Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
So much of life is shrouded in mystery.
How does the earth hang in space just the right distance from the son?
Mysterious!
How can the lungs process oxygen in our bodies to keep all of the necessary functions moving day after day, week after week, year after year.
Mysterious!
How come my wife never knows what restaurant she wants to eat dinner at?
Mysterious!
Main Idea: God Has A Glorious Plan For His People!
Interrogative: What is this plan?
Transition: Paul reveals this plan in these verses…
God’s Plan is Mysterious (vs.
25)
Paul, in these verses is talking to the church at Rome, comprised of both Gentile Christians as well as Jewish ChristIans.
Now, I need to remind you that at this stage in the salvation process that all Christians, regardless of nationality, station in life, or gender, are equally Christian.
And we know today that the church is largely comprised of Gentile believers.
However, There is no doubt, there are believers of Jewish decent in the church today.
They were saved by grace, through faith just like every Christian has been since Pentecost.
So what is Paul talking about here in verse 25.
This whole chapter is dealing with the point that God is not done with the Nation of Israel.
God LOVES His people and He has a plan that the entirety of the Old Testament has talked about.
And frankly speaking, especially after having walked in the land of God’s chosen people, it is hard to imagine that God will not fulfill all the specific promises He made to them regarding their deliverance and possession of the Promised Land.
Dr. John MacArthur - Now, beloved, let me just tell you that's why there are still Jews in the world.
That's why there is still a nation.
The covenants of God sworn in the oath of God have demanded the preservation of the people of God.
For if Israel went out of existence, there would be no way for God to fulfill His covenants.
And so God has caused perpetuity in the Jewish stock.
He has caused those people to outlive all other peoples contemporaneous with them in ancient times.
They are a phenomenon.
They are not God's ancient people Israel, they are God's present people and God's future people to whom He must fulfill His covenants, He must fulfill His promises.
Therefore He must maintain their existence.
God has a plan for Israel.
His character depends on it.
His integrity depends on it.
His trustworthiness and faithfulness depend on it.
And to sum up God's promise to Israel is to say ultimately He promises to redeem them, to give them a glorious kingdom, to give them peace from all their enemies and the fullness of blessing.
And that will come in the future, that is God's promise.
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-82/has-god-cancelled-his-promises-to-israel-part-1
So the church ought not to become arrogant about her position with God.
Paul is warning the church not have the same proud spirit the Jews had regarding their position with God.
Paul does not want the church to be ignorant about the future of the nation of Israel.
God is not done with them!
This is the mystery!
And it manifests in two ways in this verse…
Israel experienced a partial spiritual hardening…
This hardening will only last for a specific period of time…
Why do they need to understand this mystery?
So they do not become proud.
And so they remember God has a chosen people that He will deal with in the future.
He has not rejected them.
They can come to faith in Christ like a gentile today and he will save the nation in the future.
But today, according to Paul, there is a partial hardening of Israel.
What is a partial hardening of Israel?
It means that God’s people were hardened or blinded to the place that they rejected God’s plan of redemption through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
So, as a result, God set them aside for a season.
And you ought to be glad He did, because that same salvation that was offered to the Jews is now offered to you.
God, in a sense, took his focus of grace off of the children of Isreal and is treating them like His enemy.
Some theologians refer to Israel as “God’s Beloved Enemies.”
And they will remain in this state until “The fullness of the Gentiles comes in.”
When is the “fullness of the Gentiles?”
Romans 11:25–27 (HNTC Ro): But when might that happen?
How long will Israel remain “cut off” from the root through which their salvation and blessings had flowed since their beginning?
The short answer is, Until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
The longer answer, that Paul wants his Gentile readers (brothers) to understand, is that Israel’s hardening is not complete, it is only in part.
It is not permanent, it is only temporary—until the elect among the Gentiles are saved.
Paul does not want the Gentile believers in Rome to become conceited or arrogant in their new-found position of blessing.
Israel is waiting in the wings to enter back into covenant fellowship with God, as the prophets had declared.
When will this happen?
When will the “fulness of the gentiles” take place?
I believe what Paul is teaching us here is God knows when that last person will bow the knee and surrender his or her live to the Lord.
And when that happens, it ushers in a series of events that will lead to the second coming of Christ.
When that last gentile gets “saved,” I think 1 Thess 4:13ff kicks in…
This is the beginning of what the Bible refers to as “The Day of the Lord.”
And the Day of the Lord starts with the catching away of the church (aka the Rapture) which then ushers in what the Bible calls Great Tribulation where the AntiChrist is revealed and then defeated at the battle of Armageddon.
And after all of this takes place, Jesus will set up his literal kingdom on this earth and rule and reign for 1000 years.
He will literally rule on the David’s throne as prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Now this isn’t meant to be a sermon on eschatology, but it is important to understand what Paul is talking about here.
God will, when the church is removed from the scene, begin to focus on His chosen People one again.
I get it!
This is a mysterious plan!
God’s plan would have seemed very mysterious to the gentiles and the Jews of Paul’s time.
But you must understand this, God deeply desires to save His people.
We don’t always understand the hows and whys, but we do understand God’s heart for his people, both Gentiles and Jews.
“Regeneration is God’s mysterious prerogative.”
- John Blanchard
“God moves in a mysterious way/His wonders to perform;/He plants his footsteps in the sea,/And rides upon the storm.”
- William Cowper
While this isn’t a sermon on eschatology (what the bible teaches about the end of time), let me ask you what is the point of eschatology?
Why is it worth our careful study?
Matt Emerson - “Eschatology is important because it provides the context and motivation for missions.”
https://secundumscripturas.com/2014/05/06/the-importance-of-eschatology/
Allow the reality of the end of time to motivate you to share the gospel with those who need to hear it.
This was the doctrine that drove me to Christ.
It will drive others as well.
Review - God Has A Glorious Plan For His People!
God’s Plan is Mysterious
2. God’s Plan Includes Israel (vs.
26)
Paul has already alluded to this in verse 25, but he makes himself crystal clear in verse 26.
God will not abandon his chosen people.
They will, as a nation be saved.
Look at what Paul says in verse 26…
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