Romans 11:1-10

God Has Not Rejected His People

When Jesus declared the Great Commission for His followers to go unto all the nations baptizing in the name of the Triune God and making disciples, he provides the people with a guarantee. The final words in Matthew are, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The promise that God is always with His people is echoed throughout the Old and New Testament. Paul draws upon the Old Testament as a reminder that God Himself has not rejected His people. There are still those who are among the nation of Israel who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there will be others who will continue to reject the Gospel.

The truth of the matter which Scripture brings to bear upon us is that “God has not rejected His people and he has not rejected you.”

God’s patience towards His people (vv. 1-2a)

God’s provision for His people (vv. 2b-6)

God’s punishment against His people (vv. 7-10)

[1] God’s patience toward His people (vv. 1-2a)

Romans 11:1–2 “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.”

God has not rejected you

Paul’s personal appeal to Israel is restated here in Romans 11. Already, Paul has made it explicit that Israel’s unfaithfulness does not mean that the Word of God has failed (9:6), nor does it imply there is any injustice on God’s part (9:14). The message is quite simple, believe and confess, repent and believe (cf. Rom. 10:9-10).

But the next question needs to be answered, “has God rejected his people?” Paul has indeed already answered this in Romans 3:3–4“What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.””

To reject, means to cast one away or to thrust oneself by way of rejection. It is used in Acts with relation to the people of Israel’s rejection to the advancement of the Gospel by Stephen in Acts 7 and Paul & Barnabas in Acts 13.

Likewise, Paul uses it in reference to excommunication as he writes in 1 Timothy 1:19 “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith.” There were some, as in v. 20, such as Hymenaeus and Alexander who have rejected the faith, the Gospel.

Yet Paul makes it clear that God has certainly not rejected his own people. Paul jumps the reference of “his people” between verse 1 and 2. In verse 1, it is the nation of Israel. In verse 2, it is a reference to those whom God has elected, the true Israel. Here, is it in reference to the people of Israel which Paul has in mind. It goes back to Paul’s specific mention in Romans 9:4 “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.”

In recognizing that God has not forgotten his people, Paul uses the strongest term of negation in Greek, translated as “May it never be” or in the KJV “God forbid.” It is the equivalent of saying, “may that thought never even come into existence.” This is the ninth time Paul has been emphatic in answering a presumption.

God has demonstrated it in Paul Paul then turns to himself as a recognition that God has not rejected his people. The first followers of Jesus were all Jews. The early church in Acts 2-12 was the proclamation to the people of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, as Jesus tells them to do before His ascension. Since Paul fits into that very category, he reminds the people that God has not forgotten the nation of Israel.

For Paul, the very rejection of the Gospel was his chief aim prior to conversion. In Acts 8, we hear of the militancy of Paul in going door-to-door to arrest men and women faithful to Christ. Paul explains this reality in Galatians 1:13–14“For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.”

Paul did not fit the model of a typical Christian. There were those who walked alongside of Christ and still believed. There were others who heard the message of Peter, John, and Philipp who still believe or came to believe. Paul was the antithesis of Christian belief prior to his conversion. He was just like his own kin, his brothers according to the flesh as he assaulted the church. Yet God was still faithful in saving Paul and setting aside a remnant of the nation of Israel who would in fact believe. And Paul recognizes that his status as an Israelite would mean that, in theory, he should have automatically been part of the covenant people of God. However, he was a persecutor of the church. He was circumcised outwardly, but inwardly he was not circumcised of the heart. Paul goes at great lengths to demonstrate the powerful reality of one converted to Christianity. It is the equivalent of laying aside all earthly titles for the sake of Christ. In Philippians 3:5–8 he recounts his resume. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, the best trained of the Pharisees, zealous beyond compare. But what did that matter apart from Christ. He concludes in Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” Paul had every ground for boasting yet he realized that apart from Jesus Christ, he was nothing. And many rely upon their own earthly merits to progress their way through life without worry or concern for Christ. You boast in how many badges or ribbons you wear on your military uniforms. You boast in how many followers or friends you have on social media. You boast in yourselves in the way we are called to serve the church even. You boast in your promotions and merits. But are you a people who boast in Christ? How often do we at the first sight of trouble or persecution or sin fall into the same trap as Peter in being confronted with his close relationship with the Lord Jesus? Trials come our way, unbelievers assail us, and we proclaim “I do not know the man!” and hide in shame from our denial of the Saviour who bought us with a price. We proclaim Christ, and Him crucified. In Jesus is life and truth. Why be ashamed of life and truth? Why be ashamed of Jesus Christ?

This personal appeal to true Israel comes to us in that God has demonstrated it in Paul and also that God has predestined it to come to pass.

God has predestined it to come to pass Paul provides the answer to the initial question. God is the one who has not cast or thrust His people aside. However, they must be those who are known by God. Paul uses the word “foreknew” with reference to Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

It is important to draw out the fact that this type of knowing is similar to the Hebrew word for knowing. When the Old Testament says in Genesis 4 that Adam knew his wife and she conceived, it is quite obvious that his mere knowledge of her created a child. Likewise, when Abraham knew Sarah, she conceived Isaac. It entails a deep and intimate relationship between two parties. Here, it is God’s relation to His elect.

A particular people are in mind. The passage is not saying that all of Israel without exception are part of God’s elect, as this would contradict what Paul has stated previously. Paul makes this point clear in the previous passage in Romans 9:6–7 “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”” If you are the elect of Israel you are in Christ, you are of the spiritual offspring of Abraham. You are the children of promise.

This is established elsewhere in Scripture. Galatians 3:6–9 “just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” This is setting the framework for the ingrafting of the Gentiles from verse 11 onward.

God’s people, his people in the text, are those whom Christ has laid down His own life for. Jesus Himself highlights this very point in John 10:14–16“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold [Gentiles]. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” It is a particular people. Just as those who were part of the nation of Israel were “not his people” so also those who confess and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord from every tribe, tongue, and nation, will be saved.

How should this make you feel? First, it should illicit worship, God-centered and God-glorifying worship. God knows us like a parent knows and loves their own child. Our status of being adopted as sons should bring about a God-honoring life. If love that God has for you does not stir you up, what will?

It provides comfort for the faint-hearted. God has not rejected you! God has not rejected you, O weary Christian. Though sin may separate you from the full fellowship with God for a time, He has not cast you aside. He has not rejected you. Glorify the Lord for that.

Puritan Elnathan Parr says of God’s election, writing, “This doctrine affords comfort: thy unworthiness may dismay thee, but remember that thy election depends not upon thy worthiness but upon the will of God.” It is God’s will to save you and it is God’s will to preserve you.

Second, it should illicit heart-felt obedience to the Lord. The Lord has redeemed you by the work of you Redeemer, live accordingly. It is not permission to live a life full of sin and depravity. It is not to act like the nation of Israel of whom Moses warned saying in Deuteronomy 29:19 “one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.”

Paul warns us in Galatians 4:9 “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” Why would you go back to the life you were freed from? God care for His sheep drives us further into the loving arms of our Good Father.

Third, this is not a grounds for boasting whatsoever, lest we fall into the same trap as Israel in assuming that God’s electing love is the grounds for our boasting as if we ourselves have earned it. It is based solely and infallibly upon the righteousness of Christ imputed to you. If you are in Christ, you are the true Israel. And God has not rejected you. God has not rejected His people. So we have looked first at God’s patience towards His people, and second, God’s provision for His people.

[2] God’s provision for His people (vv. 2b-6) Romans 11:2–6 “Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

We come now to the transition between those who are in Christ as the true Israel, and Paul’s second appeal to the nation of Israel as a reminder that God has always preserved a remnant. The provision for the remnant of Israel is a divine guarantee of God’s provision.

A divine guarantee of God’s provision (vv. 2b-4) The text takes us back to the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18. During the time of Elijah’s ministry, the wicked King Ahab and his wretched wife Jezebel were reigning. Elijah has an encounter with the false prophets of Baal. Elijah was the lone prophet who went up against 450 of Baal’s prophets. The prophets of Baal attempted to bring fire from heaven in appealing to their god but nothing happened.

Elijah, on the other hand, had the wood and offering covered in water to make the feat more difficult. He prayed to the Lord and fire came and consumed the entire offering. The people, in seeing this miracle of the Lord, seized and killed Baal’s prophets.

However successful Elijah’s ministry and close communion with God was, he was still in a state of depression and lament. He prostrates himself before the Lord recognizing how the people of Israel in following the wicked king Ahab have killed the prophets, tore down the altars of God and raised up the altars of Baal and Molech, and are now seeking the messenger of God’s life.

How often do you feel the sting of persecution from others? You stay faithful to the Lord, you perhaps serve other people, guide them through their walk in life, yet still they reject you. We are told that even Jesus, God Incarnate, came among his own yet his own knew him not. Many knew facts about him, but few truly loved him.

When we feel persecution from others who reject us we walk amongst good company. We walk in the footprints of Jesus Christ who was afflicted, mocked, shamed, and abused, yet endured the cross with joy knowing He was saving a sinner like you.

Despite man’s mocking, despite the secular world’s anti-Christ behavior, God is faithful. As the text says, he always leaves behind a remnant. There are always the faithful few who stand amidst opposition and proclaim the glories of the Lord.

What is Elijah’s response? He goes and intercedes on behalf of the people of Israel. The same word for appeal in the text is used with respect to the ongoing prayer ministry of God in our own lives. In Romans 8:27 we are told “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Likewise, we are told that Christ Himself intercedes for us. Romans 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Also, Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

Does this not speak volumes to the character of the Lord? Just as Elijah was feeling the weight and burden of rejection, fear, and anxiety upon his own soul, he turns to the Lord. Likewise, the Lord Himself through the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of God the Father is still praying for us as well. He still intercedes on our behalf. It is a guarantee of God’s provision.

Elijah’s response is to turn to the Lord but what is the content of his prayer? The text tells us the wicked kings have killed or slayed the prophets. The very divine messengers of the Lord are killed. Why? People do not like the message.

Not only are the prophets killed but the altars of God are destroyed. The messenger, the message, and the sacrificial altar where atonement of sin could be made are destroyed. Elijah is the lone survivor. He is the last line of defense for the people of God. Or so he feels.

What then is the guarantee of the Lord? God Himself provides the divine oracle. He has kept 7000 who would now bow the knee to false religion. The 7000 is not a literal number, rather, it is a Hebrew way of explaining to fundamental facts. Seven in the Scriptures represents completion. 1000 is typically representative of something uncountable. What God is portraying to the people is that he has left a remnant, complete, and as numerous as the sand on the sea, despite the treachery occuring in the midst of Elijah.

Typically, the word translated have kept has a negative connotation. It means to purposefully leave a person behind by ceasing to take care of them. However, here it is used in a positive manner. It means to permanently set aside.

To Elijah, he feels like the last soldier on the front lines fighting off the enemy advance. He reached back to his commanding officer, the Lord God, and explains the situation. The Lord tells Elijah that he has a full reserve battalion of faithful men and women waiting in response. In contrast to the enemies of Israel and the apostates, these have not bent the knee to Baal.

To bend the knee is to bow down in worship and veneration to a religious object of deity. In contrast to bending the knee to false gods, these elect of God choose their fealty and loyalty to the one and only living and true God. It is the same posture Christians are to have in relation to Christ.

It is written in Romans 14:11 “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”” and Philippians 2:10 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” The Lord alone is worthy of praise, fealty, and loyalty.

To whom do you bow the knee? Do you place political figures in higher esteem than the Lord? Do you place family even above the Lord? The Lord should be the centerfold of our worship and veneration. Despite the fact Elijah, John the Baptist, and even we, at times, feel as though our ministry or vocation is failing, the Lord retains for Himself a remnant. God provides for His people. God is unfailing. God is faithful. That is a fact, ground and root yourself like a seed planted in good soil upon that very fact.

a divine guarantee of God’s election (v. 5)

Despite the fact that, in the present time, the nation of Israel has rejected the Lord, Paul tells us that there is a remnant chosen by grace. In the Greek, Paul uses in conjunction with the word remnant the verb which is translated as “to be” or better “to exist.” Paul is saying “there has come to exist a remnant.” It is a spiritual remnant which is saved by the Gospel from among the apostate Israel.

These are the elect, or those chosen by God. The word is used three times in Romans 11. Paul had used it previously in Romans 9:11, in relation to Jacob and Esau, writing, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—” Likewise, Peter says in 2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

God has always been in the business of preserving His people. Noah was called by God be saved from the waters of the flood, both he and his family. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt and thrown into prison having been falsely accused of sexual immorality. Yet God preserves Joseph’s life to preserve his brothers and father.

The people of Israel are forced into hard labor at the hands of Pharaoh and God preserves the young boys and preserves the life of Moses who would be the instrument of God to deliver them out of the hands of Egypt. And in the case of Elijah, as wickedness was rampant, God preserved a remnant. So also, God has preserved a particular people from the nation of Israel who would be recipients of His merciful grace.

a divine guarantee from God by grace alone (v. 6) And so Paul bridges the gap between election and the remnant by stating in verse 6, “if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Grace cannot exist alongside of works. When God extends grace to you, He does it of His own free will and love for wretched sinners. He tells us clearly in John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” If you thought that God saving His people by grace alone was a New Testament concept, or a “Reformed” concept, then you have missed the entirety of the Old Testament. For the Lord tells Israel specifically, Deuteronomy 7:6–9 that He chose them as His own treasured position, not because of anything in them, nor because of their numbers but because of the Lord’s love and covenant faithfulness. And even still, it is never on the basis of works. 2 Timothy 1:9 “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,” Ephesians 2:8–9“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” And feel free to go back and look at Romans 3:21-31; 4:1-11; 5:2, 20-21; 9:11 and so on. Grace that brings works into it in any way, shape, or form, is an utter disregard for the Gospel. This was one of the primary pushes of the Reformation. Not only a return to the Scriptures as the infallible rule for faith and practice, but a reminder that salvation is by grace. Any religious system that brings works is a false Gospel. Paul writes of this exact thing in Galatians 1:8 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Man has always made himself at the center of redemption. Many religious systems of belief hold man at a high esteem as if they could pay the price for their sins. In pagan mythology, you appease one of the many gods by working your way to favor. In Mormonism, your good acts and deeds grant you eternal life. In Roman Catholicism, Federal Visionists, and others who blur the line between faith and justification, your good deeds you perform in this life merit your own salvation.

Nothing destroys the Gospel like man-centeredness. Man destroyed the gospel in the Garden. And it is dependent solely upon Jesus Christ to redeem us of our sins and unrighteousness. Christ will never fail, we will always fail. We have failed, Christ succeeded. Cling to a Saviour who is capable of saving, not to yourself who is only capable of condemning. Verses 2-6 are a guarantee that God indeed provides for His beloved people. We fail, he succeeds. We sin, he forgives. Thus far we have looked first at God’s patience towards His people, second, God’s provision for His people under the principles of grace, and thirdly, God’s punishment against His people.

[3] God’s punishment against His people (vv. 7-10) Romans 11:7–10“What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.””

God’s right to harden whom he wills (v. 7) The Potter has the right over the clay. Paul is reminding and reinforcing that although the Gospel is to go out to everyone, not all will hear it. You can see Paul drawing back on what he has already established in Romans 9:30–33 the Gentiles attained righteousness because they did so by faith. Israel, on the other hand, sought their own righteousness. They had zeal without knowledge (cf. 10:2). They were full of themselves rather than full of the Spirit of God. Those who seek a righteousness by faith will be saved. They attain it as Paul writes. On the other hand, Israel is hardened because they choose according to their own sinful nature to remain within the bounds of the covenant of works which states do this in order to live. Yet if you have sinned on one part of the Law you have shattered the entire thing. Therefore God’s pronouncement against hardened Israel is that He will harden whomever He wills. The verb used were hardened is a metaphor for the heart to become callous. It is in a passive tense, meaning they experience the action. They are hardened by the Lord passing over them in not choosing them. It is the same meaning that John writes about the ministry of Jesus in John 12:40 ““He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.””

The witness of the entire OT (v. 8) Paul gives one quotation which draws on several different Old Testament texts to prove this very point. The first portion of Romans 11:8 is taken from Isaiah 29:10 where the rest is quoted from Moses in Deuteronomy 29:4 but also from Psalm 69:22, 23 when he quotes David. What is the significance of this? Again, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, being the major divisions of the Old Testament are what Paul is drawing on. This is not a New Testament reality; rather, a fact predicated, established, or grounded upon, the OT canon. Likewise, this is precisely what Jesus Himself preached. Matthew 13:14 “Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”” This builds upon what Paul has already established in Romans 10:16-21. God has given them over to their own ways. This draws back upon the pattern Paul has written previously. In Romans 1:24 we are told, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.” Also, Romans 1:26 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.” God is giving sinners over to their natural inclinations. Paul earlier wrote in Romans 9:15–18“For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” And here, we are told that God gave them a spirit of stupor. This word for stupor means to put one into a deep sleep. It is the same meaning when one of your limbs falls asleep. We have all had that feeling. You set something on your leg for too long, you get up to walk, and you are incapable until that feeling comes back. In that same sense, Israel has in a metaphorical sense laid upon the limb of the Gospel allowing it to become so numb that they have no feeling in it. Unfortunately, this becomes the case for many Christians as well. You become so numb to your own sin that you try to excuse it as if it is okay. You become so numb the sins you commit toward others, you act as though it is permissible. Your conscience becomes numb and seared. If you find yourself as one who justifies your sins, as one who hardens your heart, as one who has become numb to God’s Law, repent. Turn to Jesus Christ and he will indeed free you.

The witness of David (vv. 9-10) The poetic manner in which David references the preposterous demeanor of his own people is alarming. Just as in Romans 9:33 “as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame,” the nation as a whole has hardened themselves to the truths of Christ’s message.

It is so bad that David uses a metaphor to say that their backs are bent forever. They cannot even look up to the heavens, nor can they perceive the great creation around them. It is a perpetual state of defeat. Not only that, but they are in a state of utter and complete spiritual darkness. If you have ever visited a cave complex, there is typically a time where the guide will turn off all of the lights. The darkness is almost overwhelming. You can place your hand right up to your face and you will see absolutely nothing.

So it is with those of Israel that the light of the Gospel is directly in their face but they are so spiritually darkened they cannot even see it. Hence Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus in John 3 tells us that unless one is born again, by the power of the Spirit, you are in that state. You possess no ability to see the Gospel.

Even in this darkness, we see the light of the Gospel shine even brighter. Often it takes supreme darkness to see clearly the light. As in a cave, those who are dead in their sins and trespasses have no ability to see or perceive the Kingdom of God. Yet the Gospel is like a small match lit in the darkest cave. The light overwhelms the darkness and permeates throughout the cavern.

So also we are told that Jesus Christ is the true light. He came at our darkest hour. And by His perfect obedience, by His life, death, and resurrection, no longer are we enslaved to sin, we are enlivened unto Christ Jesus. The Gospel shines into our darkened hearts and purifies us. And this is the great truth of Romans 11:1-10 that God has not rejected His people. If God is for you, who can stand against you?