical truth. He calls them near, and he wants
to inform them of some truth. He did it in Romans chapter 1
verse 13. Just listen as I go through just
a few of these. Where there Paul said, I do not
want you to be unaware, brethren, That I have often planned to
come and see you and have been prevented thus far. Remember,
Paul was facing criticism, perhaps being a hypocrite, perhaps being
all talk, that they have heard for some seasons that he was
going to visit Rome, but still never had. Perhaps Paul is not
true to his word. Perhaps he lacks integrity, as
Paul tells them here. I don’t want you to be unaware,
Brethren. He uses the same formula in 1
Corinthians chapter 10, verse 1. He says, for I do not want
you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under
the cloud and all passed through the sea. In other words, he brings
them into that solemn occasion of a recollection of the history
of Israel. That God had given them abundant
opportunities for grace and they had sinned against the and you
know the passage well. At the end of that section, take
heed lest you fall. Consider your own standing before
God. He uses it again in 1 Corinthians
chapter 12 regarding spiritual gifts. You know the section.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to
be unaware. He calls them near. He wants
to impart to them some truth, and specifically in this section,
he says, I do not want you to be uninformed of this mystery. Perhaps some of you, we kind
of tend to like mysteries, don’t we? Whether on film, or in a
book, and, you know, just kind of this unfolding, untold, developing
story, etc. We tend to kind of like secrets,
too, don’t we? But Paul isn’t talking about
mystery in either of those two senses. When Paul says mystery
here, that he doesn’t want us to be uninformed of the mystery,
essentially what he’s doing is beckoning us near, and he’s pointing
out explicitly what the mystery is. He’s uncovering what has
been a mystery, what has been an enigma to us, something that
we did not know and could not know. In other words, he says,
let me tell you a secret from God himself. Let me give you
some news from God. Let me give you God’s revelation
on the matter. Let me tell you what God’s plan
is for the nation of Israel. You see, this is God’s providential
oversight of his world. Paul’s use of this word mystery
always has this sense of God’s secret purposes that have been
kept under wraps for a certain time, perhaps even for thousands
of years, but now are being uncovered, revealed. Let me take you on
a brief tour of this, also in your mind’s eye. The incarnation
was a mystery. Did you realize that? The fact that Jesus Christ would
come as God and take on human flesh, that was something that
we had never really conceived before. Not even from Isaiah
53 did we conceive of a little baby being born that was both
God, fully God, and man, fully man. But 1 Timothy 3.16 lays
it out. Paul says, by common confession,
great is the mystery of Godliness. He who was revealed in the flesh
was vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among
the nations, believed on in the world, taken up into glory. It
was a mystery, but it’s not a mystery anymore. Crucifixion was a mystery. Who would have conceived that
a savior of the world was going to come and then suffer an inglorious
death on the cross? How does that work? Paul calls
it a stumbling block. 1 Corinthians 2.1 says, when
I came to you brethren, I did not come with superiority of
speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
And then down in verse 7, Paul says, but we speak God’s wisdom
in a mystery. The world didn’t know it. The world didn’t understand it
until now. But God has made it clear. God
sent his son. He died on the cross. And Paul
said, that is enough of a message for me, even if the world considers
it utter foolishness. It’s no longer a mystery. The inclusion of the Gentiles.
I mean, how would the heathen have ever hoped that one day
they were going to be among the chosen people of God, that they
were going to be among God’s people? This is in Ephesians chapter
3. By revelation there was made known to me the mystery. As I
wrote before you in brief, Paul is pointing there to the blending
of the Jews and Gentiles in salvation. Those that were truly in Christ
at that point in time. Paul points to the final reunion
of the Jews and the Gentiles in another mystery. Colossians
126, the mystery which has been hidden from ages past and generations,
but now has been revealed and manifested to the saints. It
was a mystery. We didn’t know how that was going
to work. We didn’t know how the Jews and the Gentiles were going
to be blended into one, but God says He did it. God says He revealed
it. It’s no longer a mystery. Christians used to have this
tendency to use this word and to hold to the use of the word
according to how we use it. Some neat story that’s got some
fascinating twist at the end. This wasn’t something that was
just interesting and fascinating as it began to unfold. It was
something that was incomprehensible. All the theologians in the world
couldn’t have gotten together and figured out God’s plan of
redemption, not ultimately. It was something beyond us. It
was something completely outside of us. It was something that
required God’s revelation, God’s uncovering of this great news. As one said, It wasn’t something that was,
that must not be disclosed to be uninitiated. Nobody’s here
to hold secrets like that, right? Either you join some crazy club
that holds secrets and you have to get to by certain levels,
or perhaps, you know, even on a smaller scale, you’re among
a certain circle of friends that only let certain people in on
some news. It’s usually no news you need
to know anyway, right? Well, that’s on the post. I’m
going to hear it all. What was once hidden is now revealed,
and it’s revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those mysteries
all come bursting forth by God’s revelation. Jesus Christ has
revealed it all. Colossus, I do not want you,
brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery. I want you to meditate
and I want you to dwell on the truth of this mystery. It was
hidden in times past, but has now been uncovered and fully
revealed to you. And he adds this little phrase,
lest you be wise in your own estimation. I don’t know, what
on earth is he talking about here? You see, the tendency is You know folks like this, and
perhaps if you check your heart, maybe you’re even like this yourself. Talk about people from time to
time that have just enough knowledge to be dangerous, right? That’s
what Paul’s talking about. You’ve been brought in, the Gentiles,
you’ve been brought into salvation. And you’ve got just enough information
to be dangerous, really dangerous. because you have this tendency
to be in the globes and be conceited about what God’s done in your
life, and to think that you now know all of the mysteries and
all of the plans and knowledge of God. Paul says, don’t be wise in your
own estimation. Don’t be conceited. He had already
warned them about that tendency, that wisdom, that thinks that
they have all the answers of God’s salvation. Talmud already
warned the Gentiles, remember? In this very section, in verse
18, he said, do not be arrogant toward the branches. Remember
the branches? The unbelieving Jews that were broken and cast
off. He said, don’t you cast a critical eye in their direction.
Don’t be arrogant toward the branches. Don’t rule your eyes
at them. Later on in that same chapter,
that same section, verse 20, he said, Do not be conceited,
but fear. What we ought to do is thank
God. We ought to thank God every day that He saved us. And not begin to think in our
eyes that just because we know a little about God’s plan, that
we know everything about God’s plan. As one said, the Gentile convert
who thought much of his large insight into the divine plan
because he saw the rejection of the Jews, not as an accident,
but by a deliberate opening of the door of grace to the world.
But he goes on to point out, is that that is such a glorious
truth. Such a profound truth that we’ve been let in by God’s
grace, the tendency, sadly, is one of arrogance. What? We’ve
been let in and you haven’t. James Boyce suggested that there
were four ways that this form of pride could manifest itself
in the church. In the Gentile church, which
is almost exclusively Gentile in this day and age. Boyce said
that we should not be conceited in thinking that Gentile believers
have replaced Jewish believers permanently. We’ve dealt with
that question in weeks past. It’s not so. The second point
is that we should not be conceited in thinking that a Gentile church
is the culmination of God’s daily ministry. You know, there are
many who do. That this is all we see. and
that this is God’s church. Thirdly, he says, we should not
be conceited in thinking that in ourselves we are something
special. Now, I try to make this point
as often as I can. Whenever we come across any version
of it in Scripture, I remind us that God with us, me and you,
God did not get a good deal. God did not look at you and look
at me, and I’m not meaning to pick on you. He didn’t look at
us and say, oh boy, if I could only get that right. Oh, if I
could only do my work of grace in His life, there’s some real
potential. That’s arrogance. That’s conceit. It isn’t because of our faith.
It isn’t because of our family. It isn’t because of our denomination
and affiliation. It isn’t because of our faithful
Christian charity. It’s God. It’s God and His mercy
that saves us. It’s God that moves in our lives. Blaise’s fourth point is we should
not be conceited in somehow thinking that other people who are not
like us are hopeless. It’s essentially spiritual racism
is what it is. They’re beyond the pale of God’s
hope and justice. Paul says, I do not want you
to be uninformed, brethren, of this mystery. It’s been hidden
for ages, but now it’s there for all to see. Lest you be wise
in your own affirmation that a partial hardening has happened
to Israel. Now, Paul’s made this point over
and over again. It is legitimate. They are already
standing under the judgment of God. It is a perilous predicament
that they’re in. So much so that Paul says, if
I could, I’d trade places. I’d give my salvation to the
Jews. It’s perilous. But it’s perfect. It not only
did not affect every Jew ever more, because some Jews had come
to Christ. They had placed their faith in
Christ. But it was also a partial in the sense that it’s not permanent.
It’s not going to be this way forever. There will be, as there has always
been a remnant, a fully received, a choice portion. Paul says,
I don’t want you to be unaware, brethren, that a partial hardening
has happened until the fullness of the Gentiles has permanent.
Now, this is so amazing to me. You almost have the sense that
there is going to literally be a day when the last Gentile convert
is made. Isn’t that an amazing thought?
There is numbers here, I don’t know how many it is, but God
has some system being God, that he can look down on the world
and say, that’s it, that’s the last one, now it’s Israel’s turn. That’s an amazing fact. Tell you the point of it in verse
15. To the fact that the conversion of Israel would mean an immense
measure of grace for the world. Look back at verse 15. their
rejection, if their rejection was the reconciliation of the
world, what will their acceptance be of life from the dead? It’s
to be this amazing resurrection as it were from the dead of an
entire nation of people. It probably won’t make it on
NBC News. In fact, I can almost assure
you that it won’t. But can you imagine that revival? Can you
imagine that movement of God where an entire nation turns
to Christ in repentance and faith? Amazing. The Paul says it’s not
going to happen until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
What an amazing thought that was. What a prompter it is to
share Christ with our friends. What a prompter it is to share
Christ with our workers. It’s the full number of the elect
from among the Gentiles. And Paul says, once that happens,
look at this. A pulse of hardening has happened
to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. And
then verse 26, and thus, all Israel will be saved. Now, the sad thing is, I don’t
even know how you mess this one up, but people have, and it’s
gotten muddier and muddier and worse and worse down through
the centuries. Someone jumped the track years
ago, and now the train is literally running through the cornfields. And the question is, what is
the meaning of hell is here? There have basically been historically
poor, I mean, interpretations, and I’m not going to go into
all of them in depth and name them for you. One interpretation
says it refers to all the elect, puts its arms wide and refers
to Israel as being all the Jews and all the Gentiles, referring
to both under the heading all Israel. The only problem about
it, and it’s a big problem, In fact, it’s an irreconcilable
problem. In verse 25, Paul points to a
partial hardening that happened to Israel. And then he uses the
same exact word here in verse 26, that all Israel will be saved. It does great damage. One pastor
said it this way, it is impossible to entertain an exegesis which
takes Israel here, in verse 26, in one sense, and Israel in verse
25 in another. It’s impossible. The second possible
solution here is that it refers to the elect of the nation of
Israel. It’s not a bad answer. The third option is that it refers
to the whole nation of Israel, every Jew ever born. Now Paul has already said that
that’s not going to happen. They’re not all Israel. that
are called Israel. There are not all in faith. There
are not, there weren’t in the days of Abraham and there aren’t
now. There are going to be those people
that reject Christ. Even as the entire nation is
bowing the knee to the Savior Himself. And so the fourth interpretation
over the centuries has risen to the top and stands supreme
far above the others. It points, this little phrase,
El Israel, points to the nation of Israel as a, uh, there will
be a day when you may hear of news that the entire nation of
Israel has turned to Christ. And will it mean every man, woman,
and child that is born Jew? No. That it will be perceptible
that the nation of Israel has turned. The nation of Israel
has had a revival. And it is a powerful thing. said one of the elective israel
shall at last be gathered in the long process shall at length
be complete the special prospects of a time when a partial hardening
will no longer characterize the jews the israel of verse 25 becomes
the israel of verse 26. Paul had already predicted this.
Paul had already intimated and hinted and now Paul says explicitly
that Israel as a nation will be saved. And he cites these
two, it’s actually not even two verses, it’s a blending, it’s
separate. In verse 26 and 27, this is his
written, this is Paul’s pattern, remember? Paul’s going to make
a statement, then he’s going to open up his Old Testament
and he says, here, let me show you. Look at verse 26 and 27,
the deliverer will come from Zion, he will move on Godliness
from Jacob, this is my covenant with him, and I take away their
sins. See, that’s anybody’s problem.
That’s anybody’s problem that stands at the edge of the gulf
that stands between us and the Holy God of sin, right? It’s
that way for every individual, and it’s that way for the nation
of Israel as well. They stand at the edge of that
precipice, and they cannot get across. No works will do. The doctrine which that chasm
Paul combines these multiple Old Testament references with
one main idea. That the ultimate result of the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will be the gift
of grace to the nations, including the Jews. The verses he cites
and blends One of them is Isaiah 59, 20. A redeemer will come
to Zion to those who turn from transgression, to Jacob declares
the Lord. Isaiah chapter 27, verse 9. Therefore, through this, Jacob’s
iniquity will be forgiven. That’s the nation of Israel.
It’s their sin that God is coming to deal with. That’s exactly
why Christ came. There is no different mode or
method of salvation for the Jews. It’s the same. It’s faith alone
in Christ alone. And it will be for them as well. One pastor said, the substance
of the new covenant, which God will establish with Israel, consists
of His gracious forgiveness of their sins. This composite quotation,
by its relentless concentration on God’s forgiveness and on Israel’s
need of it, points to the true nature of the deliverance signified
by the statement, all Israel will be saved. You see, they
thought that they were looking for a political liberty. What
this passage, this group of passages says, Paul says, look, their
liberation was anything but political, it was spiritual. It was for
the sake of sin, the Christ theme, It dashes Israel’s self-centered
hopes of establishing a claim upon God, of putting Him under
obligation by its merits, making clear that the nation’s final
salvation would be a matter of the forgiveness of its sins by
the sheer mercy of God. Remember when I told you that
God has never been put under account? He offered this idea
that do this and you will live. Live according to this law. I’d
like you to get a head start. Here’s ten little commandments.” And he couldn’t even live in
40 for a day, neither could the Jews. Paul says, ultimately, it’s God
and His mercy. It’s God and His mercy that is
part of the ultimate place in God’s plan. The mercy that you
and I already bask in. if we have placed our faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, that one day that is going to be offered
to an entire nation, and an entire nation is going to fall on its
knees in gratitude to our Lady God. But there’s a fourth point. We’re looking at Israel’s purpose
and restoration. We’ve seen Israel’s condition.
We’ve seen the implication of their condition. We’ve seen just
now Israel’s ultimate place in God’s plan, and Paul closes with
this point. Israel’s relationship to God
and nations. Once again, if you look at verse
28, where Paul records that, from the standpoint of the gospel,
they are enemies for your sake. according to the Gospel that
has come to the Gentiles as Paul has detailed. And the Gentiles
looked up and said, this is too good to be true. How can we not
accept this? How can we not accept justification
by faith? We had no idea that this possibility
even existed. And the Gentiles flocked to it
in droves and came to Christ in this pre-opera of salvation. That only made Israel angry. In a sense, they’re angry at
the Gentiles, but ultimately, they’re angry at God. That’s
who they’re angry at. That’s where the hostility comes
in. From the standpoint of the gospel,
they are enemies. They’re enemies with God. Well,
that’s enemies with us. And the Jews are, as a result,
objects of God’s hostility. They are rejected. They’ve rejected
Christ. They stand rejected of God, but
not forever. Verse 28, look again from the
standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but
from the standpoint of God’s choice, they are beloved for
the sake of their fathers. See, Israel’s hatred towards
us, Israel’s hostility towards God because of God’s goodness
and mercy to the Gentiles. It doesn’t involve even the slightest
chance that God is going to do away with His promises. Not even
the slightest chance. God still loves this nation that
He chose because of His sovereign choice. God still has his love
upon them, God still has a purpose for them. One Puritan said it
this way, Paul is emphasizing the divine plan. Though Israel
had been faithless in the subject of God’s hostility, God had nevertheless
worked through this faithlessness to bring about His will. Now,
doesn’t that? God is agent. The place for this
idea of election. God’s choice made long ago, just
like he did with Abraham. God did so with Israel. God chose
them for his own purposes. That’s what he points to when
he says, from the standpoint of God’s choice, they are beloved
for the sake of the fathers. It’s not that the fathers were
such great guys. Probably some of them were. You
know, having a cup of coffee with Abraham, that has a really
nice ring to it. I look forward to that in heaven. But it’s not because they were
such great guys that God says, boy, I’m going to be true to
them because they were, you know, that Noah built such a beautiful
boat. That’s not at all what he’s pointing
to. It’s because of the promise. that
God made to the prophets, to the patriarchs. When He told
them, when He gave them His word, when He gave them His promises,
just fulfilling that isn’t based on their merit, it isn’t based
on their faithfulness, it’s based on God and His word. God said
it. God will do it. The commentator
just penned it this way, Israel is beloved because God is faithful
to his own love, which in his sovereign freedom he bestowed
upon the fathers on no other ground than his love.” In other
words, God chose to love Israel. God’s not going to choose not
to love them. Look at verse 29. Could it say
it any more clearly? and the callings of God are irrevocable. If God appoints someone to a
spot, if God appoints someone, if God selects someone for a
task, for a cause, for a purpose, the gifts and the callings of
God are irrevocable. It doesn’t matter about Israel’s
unfaithfulness. It doesn’t matter about their
waywardness. And in a sense, this is right. If God appoints
you to something, He intends for you to see it through. He
intends for you to be faithful. He gives you the grace to be
faithful. And just because you stop it,
just because you trip up on occasion, because you’re less than faithful
100% of the time, doesn’t mean that God is going to rebuke that
and He didn’t permit it. What are the gifts? What are
the talents? You know the interesting thing is, here this word gifts
is the same word that Paul uses for spiritual gifts, repeatedly. What kind of gift did he give
to the nation of Israel? I don’t recall that. Paul pointed
it out in Romans 9. These Israelites, to whom belongs
the adoption of sons? Well, there’s a gift. How do
you revoke Bracca? Kick the adopted child out of
the family? God says I won’t do it. I will
not. To whom belongs the adoptions
of sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of
the law, and the temple service, and the promises?” God says,
I won’t do it. I’m not going to obey Him. I
promise. Likewise with the calling. The
purpose calling of God, of a nation to himself for his own purpose
and glory. And then Paul issues this final
line of reasoning when he comes with this. Just as you were disobedient
to God, but now you’ve been shown mercy
because of their disobedience, it was Israel’s disobedience
that prompted God to open the Gospel to us and Christians.
And then he takes this illustration and he flips it upside down.
It’s just massive. Now this is the Spirit pushing
through Paul’s parents. just as you once were disobedient
to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
so these also now have been disobedient in order that because of the
mercy shown to you, they also may be shown mercy. They will
long for that mercy out of their abundant disobedience. For God
has shut up all in disobedience. that he might show mercy to all.
Do you remember when I said that God has never been put into a
town? God has never, no one ever lived
up to the law in the first place. No one ever said, okay, see,
I live the perfect life. Where’s heaven? Which door? I’m
here, God. God has shut up all in disobedience
that he might show mercy to all. And that includes you. We have
a tendency to grasp at this passage and get so lost in the discussion
of Israel that we lose sight of the fact that he is talking
to us. He was talking to us in Romans
chapter 1 through 3 when he pointed out that all, both Gentiles and
Jews, have sinned. All have sinned in the pastures
of the glory of God. Don’t be mistaken. We’re here. We’re in this passage and he
talks specifically to us, to you and to I, in this day and
age, when he says from the standpoint of the Gospel, verse 28, they
are enemies for your sake. Do you see what God has done?
God allowed Israel to harden their hearts toward Him, that
the Gospel, God’s mercy, salvation by faith alone and Christ alone,
would be open to you and I. If you’re a believer, this whole
thing, this whole relationship with Almighty God can be traced
right back through God’s plan of redemption to eternity past.
It is an incredible thing. And for us, how can we ever turn
that to arrogance? How can we ever turn it to indifference?
How can we ever turn it to inaction? Ah, what’s your attempt at forgiveness? We come before you and thank
you and praise you for what you have laid out to us. And we are
not mere bystanders as you talk about your chosen people. We
are already on the tree, having been grafted in by your marvelous
mercy. You said that there are no double
standards. We could just as easily be pruned
off if the Gentiles grow ungrateful to you. Lord God, we think of
the opportunities. We think of the glorious privilege
that we have to know Christ and to make Him known. And we cry
out to you for grace. Grace to see that through, that
task. the glorious opportunity that
we have as children of the King to proclaim Christ to all who
do not know Him, both Jews and Gentiles. It’s in Jesus’ name
that we pray.